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WALK A MILE IN A RESTAURANT WORKER’S SHOES – PART TWO

08 Monday Jul 2019

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North vs. South, Hatfield’s vs. McCoy’s, Yankee’s vs. Red Sox’s, and Patriot’s vs. every other NFL team – these are all classic rivalry’s, but nothing compares to the inherent friction that exists in restaurants between the front and back of the house. Sometimes it gets downright ugly – right? It is likely that the source of this rivalry comes from a real lack of understanding on the part of both sides. In reality, both front and back of the house have the same goals: customer satisfaction, a smooth flowing system, and the ability to chalk up any given night as a “win”.

There are, the classic arguments: cooks complain about tips that servers take home, a lack of food knowledge, special orders, missed or delayed pick-ups, and the “short” shift that server’s work compared to those of the cook. Servers complain about the cook’s egos and arrogant attitudes, lack of understanding, crusty attitudes towards customer requests, inability to respond immediately to their concerns, etc. The result is friction, lashing out, offensive remarks, hurt feelings, and contempt.

What is ironic is that at the end of the night – many of these adversaries wind up elbow to elbow at the local bar toasting another night of “survival”. Interesting at the very least how “don’t take it personal” seems to be the accepted mantra in so many restaurants. So, as is the case with the back-of-the-house, let’s take a look at the jobs of the front staff through their eyes – let’s walk a mile in their shoes for a moment.

SERVERS – BACKWAITS – AND BARTENDERS:

Let’s begin with BACKWAITS – ah…the training ground for the next generation of server. “Well, it’s 1:00 and my gut is beginning to churn again. In two hours I will need to prepare to work another shift of subservience. My job as a back wait is anything but glamorous. For some reason, the restaurant doesn’t feel that I am yet worthy enough to take an order and interact with guests – my role is to be the go-between with the server and the line cook or expeditor. What a great system (not) – the server nods to the guest “Of course we can accommodate your special request”, but I am the one to face the cook when the printer spits out “no salt, well done scallops, and can you make the sauce without butter?” I am the one who the expeditor curses because I was 30 seconds late picking up an order in the pass; I’m the one who has to see the customer’s initial reaction when food is delivered, and I’m the one who more often than not has to clean up the mess at a table before re-set. At the same time, my portion of the gratuity is a meager 10 or 15%.

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At the end of a shift, I am likely the one who has collected 15,000 steps on my Apple Watch, and the one who has most of the aching muscles, burns from hot plates, and emotional scars from irate line cooks. The server would be hard put to do their job well, if I weren’t there to serve as Robin to their Batman. I am the one who jumps to action when the expeditor shouts – pick-up, and I am the one who is there to listen when a customer says: “excuse me”. It is no wonder that I spend so much money on Tums before a shift, and truly relish those drinks at the end of work.”

The BARTENDER seems to have the real cake job in a restaurant. “How hard can it be?” Mix a few drinks, pour a glass of beer or wine, smile and accept a tip – this is all that bartenders do, at least through the eyes of others in the business. Little interaction with crusty line cooks, no burning looks from the expeditor, no demeaning commands from the server, and no sore muscles from carrying trays and adding miles on already swollen feet. Some restaurant employees sense that bartenders have an elite feeling about themselves; that they are, somehow, held in greater esteem for their skills and position. How does the bartender see it?

“Another shift, another night when I have to put on my actor face and be the host, ambassador, psychiatrist, chemist, mind-reader, and problem solver for the restaurant. Sure we have a manager, a hard-working, good person, but she doesn’t interface with guests and servers in the same way that I do. The manager has a chance to compose him or herself – I am on stage from the moment I arrive at work until the last drink is served. My job can be physical at times, but it is truly draining mentally and emotionally. When the guest sits down at the bar while waiting for a table I have to turn on my profile radar immediately. Is this person happy, sad, mad, or distraught? Are there any strong signals that I should pay attention to and should I alert the server to what lies ahead? What’s the best way to approach this person? Should I be stoic and all business, should I smile and be that ray of sunshine that the guest might need? Should I open with a story or a joke? What will set the stage for this guest’s positive experience in the restaurant?

