I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

Home Edition:

Xmas 2009: Our first Xmas together

Santa’s little helper at work…

The view of our apartment from the front door.

And the stocking were hung by the chimney with care…

A view from the kitchen…

We went a little crazy with the poinsettias.

Little known facts:  They are not poisonous.  90% of all poinsettias are exported from the US.  California grows the most.

It’s fun to cozy up next to the fire and sip hot chocolate…

Adam’s Memaw made him this stocking.

In the foreground the stocking I grew up with.  In the background the stocking Adam’s mom made for him.

My aluminum Christmas Tree with vintage ornaments.

I love my plastic vintage light-up snowmen.

Martha Stewart ain’t got nothing on us.  Check out this Frosty Winter garland.

I’m the lighting designer but it was Adam who solved the problem of lighting the garland…we hid an LED battery operated light on the top of the fireplace…it was subtle yet perfect.

Our Christmas Party Spread.

This is just a little glimpse into the home Adam and I have created together.

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

Tonight, a food runner come to check in with me to say goodbye.

I require everyone and I do mean everyone to check in with me before they leave.  NOT just when they give me their cashout.  When they are done with side work, have said their goodbyes and are exiting the building, come say good night.

This started when I was working at my first GM job.  I’d gone upstairs to my office, which was in a hotel, secluded from the dining room and kitchen.  We’d been open about 3 weeks and I was in the weeds.  I was up there for about 3 hours trying to catch up, thinking I was in the building alone.  In fact, when I went upstairs, I thought everyone was gone.  

I finish up, turn off the lights and head down stairs and I have the shit scared out of me, because there are two servers sitting in the lobby of the hotel just shooting the shit.  I didn’t care that they were there, I just thought everyone was gone.

From that moment, you must, must, must say goodby when you leave.  

Back to the food runner.

It was his last shift until after our 23 day break.  

I offer him my hand to shake, and he shakes it.  

It was a less than stellar handshake.  

And I gave him my speech.  He is small of stature, but I explained that doesn’t matter.  Shake the hand like you are an A type Alpha dog.  People judge you on your hand shake.  Look the person in the eye, grab the hand firmly and shake.  

I told him that I’d given this speech a 100 times and told him to remember it for the rest of his life.  Then I had him shake Chef’s hand, who explained that when shaking someone’s hand on a deal to remember it’s your word and your honor and to own that shit.

I shook his hand one more time and this time it was perfect, wished him a Merry Christmas and New Year’s and sent him on his way. 

I hope he remembers the lesson.  

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

About a month ago, a charity that Adam and I worked with that helps find homes for cats, posted that they were looking for donations for an auction event, to help fund their work. 

Of course, we helped and we both provided gift cards to our restaurants for them to auction.  

Fast forward to Thursday night.  

A guest comes up to ask if I’m Jeff and she introduces herself as one of the people in charge of the auction and lets me know that she bid on and won the gift card to my restaurant.  

We chatted for about 15 minutes, about their work, the restaurant, how happy we are with our cats, and how much we were glad we could help, how much they are enjoying their meals and how happy they will be to bring friends back.  

She goes back to finish dinner.  

About an hour later, she and her daughter leave, once again, raving about the meal, the service etc. 

The next day we get a survey from them.  They gave us an 80%. 

They knocked points off for the quality of the food and the atmosphere.  

I of course, respect their opinion.  We are not for everyone.  

However, in this instance, it might have been wise to keep it to yourself, because I gave that meal away for free.  A simple, we loved it would have sufficed.  

It really makes me re-think whether I’d donate a gift card to an organization that thinks that we are just average.  

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

Server Edition!!!

It’s cold here.

I didn’t know it was going to be cold.

When I left for work it was not cold.

I went to work wearing a light jacket.

I didn’t think I was going to make it home tonight as I walked from the subway. It’s fucking cold.

Tomorrow I will watch NY 1 before I leave the house.

