It’s Closing Time...

It’s Closing Time

This has not happened to me in a while...BUT it does happen. (Read link above NOW!). I feel for the servers and I feel bad for managers who really have to endure the servers who ACTUALLY have to respond to the person who decides to stay at 9:58pm when a restaurant is set to close at 10pm. The guests tend to stay usually about an extra hour. Oh! and when the restaurant is corporate/chain/private group...etc... you must serve them with a smile. Your job may be on the line.

You will get a corporate person calling you first thing in the morning if you don't serve that guest...OR an Immediate e-mail to contact that horrible customer and apologize to them for being a douche.

Checking for Testicular Cancer! NSFW!

This is interesting... and might be the new trending thing for groups of guys to do. To help each other, of course!

Lego-style apartment transforms into infinite spaces

This is something I could live in... I want to try to do something like this to my room. Minus the kitchen and shower. Should be able to afford that...With the help of IKEA?!

Splitting Hairs!

Splitting Hairs... from your head to the food you eat at any restaurant.

I personally think hair found in your food isn't as gross as finding fruit flies in your liquor drink or just God Awful food!

Most of the time hair found in guests' food is there own. "How do you figure"?, you say...

Let's break it down... 1. Most kitchen staff are men who have really short or shaven heads. 2. Most restaurants require they wear a hat. 3. The servers are required to have their hair off their shoulders. (Although, I tend to catch a few touching their hair, which really pisses me off, and I immediately rush them to the restroom).

The funny thing is... most people find long women's hair wrapped around a chicken wing or at the bottom of their salad... How exactly does that happen? Unless someone in the plant who manufactures the raw meats or greens dropped hair out of their hairnets.

I just don't understand the logic... Is it that they don't want to pay for a full meal? Do they get off on writing bad Yelp reviews? Or just want to make the restaurant seem dirty? Either way, it's a growing issue. I keep looking at the hair and walk by the table and even though the guests swear it's not their hair (they must be color blind) it's an exact match.

As I sit at any restaurant or bar and watch other guests I see women are always playing with their hair even over their food. They are the ones who ALWAYS send back their food...from my experience...

Dare to Draw!

The photo attached is a quick sketch that my buddy Chris Murray quickly drew off a terrible facebook photo of mine.

Be sure to check out his blog and of course his talented art.

Lunch Tippers!

I have not served in about a year, but do manage and see that whether you are a on lunch or visit a restaurant during "lunch time", guests think that it's ok to TIP less.

Let me explain what happens in most restaurants during lunch time...

Most restaurants do their best, because management knows you have 30 minutes to an hour until you have to get back to work.

You are getting the same quality of service, while servers and especially cooks are supposed to be busting their ass to make sure you eat and get out in time.

I must say, there are times a ticket is missed or something may take longer (well done burger). Most of the time if this happens you get a comped meal.

Back to the subject, I don't understand why it's ok for guests to tip their server less than 20% just because it's lunch. Just my observation and opinion. 

On that same note, many restaurants have specials for lunch. For Example; 1/2 price burgers or just reduced prices on something on a certain day of the week. Many servers will put the original receipt in the check presenter to show the guests "what their bill should have been". Many guests tend to just tip on the discounted amount. 

I'd like the opinion of guests on what they think when they go out to eat and how they base what they are going to tip. 

Host/Server rants...

This afternoon as I was checking my Facebook, I came across a beautiful piece of work... It was a paragraph of what any server or host (those who actually have a brain) would think to themselves on any given day... but all summed up into one. 


My good friend Alycia shared the following with her friends: 
"I hate it when guests walk through a lobby full of people on a Friday night and says "you're not on a wait, right?". I hate it when guests don't read the menu. I hate it when I'm behind the host stand and guest ask me if they just seat themselves. I hate it when guests think they're being funny. I hate it that guests only want to talk to me when I'm running seven other tables. I hate it when parents let their kids make huge messes all over the table. I hate olives. I especially hate it when a guest walks in and refers to their child as "a half". I hate it when a guest complains to me about how their drink is not strong enough. I hate it when I ask a party if they're ready to order, they say yes and then keep on discussing what they want. I hate it that that always happens when I'm also running seven other tables. I hate it when I approach a table and they ignore me. I hate it even more when they call me back as I'm walking away. I hate it when a table tries to talk me when I'm clearly helping another table. It's a good thing that I actually like my jobs though."
Bravo! Love, Bravo! You made my day!

Source: Alycia Vasquez
Image: Dumb & Dumber. All Rights Reserved.

Nice people do exist...and get it!

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The Iowa couple behind a goodwill gesture that went viral said they did it to serve as an inspiration for others.

Makenzie Schultz and her husband, Steve, were celebrating their six-year wedding anniversary over the weekend at a sushi restaurant in Cedar Rapids.

But the service “sucked.”

Instead of taking to social media to complain, Makenzie posted a picture of the tip they left.  The image took the internet by storm gaining over a million likes and 147,000 shares.

Despite waiting for 20 minutes to get water, 40 minutes for an appetizer and over an hour for their entrée, the couple gave a $100 tip on a $66.65 bill.

“People all around us were making fun of the restaurant and how bad the service was,” the Facebook post explained.

That would usually mean pitiful tips for the server. However, the couple from Cedar Rapids blamed their hour-long wait for food on staffing.

“That’s when I told my husband, ‘He’s working so hard and you can tell he’s so stressed out but he’s not letting on to us.’ When he came to the table he was very sweet and nice,” Makenzie toldWHO-TV/Channel 13. “That is why it touched me. We have been in his shoes.”

Source: WHNT

Dumb Questions!

No one says it better than The Bitchy Waiter,
In "The 20 worst questions to ask your server".

There he shares the most common questions any current Front of House staff, but specifically servers endure on a daily basis.

One of my favorite is...
6. "What's taking my well-done burger so long, did they have to go kill the cow?"

Stupid questions like these drive me crazy. Especially because as stated by the bitchy waiter as servers hearing stupid lines a million times.

One thing that really drives me crazy is similar to number 12...

12. "Can I get a little extra liquor in my drink?"

...Can I get less ice in my drink?
The answer... sure but it doesn't mean you are getting more liquor! If anything you are getting more soda or juice.

Think before you ask. As most Front of House staff say, everyone should work in a restaurant once in their life.

Be sure to check out The Bitchy Waiter!

Nguyean Vietnamese

I was recommended to try this little place in Swampscott, Massachusetts. It was presented when you walked in as "fine dining". The chairs and table sets were perfect. The server was super sweet as well. I was rather hungry, so I ordered a salad, couple pieces of sushi and some Sirloin Steak Pho. It was absolutely amazing! Our server Veronica gave awesome service, including some recommendations and seemed so knowledgeable about the menu. It was so good I woke up wanting to eat more. The good thing is I took home the leftover broth.

It was weird because as a restaurant manager all I do is preach guest service. So, when I go out to eat all I do is judge and look for imperfections. I was going to do this at this restaurant, but the second the food arrived and I realized I was in good hands, I had a great time out; without judgement and just happy as can be with my party. I will definitely go back.