Last week I wrote a post about how shall our community is.

It’s works for good as well.

Tonight a new server started.

He did great. The staff loved him.

Fun fact.

He worked at a very nice restaurant in Portland. I know several people who work there. I checked in with them.

They loved this guy.

And my staff loved him.

I’ll let you know how he works out.

I started hiring for the season in March.

I hired a bunch of servers and a few hosts.

One of those hosts started last Wednesday.

She was fine. But then missed the rest of the week.

She returned today for orientation. Then a training shift.

I won’t go into details but by 5:01 I knew it wasn’t going to work.

Orientation is all about culture. And family.

And I learned a long time ago. If someone is rude to me. They will be rude to their coworkers. They’ll be rude to the guests.

By 6:30 several employees had approached me to say this won’t work.

So at the end of her shift I told her it wasn’t a good fit so she didn’t need to come back.

She laughed and thought I was kidding.

She still thought I was kidding when the conversation was over.

I wish her well. But don’t be rude to the boss.

Let me tell you about my day before service.

I got to work at 12:30 today. I’m not expected until 1:00 but I’m seriously in the weeds.

I had four new employees starting. An interview. A meeting with chef. Phone calls. Emails. Printing to do.

I got to work at 12:30. I checked voicemails. I didn’t return them. I just wrote them down.

Then I spent 20 minutes printing documents for training.

Chef arrived at 1:10 for our Thursday meeting.

I sat down with my first cup of coffee to chat with him. I got ten minutes into my list when Andy arrived for his interview.

I told Andy I was running late. Finished up with chef.

I interview Andy. It’s 1:40. He’s young. But enthusiastic. I’m willing to give him a chance. I ask if he can stick around for my orientation. He says yes.

While I’ve been interviewing him my 2:00 orientation crew has been showing up.

I meet them in the lobby. There are three people there.

The two hosts I was expecting and a person who must be a server. She’s dressed very cute in a dress which confuses me as she should be in all black.

I thank them for being there.

I say I’m still waiting on one server. And that I hope she shows. I’m still confused.

I suggest we move to a big table.

We get there and suddenly two additional servers have shown up. I’m confused. Who’s the lady in the dress.

OH. MY. FUCKING. GOD.

IT’S RUTH!!!

Ruth Is a friend of Adam’s who is moving to the area. Just a few minutes away. I’ve met her a million times.

We’ve been talking about her working for me for months. She’s relocating from nyc.

We had planned to meet.

BUT.

In my head the meeting was Friday at 2:00. Based on our texts it was today.

I ask the group to wait and Ruth and I chat.

We discuss what she wants. What I’m hoping for.

I ask if she can stick around for my orientation.

However. I’m still embarrassed I didn’t recognize her.

Full disclosure.

She was in a dark room silhouetted by the bright outside light. And I’m an idiot. Other than that. All was good.

She stuck around. I conducted my orientation, which was a tour of the space and a chat about culture and hospitality.

I’m still embarrassed.

But. I’m looking forward to having her help. She’ll be a great addition to my team.

This is my life.

Weeds glorious weeds.

So many compliments tonight.

Lots and lots of summer regulars in tonight.

All of them filled with compliments of the tight ship I run.

I have no idea about that.

But I do have a good staff. And they do a great job. And it feels nice to have the recognition.

These are all regulars who’ve been gone for the winter.

Which brings me to Olivia.

She just returned from college. She worked on the host team when I started. I was afraid she wouldn’t return because they were beaten up on a lot last year.

As much as I tried to protect them.

She commented tonight that the regulars are so nice now. I replied, it’s because I spent the winter training them.

And it’s true.

I cracked my whip and they all fell into line.

Just before I started a guy yelled at the team. They weren’t much nicer to me.

Now the family and I are great friends. They follow the rules. I take of them. And they treated Olivia like gold on Saturday when they were in.

They have another reservation tomorrow.

I’ll keep you posted about how long the honeymoon lasts.

Meanwhile I’m glad Olivia is back. I’m glad the regulars know the rules.

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

I got to work today.

Hit okay on the machine.