When the guest asks for a Taiwan Torpedo, I have to smile and act as if I know what the hell he is expecting. So I respond with a vague: ‘how do you like that prepared’, or reach secretly for my iPhone and Google the drink recipe. When you are a bartender – everyone expects that you will be an encyclopedia of mixed drinks, and amateur craft brewer, and an up-and-coming sommelier. So, I have to constantly brush up on my knowledge of alcoholic drinks, master the lingo, and portray an aura of real love of everything from the names of winemaker’s, the terroir in which certain grapes were grown, the type of hops used in an IPA, and what kind of wood was used in the barrels to age a craft bourbon. When you are a bartender there is no room to hide a lack of knowledge.

When it is busy, we have to remain calm, pick up the pace, and still show the elegance of a showman who is truly in control. I may not carry trays of heavy plates and have to deal with the dangers of open flames and sharp knives in the kitchen, but I still put on loads of miles in a shift, suffer from aching feet and knees, and face the threat of carpel tunnel syndrome even though I don’t hold a French knife in my hand for hours at a time. It is exhausting!”

The SERVER is sometimes the least understood and the most maligned of the front-of-the-house employees. Of course it’s true that the average server works far fewer hours than a cook, doesn’t make anything tangible, and walks home with tip rewards for his or her effort, but how many cooks would really trade places? There must be a reason. So, here are some thoughts from the server perspective.

“It’s crazy how unpredictable my life is. I was hooked into the world of a server early on – not because this is what I was meant to do for a living. I have a degree in marketing, but worked my way through college as a restaurant server. The tips, although not always dependable, were great when they were great. Anyway, I made enough to cover my living expenses through four-years of school and provide funds for personal entertainment. It was good, but now it’s time to start a career – right? Try finding a job in marketing without any experience in marketing. I started working as an office assistant, but was bored to death, and the money sucked. I filled in with weekend server shifts at a local restaurant and after a few months succumbed back to full time work at the POS station. Oh, well – I’m good at it, so maybe this is my destiny.

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The cooks are a pain in the neck – always resisting those times when I make a request in the interest of the guest. All they have to do is cook and plate – I have to deal with guests who are oftentimes very nice and understanding, and then sometimes they are rude, abrupt, condescending, and arrogant. The attitude of a few can make this job less than desirable. Sure, I know the chef thinks that we should be more knowledgeable about the food prepared and why certain complements go with certain dishes – but try telling that to the guest who wants a side of pasta with their risotto. My job, as least as I see it, is to accommodate what the paying guest wants, not defend the ego of the chef. Anyway, he is rarely pleasant and I just need to accept that and find ways to work around his attitude.

The back waiters that the restaurant hires have no real experience and the manager expects me to train as well as do my job. Every time that a back wait makes a mistake it impacts on my tips. I work a table, trying to build trust and a good relationship and then the back wait spills water at the table or forgets to pick up a dish in time. I am constantly apologizing for other people’s mistakes.

My background in marketing could really benefit the restaurant, but the manager has no interest in listening to my thoughts on how to bring in more business. I spent four years in college to prepare for a marketing position and now a manager with no real understanding of the concepts is turning down my free advice. Frustrating. Oh, well, at least most guests appreciate what I do and thank me with their wallets. Most of the cooks are doing what they love and in some cases, what they were taught to do in school – I’m getting by and working not out of passion, but out of necessity. I wish I could find my way out of this mess.”

So, in all cases it is easy to see that the front of the house is filled with challenges as well. The job of service and interfacing with guests is not easy – they earn their tips. The challenges are compounded when others in the organization fail to understand what makes the service staff – tick, what their jobs entail, and how they might benefit from support instead of distain.