Thank god, we were finally busy tonight. And thank god, people were finally tipping. I walked with 15% of my sales tonight and considering I tipped out 5% of my sales, that means at the end of the night I had made 20%. Which is impressive because I know that I was stiffed on a 150 dollar check and a 125 dollar check. That means I was over tipped enough to make up for the 60 dollar tip I didn’t get.

Something happened tonight that happens a lot at work.
I dropped off the check for a foreign couple. I picked up their credit card a few minutes later, ran it and returned it to them. When I returned to the table, they were gone but they’d left cash with their credit card slip. And they had tipped 15 dollars, but they also put 15 dollars on the tip part of the credit card receipt. For the life of me I can’t figure out why they do this. They have to know they’ll be charged the total that’s written in the total line of the card. In fact, I have to close it out to the total. I do have to admit that most of us don’t mind when this happens because you get double tipped, but as I said I can’t for the life of me figure out why they do this.

On the same note:

When you go out to eat, don’t mistakenly take the credit card receipt with you. If you leave with the signed copy, the waiter gets nothing. Also check your math. If you add your tip to the total and miss carrying the one the waiter might end up being shorted on their tip. Of course, don’t be upset if you carry the one too many times and you double tip the waiter. We are required to close the check out to the total on the slip.

Oh.

And I had another walk out tonight. I went to get their check to transfer it to the bar and when I returned, they were gone. Luckily management doesn’t seem to get upset when it happens in cocktails. I think it’s because we deal with so many customers. I’m starting to think that I should ask for a credit card to run a tab on people at my counters. The weird thing about this is that I’ve waited tables in a million places for a million years and I never had a walkout till I started this job.

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

My favorite survey result ever: 

First:

My FAVORITE steak restaurant in the 13 countries I’ve been to. Most tender and flavorful steak. Excellent service. Lovely atmosphere. 

Final comment:  

There is something the steak is cooked with that makes me and my dinner partner regularly have to use the bathroom… quickly, uncomfortably. Happens every time we come. The food is so good that we continue to come, but if there were a way to figure out what it is, that would be truly awesome.

No further comment is needed.  

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

I have three more working days until I am off for 23 days. I mentioned this earlier in the week.

I also know that I mentioned this fact about a month ago, but I am not sure how many people caught it, but at the end of the month, Adam and I are flying to Argentina to meet Chef, where we are going to do a culinary exploration of Buenos Aires.

We will be there for New Year’s and have reservations for one of the best steak houses in the city. Chef is using this time to do research for the menu for next summer.

We are super excited, and I have already scheduled a chance to sing Don’t Cry for Me Argentina on the balcony of the Casa Rosada. It won’t be easy!!!

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

I was hanging out at the host stand tonight.  My knee is still bothering me and I can stand there, without being too much in the way. 

I’m chatting with my host, and she says that she went to 8 stores looking for a wreath hanger today.

I ask her to repeat herself.

She says, she went to 8 stores looking for a wreath hanger today.

Without hesitation, I say, I HAVE A WREATH HANGER IN MY CAR!!!

She asks me to repeat myself.

I say, I have a wreath hanger in my car.  I put in there last January, when we undecorated at work.  It’s in my backseat.

She says, you have to be fucking kidding me.

I assure her that I am not kidding.

She then says, you aren’t just a general manager, you are a GENERAL MAN!

I laugh and tell her to get my keys when she’s leaving and she can get it, as long as I get it back in January.

She says okay.

Then promptly left without it.

So, if you need a wreath hanger. 

It’s in the back seat of my car. 

The following is a recent review we got on Yelp about 45 minutes after they dined with us:

I dined here recently with a party of three for on a Sunday, just as they opened for their first seating. The ambiance was fantastic, but the greeting was less than warm. The assistant host was unable to answer our questions and did not to know if they had a coat room or place to hang our jackets. Service would have been acceptable had the price have everything been cut in half. Two of the three steaks we ordered were not to temperature, the filet was over the $160 wagyu was raw. On top of that, they wagyu which claimed to be an A5 was certainly not. The porterhouse which was listed as a 22oz on the menu was less than an inch thick. The backwaiter did not know the seat numbers and auctioned off the food.

