There's Very Little Meat in These Gym Mats: The Restaurant Industry Thread

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > There's Very Little Meat in These Gym Mats: The Restaurant Industry Thread

Dane: Jun 18, 2003; mmm... creamy.

Turkeybone posted:

Freeezer inventory -- gently caress man I liked doing that at my job. Yes, it sucked, but as the sous it helped me know EXACTLY what we had (and didn't have), so I could plan out prep for a whole week or two. Also.. nobody else wanted to do it (I worked in an ice cream factory one summer, so I'm cool with the freezer ), so I could always say "I'm doing the freezer," and I could get out of anything, and make people feel sympathetic.

In any kind of hands-on middle management, doing a task that the peons perceive as poo poo duty works wonders for getting respect.

# ¿ Aug 29, 2013 19:58

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 12:38

Dane: Jun 18, 2003; mmm... creamy.

Turkeybone posted:

Alright, let's talk kitchen tattoos! They don't necessarily have to be "porkfat" on the inside of your lip, but let's see some tattoos that we psychos put on our bodies (I'm actually going to a shop today to consult about my first ).

My old boss had an awesome burn scar - probably 3 1/2 inches long - on the fleshy side of his lower left arm that sorta in a cloud-scape kinda way looked a bit like a duck and some blob with legs. He had the outline of a duck chasing a pig tattooed around it. I think I have a pic of it somewhere, I'll look.

# ¿ Sep 9, 2013 14:20

Dane: Jun 18, 2003; mmm... creamy.

Don't be tempted to make the online menu a PDF of the regular menu ("oh, but that way we can keep the design!"), forcing customers to download a file just to check the prices. I loving hate that.

# ¿ Oct 3, 2013 21:43

Dane: Jun 18, 2003; mmm... creamy.

I went looking for a 'like' button and almost pressed 'report'. Congrats, TB!

# ¿ Dec 6, 2013 13:19

Dane: Jun 18, 2003; mmm... creamy.

Cercies posted:

Last night I got word from my GM that the chef and her husband are expecting an invite to the holiday party I am hosting next week. I really don't want to invite her, because none of the staff particularly enjoys her company and it was a chance for us all to get drunk and bag on work for a moment. Normally I would just send an email explaining that this is for the hourly crew at a dive bar, but she has a bad reputation of taking it out on people who don't invite her to things. Also, she just gave me a raise and complimented my work (which is another rarity) and I don't want to jeopardize me being in her good graces for once.

Any advice on how to invite the boss but not actually invite her?

She's an idiot. The entire purpose of a holiday staff party is for the staff to be able to bitch without management there (and yes, the chef is management in this respect).

Now, if you knew she'd show up, smile and make nice for an hour, then gently caress off, then cool.

# ¿ Dec 18, 2013 23:26

Dane: Jun 18, 2003; mmm... creamy.

crackhaed posted:

The more reputable the restaurant is the more reliable dishwashers are valued over cooks. If you have 3 michelin stars or are on the world's top 50 you have a nearly endless supply of experienced cooks emailing you every week, many willing to work for free. At one of the places I worked we had a dishwasher who had been there for about 3 years and we half-joked that he was the highest paid employee.

When NOMA won the World's Best thingie, they all made a point to thank Alieu Sonko who's boss of their dishpit. Just as in Bourdain's story of Justo Thomas at Le Bernadin, there are some employees that you a) do not gently caress with and b) can't imagine your restaurant running without.

# ¿ Jan 6, 2014 14:44

Dane: Jun 18, 2003; mmm... creamy.

Shooting Blanks posted:

This. With almost any job interview, they're not looking for output, they're looking for process - I'm assuming they'll be in the kitchen with you while you do it?

The end result is important, but they will teach you their recipes, they will teach you the techniques they want you to use, they want to know whether or not you understand how to make food.

And minimize waste. Don't throw scraps out without checking if they have a compost / permanent stockpots going / a dish that uses trimmings from w/e.

# ¿ Apr 16, 2014 01:40

Dane: Jun 18, 2003; mmm... creamy.

Naelyan posted:

Honestly, if there's one thing I've learned in my years in the industry, it's that leverage (in that way) is very, very rare unless you're very high up in management. Everyone is replaceable. There are exceptions, sure (like the FL head porter), but they're very few and far between, and if you're one of them then you're already treated well enough that you wouldn't ever feel the need to put forth an ultimatum.

Most restaurants are set up so that every single station can be manned by someone of average capability, average intelligence, and average work ethic (or worse). If you're better than that, sure you can improve productivity, but not by an amount that's ever going to be worth it to pay you more than they think you're worth or set a precedent that could lead to multiple people walking out/quitting if you get your way and they don't get theirs.

It's a hard lesson to learn but eventually everyone learns it from seeing it in action or from experiencing it. I'm pretty drat good at what I do, even the GM and chef that fired me a couple years ago thought so. However, I was overworked (a lot, we're talking 80-90 hour weeks on a 50 hour/week salary) and we were understaffed and I was not happy about it, so I told them that poo poo either needed to change or I was done. I was pretty sure I was indispensable (one of two chefs in an $80k/week understaffed restaurant) but I was wrong. Because of some unpleasantness they decided to pull some shady poo poo to get me out in less than the two weeks' notice I would have given, and the restaurant went on just fine without me after a couple days of scrambling for staff. I've seen head chefs removed with no immediate replacement, I've seen awesome dishwashers let go (because of attitude or punctuality) just before service on Friday, I've seen line cooks let go in understaffed restaurants. Every one of those restaurants was just fine.

Moral of the story is that if you think you're underpaid for what you're doing, make your case and ask. If they agree, they'll give you that raise or promotion. If they don't, then you can either be happy with what you've got or start looking for other work. Trying to strong arm your way into a raise or promotion in an industry with as high turnover and minimal training required as the restaurant industry isn't ever going to work out well.

The management corrollary to this is "never ever put yourself in a position where you can't afford to sack someone" - sort of a too big to fail syndrome. I've worked for people who wouldn't fire a guy who stole from the till because they were concerned about getting his shifts covered (and were too lazy to take the shifts themselves). Try and guess how much respect management had from staff after that.

# ¿ Oct 13, 2014 00:46

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 12:38

Dane: Jun 18, 2003; mmm... creamy.

DrPain posted:

Anybody work on the supply side of this madness? I've got a very real chance at getting in as a sales rep for a big seafood distributor and would like to discuss the finer points of fish monging.

I know that TB works as a wine rep now, I seem to recall someone was in dry goods (but that might have been a few thread iterations ago). Lots of people here will have a ton of experience from the other side of your desk / car window / fence.

# ¿ Oct 20, 2014 10:17

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > There's Very Little Meat in These Gym Mats: The Restaurant Industry Thread