Before you judge one position over another – take a moment to walk in their shoes. In an ideal restaurant world – every service staff member would spend some time working in the kitchen and every kitchen employee would in turn spend time working in the front. Ah…but that rarely happens so misunderstanding rules the day.

The final part in this series will focus on the chef and manager.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

www.harvestamericaventures.com

Restaurant Consulting

www.harvestamericacues.com BLOG

 

ARE SERVERS AND COOKS LIKE OIL AND VINEGAR?

14 Sunday Sep 2014

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There are many examples of love/hate relationships or classic feuds that are difficult to rationalize: the Hatfield’s and the McCoy’s, Alexander Hamilton and Raymond Burr; Neil Young and Lynard Skynard, the Beatles and Yoko Ono, Democrats and Republicans, and, of course, Restaurant Servers and Cooks. What is the reason for these sometimes oil and vinegar relationships? Why did either side lose sight of the big picture? Are these feuds simply based on tradition or misunderstanding, not fact?

We have come to accept that Republicans and Democrats simply cannot get along or agree and Lynard Skynard and Neil Young intensely dislike each other as portrayed in song: “well, I hope Neil Young will remember a Southern Man don’t need him around, anyhow.” In actuality, Republicans and Democrats should be able to agree on what is right for our country and, oh by the way, Skynard’s lyrics were meant to support Neil Young’s charge against racist behavior. The point is, more often than not, feuds or traditional abrasive relationships are ill founded.

In the case of restaurant servers and cooks, consider these facts:

  • Service staff members are the first line of offense and defense with restaurant guests. Their primary role is twofold: customer satisfaction and building check averages for the house and for the basis of their tips.
  • Unlike cooks, their wages are not predetermined. In most cases, if they do their job well, the guest will tip as is expected, but the guest is not required to do so. Servers are paid, in most cases, sub-minimum wage (allowed by law) because it is assumed that they will make sufficient tips to make up the difference.
  • Servers are required to hide their emotions while performing their job. When a guest is contrary, the server needs to tough it out, smile and say, yes.
  • Servers are able to perform their job only when everyone else performs theirs.
  • There is very little societal respect given to the position of restaurant server. Unlike cooks, who today are able to hold their head high when they state what they do for a living. Servers tend to feel as though they need to apologize for their line of work.
  • Most servers hold their current position not out of choice, but simply because it is a means to an end. There are far too few people in the United States who proclaim with pride that they wait on tables. Most are using this as a transitional job until they can find something in their chosen field.
  • On the other hand, a person who takes their job of server seriously, learning everything they can about food, wine, psychology, selling technique, and technical service, can make a very respectable living; in many cases, far more lucrative than cooks, chefs and managers.
  • Most servers know how physically challenging and talent demanding it is to be a cook. Although they may appreciate food, they have no desire to do what cooks do.
  • Cooks are more often than not, introverted. They are typically not the gregarious, service oriented person that front of the house staff are or have learned to be. Most cooks will gladly work 10-12 hours, on their feet in a hot kitchen, but would avoid 10 minutes in the dining room at all costs.
  • Cooks have a relationship with the food they prepare. This plate of food is an expression of their art. The plate is a cook’s canvas and if they could, they would hang pictures of their work on home refrigerators just like their parents did when they brought home those watercolors from grammar school (Facebook is the modern version of the refrigerator art gallery).
  • Cooks follow a definitive chain of command and have a military style relationship with those in charge of the kitchen. Discipline is the name of the game in the back of the house. Servers are, to a larger degree, free agents. They have a high level of freedom in how they approach their job and the guests they serve.   By design, the server is empowered to create unique dining events in an effort to maximize the guest experience and build check averages. Cooks, on the other hand, are required to follow a step-by-step process, plate their dish in the style of the chef, and replicate this same procedure time and again.
  • Cooks work in Dante’s Inferno. Temperatures on the line can be in excess of 120 degrees; cuts, burns and sweat are part of the daily drill. Servers spend a fair amount of time in air-conditioned dining rooms (this is the perspective of cooks. In reality, servers have physically demanding jobs as well).
  • Servers have to interact with guests, every minute of every day. The guest is oftentimes appreciative and kind, sometimes, however, this is not the case. The server still needs to smile while dealing with inappropriate and sometimes demeaning guests. This is something that cooks are able to avoid.

