That's right. This is an instructional post, and I'm vowing here and now to keep it short & sweet (mostly because I have to clean the house before I get ready for work).
BE AWARE OF OPEN AND CLOSE TIMES
Yesterday was not my day. I came in early to run interviews for a new bartender, so I had the bar set up so that it would be pretty for my interviewees. I understand why a customer would take the set up bar to mean that I was open and serving (despite the restaurant being in complete disarray from breakfast) and want to order a drink. But even if I was open, the correct way to obtain an icy cold beverage is not to command, as you walk past my bar to a table, "bring me a diet coke." Um, no. Not at all. I told him politely that I was not, in fact, open yet, and so couldn't serve him a drink, to which he replied, "What? *hugely dramatic sigh* Fine, whatever."
Before anyone gets upset that I didn't just go ahead and serve him, let me explain. Before I can make any sales, at all, I have to count out the drawer on the cash register. Which means unlocking the drawer. And counting the money. And then I have to go retrieve my micros card so that I can ring it through. And before someone says I should have just given it to him, since it was only a soda, here's this: I haven't cleaned the gun yet, unlocked the soda machine, or assembled the spouts. I haven't unlocked the glassware cabinets or uncovered and checked the ice. Also, our open times are clearly posted, and he was about an hour and a half too early. So there.
Since yesterday was so long, I decided to break down my bar a little early (I kept serving until closing time, like always) so that I would have less to do at the end of the night and could get home on time. Every thing is looking good, I've closed out all of my checks and served all of my customers, so I print out my end of night report. For those who don't know, that is the tally of every sale you made all night, including your credit charges, cash totals and tips. It's the last thing you do before filling out paperwork at the end of the night. I love printing off my end of night report.
It is ten minutes to close when this guy walks up to the bar and asks if we're still serving. I tell him all we can really offer him this late is a sandwich, which is fine by him. He orders a Brie Burger, medium rare with fries and a beer. I hook him up, and instead of taking it to his room or eating quickly and leaving or whatever, he lingers. Did you hear that? Lingers. This asshat sat at my bar for forty minutes past close to daintily nibble on his sandwich. What. the. hell.
In the time it took him to eat a burger, I did all of my paperwork, set some stuff up for the next day, double checked the servers work, did my cash drop, hung out with the front desk girl and the head of housekeeping (haven't thought of a name for him yet), and gathered all of my things. I was an hour late getting home because this guy had to hang out and munch.
Just be aware of the open and close times at your restaurant, okay? Us servers have lives, too. I have two toddlers and a husband that I want to get home to at night, and the longer you linger, the less time I have with them before bed. I know that this is a hotel and your room is only a minute's walk, but my house is much farther than that, and I'd like to get to it.
Happy Lingering
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1 comment:
The only people I ever had sympathy for when I was opening or closing, were parents staying in town while their kids were getting Chemo at the Cancer Hospital down the street. I have a sick child myself and I know it's hard to conform to regular hours when dealing with doctors and hospitals. Plus, cafeteria food just sucks, I don't care what they do to try and make it "Trendy". But they were it. Most people would just saunter up and plop down without even asking if I was open or not, (usually not). If you want 24 hour service, go to the drive thru at Mickey D's, we have hours of operation for a reason!
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