I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

A food runner, who is 16, gave his notice last week.  

Tonight, was his last night.

He’s a sweet kid, but his job, school, life were too much for him to keep up with.  

So, he made the decision to leave the job.

He was nervous when he told me.  

I assured him that he was not the first person to give notice, and although I’d be sad to see him go, and he’d be missed, and we wanted nothing but the best for him

At the end of his shift tonight, he came up to say his final goodbye.

I stuck out my hand to shake his.  

He offered me his and we shook.

I told him he’d be missed, but ended by saying can we do that again?

I stuck out my hand, and said as he reached for mine, to grab it firmly this time.

The repeat handshake was great.  

I told him to always grip the hand firmly and look the person he is shaking with in the eye.

I said to remember this for today, and for every hand he shakes from now on.

It was a very sweet moment.

He then went down the line with the other food runners practicing his new found handshake.

This is not the first time I’ve had this conversation with a 16 year.  

Both boys and girls.  

I hope he carries this with him.  

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

I was on the door tonight, as I am every Saturday night.

We were busy tonight.  Summer busy.

Around 5:20 the phone rings, and no one is standing in front of me so I answer it.

Hello, thank you for calling the restaurant.  How may I help you?

A voice on the other end says, Hey, is Jeff around?

It’s Saturday night.  Of course, I am around.  However, I do not have time to take a phone call.  Anyone calling me wants something and I can’t be on the phone for 10 minutes helping.

I say, Jeff is here but he can’t come to the phone.  

The person says, are you the maitre’d?  

I say, I am the host.

He now wants to know my name.  

I say Jason.

He begins, by telling me who he is. 

He was part of a party of 5 that were in earlier in the week.  

He proceeds to tell me that he is calling because collegues of his are coming in to sit at the bar, and he wants to make sure they are taken care of.

I have no idea what he means, or wants.

I listen.  He keeps talking.

I ask who’s name the reservation is under, and he gives it to me.  I can’t find it.  

He continues.

I listen, finally interrupt and say I’ll pass along message to Jeff and Chef.

We hang up.

I’m sure he knew it was me.

But who calls on a Saturday night, to do this.

And what does he expect me to do?  Short of comping their meal, the service he will get will the same service we off every night, which is exemplary.  

I’m pretty sure that the people he was calling about showed up without a reservation at 6:30. They had made their reservation for last night and no showed.  

I got them seated, but once again was not sure it was them.  They said on the way out they’d had a great time.  

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

I was trying to think tonight when and if I’ve ever told someone that they were bad at their job.  

Either someone I know or a complete stranger.  

I suppose in my misguided youth it might have happened, like 20 plus years ago.  

As a manager, I don’t even remember telling someone this. I’ve told people that I don’t think it’s a good fit. Or that they aren’t cut out for the volume. Or the stress. Or the hours.  

But to actually say the words, YOU ARE BAD AT YOUR JOB.  

I can’t recall ever saying that.  

Fun fact though.  

I remember the last time someone said it to me.

7:43 p.m. EDT.  

Why you ask?  

Because I wasn’t more compassionate when a 60-year old woman got angry that I forgot to tell a server that there was a birthday at her table.

At 7:00 tonight a woman walks up to the host stand, interrupts to say, I can’t get my waiter’s attention without everyone noticing. We have a birthday at our table and I want to make sure there is a candle in the dessert.  

I ask which table, say okay, I’ll take care of it, and go back to hosting.  

Fast forward to 7:30 and I’m at the host stand, with my nose in the I-pad, trying to fix a mistake that I made. Tables aren’t turning as quickly as I need them to, and people are arriving early for their reservations and I’m trying to find a spot for everyone.  

I’m in the middle of this when someone says, FIVE DESSERTS AND NOT ONE CANDLE.  

I look up confused. I’m trying to figure out what is happening, when she repeats herself.

FIVE DESSERTS AND NOT ONE CANDLE.  

As she finishes saying it the second time, I realize who she is.

I say, I’m so sorry. Let me check into that for you.

She goes on to say how disappointed she is in the entire experience.  

I apologize and she goes back to the table continuing to express her dismay.  

