I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

I only had four notes on my paper today.

That’s maybe because we are less busy than two weeks ago.

Or maybe because it was a LOT of locals and regulars tonight.

Or maybe it’s because August is waning.  

Or maybe because I’m becoming immune to their power.  

Here are my four notes today, combined into one post.

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Do not.  And I repeat do not show up 45 minutes early for your reservation, get seated upon arrival and then not be happy with your table.   If you’d arrived at 7:30 as you scheduled, you’d have had a great table.  I’m sorry but I can’t move you, because I won’t have another table until 7:30.  

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Tonight, a food runner finds me at the host stand and says a woman is losing her mind because she’s sitting in the Adirondack chairs by the fire and the fire is going out and she is demanding someone do something about it.  It’s 7:45. We are in the middle of the second turn.  We are not short staffed, but we are NOT overstaffed tonight.  Who the fuck do you think has time to fix to stoke the fire.  You might, turn around, pick up a log and toss it on the fire.  

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I was walking through the Gallery tonight as a server was speaking to a diner, eating alone.  He was asking about her comment to the server that was in that section with him.  Seems the server had checked in on the lady after she got her food, inquiring as to how she liked her $140 snow-aged Wagyu strip loin.  

She exclaimed, OH MY GOD.  THIS IS AMAZING.  I THINK I MIGHT BE HIGH, JUST FROM EATING THIS.

And that my friends, is how you respond to eating some of the WORLD’S best beef.

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And to end my night, at 8:00 we sat a 12 top.  

Here’s the thing with large parties.  

Any party over 8 we require to use a pre-fixe menu.  

I can write more on that later.  

The menu is served family style.  We went to this system at the beginning of the spring and it’s worked quite well.  

I organize the reservations.  Get approval.  Book the table.  Put all the information concerning the reservation into Google Calendar so that Chef knows when they are coming and preps for them before service.  

I might add, that my manager nightmare is booking a party and forgetting to document it, and having a rehearsal dinner show up a week early for a table that I don’t have and food we didn’t order.

Tonight, we seat the 12 top, and the server goes up to Chef and says, the 12 top is seated, We’ll be ready to fire the first course in about 10 minutes.

And Chef looks concerned and says “What party of 12?”

And almost immediately, dings the bell twice, to summon me.  

He is perplexed and annoyed and a little cranky.  And I completely understand why.

He asks why the reservation wasn’t in the calendar for the tonight.

I assure him it is.

He pulls out his phone, opens the app and NOPE.  No reservation.

Fuck.  Fuck.  Fuck.

Did I really forget???

Here’s the thing.  I know I didn’t forget because I checked the notes on the reservation in the calendar today.  

I go to my computer, check the calendar, and it’s there.  I double check that it’s the right calendar.  I have my work calendar and personal calendar on my computer at home, and last week I updated my work calendar with a change to our cable bill.

Nope.  

Right calendar.  Right date.  Definitely there.

I still have no idea what happened.

I open the event.  I make a small change to it.  Save it.

And what do you know, Chef gets a notification.  

The event went off without a hitch.

After the food landed on the table, I went up to him and told him that I’d already packed my things, and put my yellow lamp in the car.

He looked very serious and said, great, that’ll save me from a conversation later.

Then he laughed.  

I have no idea what happened.

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That’s it.

That’s all my drama for today.

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

Server Edition!!!

Tonight started great. We were busy. People were tipping. My tables were turning. No problems with the kitchen. The bar was cranking out the drinks. Life was good.

And then at 8:45…

I was standing at the counter taking an order and the most intense pain ever cranked out behind my right eye.

Fuck.

I mentioned about a month ago that I’d started having cluster headaches. They are a type of migraine. The pain usually starts behind one eye and is intense.

Usually I know they are coming on because I get nauseous and a little dizzy. There was none of that tonight. One minute I felt fine the next mine I felt like my eye was going to pop out of my head.

Then it just became a low dull ache. That wouldn’t go away. I decided not to take the migraine medicine because it’s possible it can interact with one of my anti-depressants. So I toughed it out. For about two hours. And finally I said, fuck it. And I took the pill. The headache subsided some, but not much. I took a second one on the way home from work. The dull ache is still there but it’s much better.

I’ve realized since I went to the doctor a month or so ago, that I have had these for a long time. I just attributed them to sinus issues and after a few hours/days they went away. I guess I was wrong. I’m going to make an appointment to see the doctor again this week. I want to check in with him and make sure it’s nothing serious. I joked at work tonight when someone asked what was wrong, that I had a brain tumor. I don’t think that’s the case, but I’d like to at least talk to him about it. I also need to get more medicine. I took the last pill tonight. And if it were to not go away tonight or even worse come back tomorrow night I’m sort of fucked.

In all though it was a good night. I just put the waiting thing on auto pilot and toughed it out. I still outsold everyone else and made good money. Just think how great it could have been if I’d been feeling well.

Update:::

These headaches stopped when we moved to Maine. In fact, I’d forgotten that I got them until I read this post. I believe they were stress related and my day to day stress doesn’t really exist anymore.