27 messages.

By the time I finished calling people back, there were 7 more.

Finally I look at the reservations for tonight.

WTF?

An 8:30 reservation.

How did that happen.

I call the number!

A woman answers.

I ask if they can come in earlier. They agree to 7:45.

Perfect.

They arrive.

They are super nice. Very kind.

I get them seated.

30 minutes later I’m standing in the wait station….watching.

And the same couple calls me over.

They ask if I’m who called them today.

I say yes. It was me.

The woman says she just knew that I was calling to jet them know we couldn’t accommodate their allergy.

This led to a conversation about how as long as you aren’t vegan you are good to go in our restaurant. They let me know how much they are loving the experience.

I say I’ll check back in at the end of the night.

I do. They can’t express enough how happy they were.

I’m sure Bob who was waiting on them wanted nothing more than for me to go away and stop talking to them so he could go home.

They loved everything about their experience.

They introduced themselves. I gave them my card.

When they were finally leaning, I stopped them at the door to say what a pleasure it had been to chat with them.

As awful as the last 24 hours had been it was affirming to meet someone nice.

Plus the man had a story I’ll share tomorrow.

Meanwhile. Be kind. If given the choice.

Akways be kind.

Ten years ago today I waited tables for the last time. I didn’t know at the time it would be the last time but miracle of miracles it was.

However, it is truly a respectable career. I know so many people my age who are career servers. They own homes, are putting their kids through college, planning for retirement.

And all of the people I know make a fuck ton more money than I do. I know what my staff makes. I can only imagine what servers at busier restaurants are making.

I applaud their ability to show up every day with a smile on their face. To show up and treat hateful people with kindness. To keep their wits about them. To do what they do.

I’m glad I don’t wait tables anymore. Management suits me better.

But don’t ever discount the way a person makes a living.

I certainly don’t.

Dear Jeff,

I just got off the phone with the studio. They want me to co-teach/co-lead retreats this summer and want to add more classes to my schedule which are mid day and conflict with scheduling at the restaurant. The added retreats/classes would only leave Tuesdays available for the restaurant.

With that being said, I I’ll have to unfortunately decline the job offer at this time. I know it isn’t reasonable for someone to work one day a week/pick up shifts sporadically.

I appreciate your time and the offer. I really enjoyed meeting you and chatting. I hope your summer goes fantastic and I will be sure to come and enjoy the patio when I can!

Sorry again for the last minute email.

---

Dear Jeff.

Thank you so much for your time and presence with me yesterday. I enjoyed our time talking about the opportunity to serve on your team.

It’s with regrets I write. After careful consideration I’m surprised to find that I’m oscillating on whether even 3 shifts is doable for me. And 1 (possibly picking up another shift, to make 2 as ad hoc) likely isn’t enough for me to stay current on what I’ve learned or to offer you what you need for a commitment.

And, it occurred to me as I was driving home from our visit, that this weekend marks the 2 week window of which I need to remain healthy and covid-free before I leave the country. (It seems covid is everywhere right now, affecting more friends and family these past couple weeks than I could count all total, since the beginning of pandemic? So strange.) I can’t risk an infection prior-to, or worse – getting to Scotland and being marooned there. (True story: Chase’s Dad- this same scenario just happened 1 week ago, screwed in Ireland.) So, it’s a tremendous ask to begin after returning from Scotland. (Mid June).

I feel very conditional presenting this to you, and yet, it’s what will work best for me – But I need to really honor that for myself. And Jeff, I completely honor that this in total wouldn’t work for you, as you really need someone who can jump right in an take flight.

I think it’s best that I step back, for you to find another candidate who can better fulfill your needs, and better support a full head count.

I’m surprised and disappointed that this realization has surfaced. I’m so so sorry. Thank you for your extremely kind invite to take a day to settle into a decision that feels right. I appreciate that more than I can express.

You are lovely, and I’ve loved every interaction with you– both as a customer and potential staff. Your folks are lucky to be led by your example.

Wishing you all the very best! I look forward to seeing you again.

———————————-

Dear Jeff.

