Gah! Worst night at work ever!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I should really be home sleeping but I just need to vent.

So, we were shorthanded at work today. A host, a server, and the dishwasher all called in, and because apparently TPTB (my boss’s boss) think we’ve been scheduling too many people, they didn’t call anyone else in. But it ends up being a night where we should have had at least 3 more people than were actually scheduled, so it was actually like being short-handed 6 people.

So I waltz in 15 minutes early and my boss tells me to throw on my apron because I need to take tables NOW. So I do, and it starts getting really hectic. I end up getting more tables in the first hour I’m there than I sometimes get in the entire dinner rush. And it just doesn’t stop. Normally things slow down after 8, but waves of people just kept coming. And since there’s only one hostess, who’s responsible for seating, bussing, cleaning, and resetting every table on top of doing take out orders, things get completely screwed up. The rotation quickly becomes pointless, since no one’s keeping track of which server got which table, so it’s a free for all. I would get double, triple, and quadruple sat. And since my manager decided I was the fastest/most capable server working, I’d get whatever tables the other servers couldn’t handle. So all night, instead of only getting tables in my section (which was the middle) I’d have tables at the complete opposite ends of the restaurant.

And the cooks, since 2 of them were fairly new, weren’t on top of things either. Food was taking forever, tables’ orders that were rung in 15 minutes apart were coming up at the same time. Plus, since there was no dishwasher, periodically one cook would have to leave the line to go wash dishes.

We ran out of clean glasses. We ran out of clean silverware. We ran out of salads. My manager was taking tables and washing dishes. There was never a chance to take a breather, because as soon as you’d get caught up with all your tables, you’d have to make salads, or stock something, or help another server or the hostess.

Most people were understanding (our regulars were all really surprised at how busy we were) but some got really pissy. 2 tables completely stiffed me- one, because their desserts took too long (3 other tables’ food came up at the same time, so I decided to run the hot food instead of letting it get cold while I decorated their coconut cream pie) and another, because they didn’t have silverware. This was my last table of the night, after we’d run out of clean silverware, so getting them silverware meant I had to go get clean silverware from the dish pit and then roll it. And of course, I rolled it, then turned to grab a couple of other things so I could make one trip out to several tables, and another server took it for her table. Then I had to roll some more. So when she took my silverware out to her table, my table called her over and asked to speak with the manager. And despite my manager explaining how we were shorthanded and doing all we possibly could to keep things going smoothly, and despite the fact that she comped their expensive appetizer, they totally stiffed me.

Gah. So it took an hour longer to close than it normally does. And since TPTB want my boss to schedule fewer people, I get to open the restaurant alone tomorrow. I’ll be the only server there until 4PM, so here’s hoping I don’t get slammed.

:mad:

2

I feel for you.

I also feel good that I’m starting my first white collar job in a few weeks. I’ll be leaving behind hectic nights like yours. My old job was always either too boring or too crazy and stressful.

There’s no real sense in complaining though. You’ll still have to come in tomorrow. You’ll still have to come in after that. Good luck and I hope you don’t stay there forever.

3

After a few nights like that TPTB will have their scheduling decision justified, when folks don’t some back anymore. And it’s folks like the OP who get the short end of the stick.

I hope those who stiffed you have to work a job like that someday. Sorry you had such a sucky night.

4

I love the crazy hectic atmosphere when I’m working. It is fun when you know how to do your job, do it well, and are able to cope and function effectively no matter the massive line-ups. Maybe I’m just weird but I take some pleasure from just rampaging through, serving people their stuff (or whatever the job may be), and knowing that because I’m working everything is going smoother.

Though I do hate customers who do not recognize that I’m the competent employee who is working hard to ensure their patronage is fulfilled both well and as promptly as possible and are either curt with me or just don’t tip. Yesterday, at work, we got slammed as well. Several customers who’d stood in line for a good long while tipped my co-worker and I and expressed their gratitude for us obviously slaving away. However, many simply came up, ordered, and walked away with their order. I’m sorry, but if you didn’t see it, the line was only moving because my co-worker and I were taking 7 orders for the other till’s 1 customer. Had we not been working your wait in line would have been 7x longer.

5

So it was wild busy and understaffed, right? You, being the more capable, were being dumped with tables. It does sound chaotic and I feel for you. Especially the getting stiffed at the end thing!

But the real question is what were your sales on the shift? And how much did you take home in tips?

Sounds like it should be record sales and a great night money wise, based on sheer volume. If that’s the case it’s a little petty to harp about getting stiffed by a couple of tables, that’s kind of the cost of being so busy.

But I’m with you on the short staffing and chaos part, totally.

6

elbows, it was only a slightly better than average Friday night, money wise (a lot of people, what with long waits and less attentive service, were understandably tipping less generously. So even with a higher volume in sales, it didn’t end up being that great). It wasn’t so much that I got stiffed, because I still made money, it was just such a slap in the face (first time it’s ever happened to me in 2 years) that made things even that much worse.

It was just so stressful. Worst night I’ve ever had at work, and I used to get holiday retail jobs in high school so I’ve worked the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, and I was still reeling. And I’ve worked plenty of nights that were super busy, and we needed a few extra hands, but this was ridiculous. It didn’t even stop after the “dinner rush” (5-8) it kept coming until we stopped seating at 10. I was so wound up that even though I knew I had to work 12 hours the next day, I couldn’t sleep when I got home.

I think the hostess had it worst of all. We normally have 2 on averagely busy nights, 3 on really busy ones, so she was doing the work of 3 people. Plus, any people waiting for takeout or waiting for an open table got to bitch at her all night long. She ended up crying because people kept yelling at her.

But at least one good thing came of it. They put up a Now Hiring sign yesterday.

7

Why would a restaurant understaff? Usually they do not even pay minimum wage because of the tips. The real danger is not having adequate staff and causing people to put the place on their shitlist. Restaurants are about repeat business.