In all cases, it is important for everyone in a restaurant to understand that each job is uniquely challenging. Everyone works hard. In the end, front and back of the house share a common goal: customer satisfaction and restaurant financial success. To quote an old cliché: “walk a mile in my shoes..see what I see, hear what I hear, feel what I feel, THEN maybe you’ll understand why I do what I do..till then, don’t judge me.”

Servers and cooks are in it together. One cannot accomplish their goals without the other and as such, it is critical that they work well together. Here are a few points for both to keep in mind:

  • Cooks are frustrated artists and as such are proud of their work and sensitive to critique.
  • Once the plate of food is placed in the pass, the cook is aware that time is its worst enemy. Picking it up quickly will preserve the integrity of the dish. Timing is everything to a cook and likely the most significant point of contention between service staff and the kitchen line.
  • Keeping 20 things straight in a cook’s head while working on the line is part of the job. Having to answer questions can throw the whole thing out of balance. Cooks are not being rude while ignoring you; they are just trying to hold it all together.
  • Although cooks, like servers really do want the guest to be happy, special orders do upset them simply because it throws off their timing. Be a little patient with them when they bark, it really isn’t personal.
  • Servers have a very difficult job. When they bring back a special request it is not of their doing, they are simply trying to make sure the guest is happy. They are the messengers, not the source of the request.
  • Sometimes servers forget things or make a mistake, just like cooks. Help them out and they will do the same for you. Try to be kind and forgiving.
  • Cooks, in many cases, have chosen to do what they do as a career. They love to cook and thrive on the environment. As much as we would like to say that servers are the same, many have not chosen this a career, it is simply the type of job that is available. They are trying to make the best of it, cooks can chose to encourage them and support their situation.

If we take a moment to understand each other, forgive those occasional mistakes, help to teach each other to improve, and throw out some words of support, we might just be able to get through service with a smile on our face.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

http://www.harvestamericaventures.com

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SETTING THE HOLIDAY TABLE – A New Role for Restaurants

21 Thursday Nov 2013

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SETTING THE HOLIDAY TABLE - A New Role for Restaurants

Good, bad or indifferent, the reality for the holidays is that they mark some of the busiest days of the year for restaurants. To our guests it may simply reflect their desire to truly relax and avoid the hustle of pulling together their largest family meal of the year, it might reflect (another whole topic) their lack of skill or desire to cook, or it might simply be a interest in the local restaurant’s interpretation of a special meal. To the restaurant employee it becomes “another day” in a busy operation and one more instance where they are unable to spend time with their family. On the business side, this might be one of the few opportunities over the next two months to generate some sales since aside from those areas that are a shopping destination, people are somewhat reluctant to spend their discretionary income on dining out when there is a struggle to find the money to buy gifts.

The question is “how do we make something very positive out of this restaurant reality”? Restaurants live in a different climate today. Our role has sped past simply providing nourishment. We are now in the business of providing appropriate nutrition, looking out for guest health, accommodation of special dietary needs, a source of entertainment, a center for food education, a resource for rewarding guests when others outside the restaurant ignore their contributions to society, a place where individuals celebrate each other, and now a substitute for the family table. This is not a burden, it is a much broader role that allows restaurants to play an integral part in people’s lives and in turn create the chance for us to survive and occasionally thrive as a business. It behooves us to add this reality to the training that we offer employees – they need to be on-board and we need to create a reward system that recognizes their efforts and sacrifices.