Happy Monday. Hope you are having a great start to your week. I wanted to send this email to first off thank you for your time yesterday and additionally thank you for the job offer. At this time I will not be joining the team. I do however hope to be able to leave the door open, to reapply later in the summer, as right now my schedule is very tight. I hope you understand.
Once again, thank you for your time and consideration.

___________________

I have received 11 of these emails this year.

11 people I have offered a job to.

11 people I’ve spent 45+ minutes with.

11 of these emails.

All of these women were very sweet. Potentially very good employees. Women who did not start.

It’s frustrating.

It’s discouraging.

It pisses me off.

Alas.

We move on.

Salaries.

There have been lots of conversations about salaries in the news lately. Mostly about how they need to increase and that the numbers be shared.

Which leads me to a post.

I had dinner tonight at a restaurant. We love dining there. The service is always amazing. The food even better.

One of the things we talked about tonight is our interviews. And questions we ask, and questions the hopeful employee asks.

One question we both get asked is how much should I expect to make.

It used to annoy me.

I used to worry that the person I’m interviewing is just after the money. I want to hire people who are passionate. People who love serving. Who embrace what they do.

I’ve known people who chase the money. Can I make $5 more a shift there. $15 dollars a shift there.

These are people who are never happy. They never make enough. They jump ship at the drop of a hat. Forgetting, all the perks at their current job.

Meanwhile,

I was asked tonight how I answer the question.

It no longer annoys me. It’s legit.

My response informed him as to why my interviews are 45+ minutes.

I tell people it’s a complicated answer.

Part me. Part them. Part luck. Part bullshit.

It’s based on the time of the year. Day of the week.

Ultimately though. It’s up to them.

I will do my best to make sure there are butts in seats. I can’t control what happens after that.

There will be moms who come in with four kids, order 2 burgers then top $100 because they feel bad for the server.

There will be a very wealthy family who tips okay, but not on wine.

There will be four business men who are only allowed to tip 18%.

There will be locals who tip the check.

Most of my servers make 23, 24, 25 percent each night. If you’re good. You’ll do well.

It’s ultimately up to them to work the room.

Thank you for coming in. I have an other interview.

I just posted something about how small my town is.

This was prompted by an application I got today.

A man emailed me his resume. He got my information at the bar. On Saturday night. During service. At 8:00. After asking if he could speak to me about a job.

Read the room folks.

If you can’t read the room then you can’t work for me. Reading the room is part of the job.

Seriously the bartender walked up to me at 8:00 on Saturday night to see if I had time to chat with someone about a job.

We were slowing down. But I was fucking exhausted. It was a long service.

I handed the bartender my card and said tell him to email me.

And he did.

Turns out he worked at a restaurant I’m very familiar with. Jason is friends with several employees there. I texted Jason to do a background check.

He didn’t need to ask anyone. He’d applied with him as well. Rumor is that he’s crazy. I don’t have room for any more crazy people. I’m at my quota.

Add to that his inability to read the room.

I hear Applebee’s out by the mall is hiring.

I live in a small city. We’ll my little town is tiny. But the metropolitan area is also small.

However, we are known for our food scene. Our restaurants receive national recognition yearly.

Long story short. We got good food. Name a type of food and we rival any city in the us.

However. It is a small city.

So.

Every week I get resumes from people who have worked at restaurants that I know people at.

Suzy was a server here.

Jason was a server there.

Mark was a line cook here.

Pam was a bartender there.

So.

When I got a resume today from a guy who had worked at a restaurant I know someone at…I texted the manager.

No no no. He’s fucking crazy.

When Jasom got a resume from someone who used to cook at the pub I managed he texted to see if he should be interviewed. I said only if you want a side of sexual harassment with the hire.

Last week I hired a guy who worked at a restaurant where someone I know worked who said he was great.

A month ago I got four calls from people I know asking about a girl who had worked for me twice. Two different restaurants.

Um. No.

This girl comes with drama. Lots and lots and lots of drama.

So.

Remember.

Don’t burn bridges.

Don’t assume when you walk away the bridge won’t follow you.

It truly is a small town. Small area.