I never share stories about my staff.

For several reasons.

First most of you know where I work so it would be easy to know who I’m talking about.

Also 90% of my staff reads this.

Also I don’t think it’s in my best interest to share that I’m going to fire Betty because she’s an idiot.

But I will talk about other people’s staff.

My Saturday night drives home is when I chat with a friend of mine who is also a GM.

She shared with me that she had to let an employee go this week.

The back story.

This friend and I worked together. She was my AGM when we worked together. We were working together when this employee was hired. She was never my favorite.

She has always been stubborn. Has always been vocal about things that displeased her. And she particularly didn’t like me.

So fast forward to last weekend. Their restaurant was busy. This employee was a food runner.

She picks up a tray and takes it into the dining room to deliver the food. She goes up to table 36 sets the tray on the stand and begins auctioning off the food.

At one point she has a salmon in her hand and she keeps asking who had the salmon? Who had the salmon? Who had the salmon?

Finally a very old man speaks up. He had the salmon. She sets it down. She delivers the other plates.

At last she picks up the tray turns around and says JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!!!

The whole table heard.

Actually most of the dining room heard.

Two days later she was called into the office.

Where my friend explained that she was being let go.

The employee was stunned. She knew she’d said it but didn’t know it was so loud. She didn’t cry but she was sad.

My friend then spent the next few minutes telling her how to get a new job and explaining to her to be careful what she said outside of her head.

Of course: Who hasn’t said something out loud that should have remained unsaid?

I once told a table that THEY needed their 35 cent tip more than I did. I did a lot of back pedaling when I was confronted by the manager.