I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

On my way home at night I often chat with friends. 

Last night was my AGM from my first GM job.  Tonight was my AGM from two jobs ago.  Both conversations were similar.  We were commiserating on the challenges of being in the hospitality business right now.  Challenges with staffing, co-workers and grumpy guests. 

Last night’s conversation turned to a conversation she had had with her current boss and she says to me, I was able to say the things I needed to  say to him because when I was young and green you taught me to fend for myself.  She then goes on to embarrass with compliments she was giving me on our time together. 

The truth is, she was my employee, then my AGM, then my friend.  And she taught me far more than she will ever know, but it felt nice to have someone tell me that I helped them in their growth.

Tonight, on the way home I am chatting and I tell my old AGM that she needs a mentor, someone who can help her with the difficult times and she says, I did have that but you moved on. 

Once again, I was overcome with embarrassment as she complimented me on the things that I had taught her as a manager, AGM and friend.  As I said about the first night’s compliment she will never know all the things she taught me. 

The one lesson, I taught both of them, and I’ve taught many people is to know your role. 

I’ve told the following story so many times I should get paid for it. 

Years ago, I taught lighting design at a performing arts high school.  It was a dream job and I loved everything about it.  For those of my friends in theater education, the system was set up so that I not only got paid for teaching, but every single design I created was considered above and beyond and I received additional pay.  30 years ago, it was a great salary. 

I had amazing students and they have far surpassed anything I thought they might do.  They are working across the country in theaters from Broadway to Vegas. 

However, in my tenure there, I had a student say to me one day that he was annoyed that all I did was stand around telling other people what to do.  He was implying I was too lazy to pull out a wrench and hang a light myself. 

I don’t remember my response the first time this was said to me, but it became a conversation I had with this student many times. 

He wasn’t wrong.  I did just stand around telling people what to do.  But it was not because I was lazy, but how do you explain that to a 15 year old.

So after the 12,656 time I told him that I was going to let him run the crew next time we had a load in. 

Fast forward and we are loading in a show at a union theater.  The great thing about the school that I worked at was they had an agreement with the local IATSE union, that for every union worker we hired, we had a student attached to them.  This way, the union was protected, but our students got to learn with the best of the best. 

So I turned the show over to my student. 

We arrive at 8:00, as all load-ins start at 8:00.  I give the plans to the student and tell him to go for it.  I have my wrench attached to my belt and I’m ready to hang lights for the morning. 

And off we go. 

All is well for about 30 minutes.  I’m hanging my electric but I look around and there members of the electric team waiting for direction.  Both students and union members.

I go back to work.  Around 9:00, there are still people waiting for direction but hey I’m just a grunt and I go back to work, all the while with one eye of the crew and the student who was in charge.  

Around 9:30, I approach the student and ask if everything is okay.  I can tell he’s struggling but is too proud to say so.  I explain that I am here to just hang lights but there are three guys standing over there who are making a lot of money an hour and for the last 90 minutes they haven’t done anything.

He finally admits that he doesn’t know what to do next and that clearly it’s a lot harder to keep things moving than he thought and that he finally understood that I was not just standing around. 

I gave him my wrench and we traded places. 

I took over just telling people what to do. 

My first AGM I found on a ladder loading wine into storage and I asked her what she was doing.  She said she was stocking wine.  And I said, if you are doing that, why are we paying the three people over there who are watching you stock wine?

My last AGM and I had a phone call a week ago and she was saying she was too busy running food and bussing tables to get some tasks done and I shared my lighting story with her.

The moral of the story is that a GM is a big picture person.  You have to see everything, and if you are focusing on the little picture, then the picture gets fuzzy. 

I am not too good to bus a table.  I am not too good to run drinks.  I’m not too good to run food.  But 99% of the time, I have three people standing around waiting for direction who can do the task at hand allowing me to move on to find the next task at hand. 

It makes me proud that both of these AGM friends are doing so well in their careers, as are my lighting friends. 

Now, hang three source fours on that batten and bus table 21 and can you run get ice for the bar. 

And thank you for filling my water cup.