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.