I think it was my fault for ordering an “A5 wagyu ribeye” for $160, and I should have known it wouldn’t be what it was claiming. Coming in on a Sunday may have been a mistake as well.

Overall, it was a disappointing experience and for $500, I expected much more. There are many better restaurants just miles away, but if you like steak, you may enjoy the meal.

This was the survey they left us about 15 minutes after they dined with us?

The facility was lovely, the welcome, ok. The service missed on a couple of points and, we were surprised at the wagyu appearance and size and it was undercooked. The filet was over cooked, looking back we may have been served the wrong meals but the sides were correct. When served the meals they were auctioned at the table, again surprised that at this level the waitstaff was not communicating who ordered what. We had food to take home and boxed that ourselves, I expect that is your policy and had to ask for a bag. One of our desserts ordered to share and served with 2 spoons. It was cheesecake, I expected forks and maybe an extra plate. I would say we were underwhelmed.

______________________

I want to be these people.

I want my life to be so perfect, that I have to search for things to complain about.

The less than warm greeting was me telling the guy who arrived first at 4:58 that he couldn’t get a drink at the bar because we had reservations. He huffed and puffed and was seated with the rest of his party at 5:03, when they arrived. We offered to seat him first when he arrived.

There is no assistant host on Sunday. They asked a food runner, who’s in her second week about a coat room. We do not have one.

WE ARE NOT A FINE DINING RESTAURANT.

We are a restaurant that serves fine food, but we don’t operate under the assumption that we will be fine dining. Do we follow steps of service, absolutely. But at no point, are we fine dining.

While we are on the subject, we don’t have back waiters. And I find it suspect that every other table got great service that night, meanwhile your experience was a disaster.

As for your steaks being under/overcooked…it might have been the case, but I assure you the Wagyu was not raw, and even Michelen star restaurants make mistakes. Did you let us know. Did you offer us the chance to make it right?

The Waygu is A5. Yes, it costs less than in Boston/LA/New York City. If we charged what we should to meet the margins expected it would be around $225 and we aren’t sure rural Maine can command that price. However, I assure you that it is indeed A5, and I assure you that you are the first person to complain about the quality. And the porterhouse doesn’t claim to be 22 oz. It’s 20 oz and lets not forget it has a huge bone in the middle of it.

I have no idea what the Sunday remark means. The chef cooks every night. I am there, every night. The staff on Sundays has been with me for almost 2 years.

As for better restaurants in the area. Why, yes. We are surrounded by AMAZING restuarants. You sum it up nicely. If you like steak you may enjoy the meal.

That is so true. Just like if you like Chinese food, then you are more likely to enjoy the Chinese restaurant. If you like seafood, you are more likely to enjoy the seafood restaurant.

As for fine dining, it doesn’t exist in our area. It just doesn’t. You want fine dining steak house service, you need to go to NYC or Boston or LA and I promise you the back waiter might know about coat check, but your steak will NEVER be as good as ours.

And oh, the horror of being served cheesecake with a spoon. The horror. The humanity of it all. All the guests are screaming around here.

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

Hi. Thank you for calling The Restaurant, how may I help you.

Hi, I have a reservation there tomorrow night and I was wondering what the dress code was?

We get this questions a lot, but I assure you that it’s quite casual.

So, I can wear jeans.  

Uhm. Yes. It’s casual.  

She realized how silly the question had been and laughed about it.  

Once last summer, I told someone that it was quite formal. White tie and tails only.  

I’m pretty sure that the only restaurant, in the whole state of Maine that is formal, is The Barn across town. And they’ve dropped their jacket requirement, as far as I know.

Are there any formal restaurant in our great state?

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

A server who works for me gave me a Christmas present today.

I’d say she gets me.