I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

On Thursday night, I got to leave work at 5:15 to go to a Chamber of Commerce event, where we won a little award. 

First, it’s the first shift I’ve missed since I was sick in February.  

It was nice to leave work while it was still daylight outside.  

Second, the event ended early, so I was able to meet a friend and try out a new restaurant near my restaurant.  

It was really good.  Service was good.  Food even better.  Space quite nice.  

Over dinner last night we discussed the award we won.  

We got a silver award for best place for a FIRST DATE.

And that brought up the discussion about how expensive should a restaurant be on a first date.  

Should it be casual?  Inexpensive?  Do you throw caution to the wind and just go for it?

My young staff all said, Applebee’s is a good place for a first date.  

My older staff said absolutely not.

One person said, never go expensive until you know the deal is sealed.  

What are your thoughts? 

Do you go all out and spend money to impress them?

Or are you cautious and meet for coffee at Starbucks?

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

I’ve appreciated all the responses to my question about whether I did the right thing concerning the guy at table 36.  

I reached out to my friend who has helped guide me through the last 9 years. 

She tells me when I’m being a jerk.  

She tells me when I’m being too nice.  

She has helped me figure out how to be the manager I am today.  

On Thursday night I called her to say, hey, what was your thought.  

She had two things to say:

First.

The story I told verbally to her had more nuance than the story I told on the blog.  

This is probably true. 

I like to tell a story as much as I like to write a story.  

But.

Second and most importantly, she said that I needed to stay true to myself.  

She went on to say, it’s great to question your decision because it means you care about doing the right thing and you care about becoming better at your job.  But one of the first things I taught her as an AGM was to trust your gut.  And if your gut tells you something, most likely it’s the right thing to do.

She ended by saying, she wouldn’t like it if I stopped being me.  

I appreciated everything she said.  

And she is right.  In my first week as a GM, I was convinced to hire someone that I knew absolutely in my heart was not going to work out, and three weeks later I fired her.  

Trust your gut.