It is now the role of restaurants to re-create that family table that was depicted in the Norman Rockwell painting of this American tradition. This cannot be simply another dinner out – it must be special and memorable. It must be our pleasure to provide this for every guest who chooses to share his or her family time with us. This may be cliché and seemingly unrealistic, but this is our role. So – how can we create this experience and feeling in our restaurants and do so with a real sense of caring?

A quote by: Sarah Henry in her novel: “A Cold and Lonely Place” sums up the answer to this question: “Sometimes home is where you’re at, and family is who you’re with.” Restaurant people, as I have previously mentioned, are some of the most thoughtful and caring people that I know – yet when asked what distresses them most about working in the business, the answer is almost always universal. What upsets them most goes beyond the hard physical work, beyond the hours that they must commit, even beyond the 5% of guests served who can be rude; the primary stressor is an employees inability to spend quality time with his or her family – especially during the holidays. As restaurateurs and chefs we cannot ignore this fact. The employee may be physically present but their hearts are miles away with their spouse, children, parents, siblings and friends. This feeling cannot be put aside, it is there and will, without a doubt, impact on the employees’ ability to put on a smiling face and provide that exceptional guest experience. So how can we take advantage of the wisdom in Sarah Henry’s quote?

The answer should be a focus of those in our human resource worlds, a topic of discussion and planning in manager meetings, and a commitment on the part of owners. We are, after all, in the service business. James Heskett from the Harvard Business School once said: “if you are not serving the guest directly you must serve those you are”. To provide that level of guest experience that fulfills our new business reality we must insure that our employees feel good about their role and feel that their time away from family is taken into account.

There are some excellent examples of ways that restaurants can, and in many cases have built on the premise of Sarah Henry’s quote. Re-creating opportunities for the “restaurant family” to break bread and celebrate each other with great food, comfortable family meal environments with all the trimmings, toasts to this and their biological families can go a long way. This should be built into the holiday schedule and focused on with the same enthusiasm and attention to detail that we put into the guest experience. Employee turkey’s and other products as a bonus for their families to enjoy at home is a small price to pay with a big return. Thank you cards from owners and managers and even in-kind donations to local charities and people in need that carry the names of your staff members will help them to sense the spirit of the season. Scheduling staff for shorter shifts on holidays so that they can spend time with their families is a considerate approach, especially for those with young children. I am sure that with a concerted effort, each restaurant can come up with their own ideas on how to turn lemons into lemonade.

On the guest side, building that environment of celebration will become real when an appreciated staff exudes the warmth of the holidays and a sincere approach towards service. Give it some thought this holiday season as we set the table for guests in our busy restaurants.

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LABOR DAY THOUGHTS

01 Sunday Sep 2013

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This picture was a perfect opening for some Labor Day musings. I am part of an industry that is interesting to many on the outside, challenging to those who own restaurants, exciting to those who find themselves in the grips of the service adrenaline rush, back breaking to those who have made it their life, unbearable to some and inspiring to many who become part of a close knit restaurant team. The restaurant business as portrayed by the new wave of reality shows, Food Network segments, Anthony Bourdain adventures, colorful coffee table cookbooks, and countless magazines on the art of cooking is really a far cry from what it is like.

On Labor Day we celebrate those who work hard every day to support their families, provide for others and make this country great. It is only fitting that I spend some time paying homage to those who work in OUR industry, the industry of food and service.

Allow me the privilege of telling the truth about the day-to-day. Let’s start at the bottom and work our way up, just like those who begin their career in either the front or back of the house. The dishwasher is one of the most important employees in a kitchen. If you don’t understand this statement, realize this: if a cook doesn’t show up everyone rallies to cover the station, if the chef is out sick (unheard of) the cooks would quietly cheer, if the manager doesn’t make it in the restaurant will likely not lose a step, if the dishwasher doesn’t show the place falls apart. Why? This is oftentimes a thankless job that involves standing on your feet for an entire shift, working around heat and steam, cleaning everyone’s dirty plates, lugging out tons of garbage, bending at the waist scouring greasy pots and pans, handing scalding hot plates as they end their cycle, lifting and pushing heavy racks of dishes and doing this to the din of demanding cooks and service staff. The dishwasher has no one to delegate to, yet he or she manages the single most expensive piece of machinery in the kitchen as well as thousands of dollars of china, glassware and flatware. An entree improperly cooked can be forgiven and re-fired, a dirty plate on which that food is placed is inexcusable and not correctable if it makes it to the guest.

