Thursday, July 21, 2011

Even more work for no pay? Awesome!

(I normally don't post on my days off because I try to forget that fucking hellhole exists, but I'm trying to make up for being a blogging slacker lately!)

As part of corporate's never-ending quest to sell more alcohol (love that markup), they're all hot under the collar to keep the bartenders nailed down behind the bar. Their theory is that if somebody walks in and doesn't see a bartender behind the bar at that exact fucking moment, then bar business will be negatively impacted. Now my opinion of the general public is pretty low, but even I think most people can process the fact that the bartender might have something else to do rather than stand there waiting for them.

But since in this corporate fantasy, the presence of a bartender behind the bar every moment of the night will have some magical increasing effect upon alcohol sales. So they've decreed that once the “to go specialist” goes home …. now the servers are responsible for answering the phone, taking orders, packing them up, running them out to the cars, and collecting payment. And since most people don't tip on to go orders, that means that the nights I close I get to do a shitload more work for … what's that? No pay? Fucking fabulous.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

That sounds kind of like what Chili's was doing before I left. Right after I left, they got rid of the bussers entirely, so servers were forced to to bus work for no extra pay. I think that's a bunch of crap. I would rather tip out $4 to a busser and get faster table turnover than have to do it all myself and miss out on another 5 tables. Oh, and hostesses were only there during peak times so you had to host for no extra pay while also bussing your tables and taking care of your guests. And then you got bitched at for not being able to accomplish it all within a "reasonable" time frame. Bleh.

undercoverwaitress said...

That is nuts. I hate how the only people in the restaurant industry who don't have clear job descriptions (in some restaurants) is the wait staff. Ask a cook to do something like answer the phone, and get raw chicken in your face. But a waitress? why, we are all janes of all trades, aren't we?

Chelle said...

This is exactly why I recently left my job as a hostess. They were just about to make me a server, like I was promised when I was hired, but only because three servers quit in the same week along with a kitchen worker. And suddenly, it was my job to do almost everything. I was supposed to be at my hostess stand at all times, answer phones, bus tables, get my side work done, help the servers by filling the water containers, polish silverware/glasses.

In other words, hell no.

Anonymous said...

There's a limit to what restaurants can legally require sub-minimum servers to do. If it doesn't relate to your station (yes they can make you clean ceiling tiles over your station), most other activities are off limits unless they pay you min. wage to do them.
I realize squawking can (illegally) cost you your job . . . but I don't know of any state where forcing a server to do the work of an hourly employee is legal.

DMT said...

Thats stupid if anything its going to make giving good service irrelevant. If you have to disappear to do the take away stuff on the side customers will get pissed off and not tip its as simple as, and if their policy is going to be depriving you of your main source of income then they should compensate you by giving you a proper wage

Anonymous said...

Speaking of no pay....I just got FIRED from a restaurant I just started at because I accidentally ordered the wrong item and refused to pay FULL RETAIL PRICE for it! Turns out, these buffoons have it printed in their employee manual that servers must pay for all misfires, all customer comps due to poor service and ALL breakage! I pointed out that this was clearly illegal, since both state and fed law dictate that pay deductions must be authorized in writing by employee and can ONLY be for that employee's benefit (e.g., health insurance). Didn't matter, I was canned on the spot for my refusal to pay up. I'm glad I stuck to my guns, though - if they treat me that way after just a few shifts (while not even fully trained on the POS), how are they gonna treat me later? Color me OUTTA THERE!!!

Dubael said...

Often corporate has no clue, they've never worked in a restaurant, they've never worked on a line. They've got some misguided idea that its all happy happy joy joy out there in service land a la Cheers or whatever piece of mind dross is pushed out there by HollyWeird onto TV land. I've worked as a doorman, server, line cook, prep, stewarding and even as a kitchen manager and Stewarding Manager, its all hard work, regardless of where you stand in the listings. You're on your feet, you have ridiculous expectations made of you and somehow, despite getting minimum or sub minimum wages, you're expected to pull a golden goose from some orifice every day. While I do believe that there is often no such thing as "that's not in my job description" when it comes to asking staff that are standing about to pitch in, however if you sent the only person whose job it actually is, home, guess what idiot, ITS NOW YOUR JOB. You made the call and now you have to pay the consequences. Having worked as a manager I knew that before I sent anyone home or let anyone off work early that I had better not need them again or else it was my responsibility to cover that job. You don't ask your staff to do what you're not willing AND ABLE to do yourself, that's just irresponsible.
I left the industry partly because I got tired of that nonsense.

I'm not seeing where I can leave my name et al, so if it doesn't give the option after I put in the 'word verification' you can find me under Dubael online, anonymity is not my game.