Cooks come to restaurants with all sorts of baggage. My favorite people in the world are cooks. Some are vagabonds searching for a place to fit, others are introverts who need an opportunity to work with their hands without the pressure of interacting with others aside from the person standing next to them. A number are what we call “pirates” who are tough, crusty, oftentimes a bit obscene, full of pent up anger, but content working over a 700 degree char-grill; and a few are those culinary school interns or graduates who came to make their mark, learn the trade, build their chops, and aspire to become a chef. All-in-all, as tough as many of them seem, they usually love food and take pride in what they do. Snap at them and beware, tell them their food is not very good and you may need to reach for tissues to help fight back their tears and broken confidence.

Chefs, are always there. Even when they are not physically there (which is rare), they are still mentally there. A chef can expect to work 70 or more hours per week and should plan on being in the restaurant from mid-morning until the last few dinners hit the window. If they have developed a name for themselves, the guest will expect to see them there. Guests have no concept of a day off or of the effort that a chef must put in. The chef started as a person who loved to cook, but in his/her current role they are a business manager. They plan menus, hire and train staff, order food and negotiate with vendors, monitor the sanitation and safety of the restaurant, help to market the image of the place, set the tone for the kitchen and ensure that the quality remains consistent, interact with guests and guest special requests, serve as the mentor for those fragile egos in the kitchen, and oftentimes serve as a fill-in person when a station is in the weeds or a cook or even dishwasher fails to show or bails. This can be exciting and fun, but trust me, it is not as glamorous as TV would have you believe.

Servers and back waits are always on the firing line. What guests do not realize is that most service staff are paid sub-minimum wage (allowed by law) because their wages are typically supplemented by gratuities. Servers and their support are entrepreneurs who have been given the opportunity to set up shop in a restaurant. They certainly must represent the restaurant, but in essence are working solely for the guest. The guest, in turn, is expected to reward them with a gratuity that reflects the level of service provided. The vast majority of guests are nice, reasonable, polite and respectful, however, there is a smaller percentage who view service staff as subservient and fail to recognize them as people with feelings. As a chef I have spent many an hour consoling servers who have been verbally abused and offended by that 5% of guests who enjoy being abusive. People should not treat other human beings this way, but it is, unfortunately expected. To add insult to injury, some kitchens dish out the abuse to service staff making the whole experience of working the front of the house anything but enjoyable. Shame on the chef who allows this to happen.

Managers, like chefs, are married to the restaurant. They have the same responsibilities in the front as chefs do in the back with the added pressure of financial management. True the chef is responsible for food and labor cost, but the manager is ultimately responsible to keep the restaurant afloat. What guests do not realize is that the average restaurant only makes a net profit of about 5% if they do everything right. Many restaurants simply hope that cash flow is positive and ignore the fact that eventually the bills will catch up. Running a restaurant is very difficult and very expensive. Guests are fickle and rarely as loyal as you would like them to be, so the manager must always be on his/her toes. Just as the chef is responsible for the temperament and vibe in the kitchen, the manager must be on stage and insure that whatever may be going wrong is not evident to the guest.

The picture of screaming and yawning feet at the beginning of this article was a vivid symbol of the cycle of life in a kitchen. Restaurant people are always on the edge and one never knows how today will turn out. All this being said, I love this business as do many of my dearest friends and associates. My hat goes off to all who call restaurants their home on this day.

Happy Labor Day!

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