I get the people seated that need to be seated, and head into the dining room. I walk by the server who is being spoken to by the guest. I hear him say, here’s the manager if you want to speak with him.

I walk up and without a word she says, 5 desserts and not one candle. Some of these desserts need to be taken off the check.  

We all know how I feel about someone demanding I comp something.

I apologize again for the candles and say, did you get the desserts? Did you eat the desserts? Then I’m sorry I’m not taking them off the check.

She tells me that she can’t believe that she is being spoken to like this. She informs me that she comes here all the time. She tells me I should be ashamed of myself. And walks away.

She takes two steps, looks back at me and says don’t look at me like that.

I’m confused and say like what.

She says in that condescending way. She then shouts something I can’t hear so everyone will know she is upset.  

Everyone is looking at her.  

Ugh.  

I plant myself at the door, because I know what is coming.  

It’s around 7:45 when they leave.

Four of them march past me without even a glance.  

One of them lingers behind to say, You should really be ashamed of how you acted tonight. You were rude and condescending.

I’m truly confused as to how my forgetting a birthday candle has resulted in this.  

I apologize and ask him to explain how I was rude and condescending.  

He starts telling me how I was rude to the woman in the dining room, but I interrupt and say that he was nowhere in sight when I spoke to the woman so he’d have no idea what was said.  

I should have been more contrite. I know I should but once again, I’m wondering how a birthday candle has gotten us here.  

He continues saying, that you should be ashamed of how you behaved and you are a bad manager.

He continues.

He says, she asked you for a candle and you didn’t tell the waiter and then you said it wasn’t your fault.  

I actually never said it was not my fault. I said I’d check into it. Truth is I could have told someone else to let the server know. It could have been a 1000 different things.  

He tells me I’m a bad manager 3 or 4 times. Reminds me that they come here all the time. And storms out.  

Once again. I should have been more contrite.  

But here’s the thing. These are 60-year old’s losing their mind over a candle.  

I have to wonder how they react when something really bad happens like getting foam on their latte or Diet Coke instead of regular.  

Yes, I dropped the ball. But I was pulled into 12 different directions tonight. And things happen. It was a candle.  

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. If you take me to dinner on my birthday, you do not have to secretly tell the server to make sure I get a candle. It’s not a secret. It’s my birthday. I know it’s my birthday. You don’t even need the candle.  

Tell your person whose birthday you are celebrating that you love them and you are glad they are born.  

That it all. 

Instead. Tonight.  

You ruined their birthday, by making it about you.  

They’d have never known anything about it.  

But alas.

Now they do.  

And do you know how they are going to remember their birthday.  

Not the delicious meal they had.

Not the great service.

Not the great company.

Not the great experience.

Thanks to you the memory of this birthday will be forever burned into their memory as the night the manager forgot the birthday candle.

They told the server they were sorry I was his manager.  

No matter how many times this happens it never feels good. I feel like I’ve been hit with a truck. It’s emotionally exhausting.  

The saving grace, was the woman who witnessed the exchange with the man at the host stand, told my host that he was a bad, bad, human. That we are an excellent restaurant and knock it out of the park every single time.  

My head hurts now. Just reliving this.  

PS. If you come here all the time. You’d have said, Jeff, can you tell Andy to put a candle in one of the desserts we ordered. But alas you do not come here all the time. This is also proven by the fact that the history on the reservation shows that this was your first visit.  

Not that it matters.  

It does not.

I truly am sorry that I forgot the candle.  

But to quote Jen, “there are fucking people literally dying in the world right now”.

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

We cook with wood fire at our restaurant.

So the dominant, more noticeable smell is the smoky smell of meat cooking. It’s especially noticeable at 5:00 when the grills are still getting up to temperature and the first orders are being prepared.

However, every night at 5:00, I get asked what the wonderful smell in the lobby is.

I used to reply that it was the smell of the wood smoke.

But I was always told no, this has vanilla in it.

It took me about 9 months to discover that it’s the automatic air freshener in the lady’s restroom, which is off the lobby.  

It happened again tonight.  

It is a nice smell.

However, tonight reminded me of a story from back in the summer.

A 5-top was seated at table 37. A family. Three kids. The father is from South America.

He asks his server about half way through the evening what the scent is we use in the men’s room. It reminds him of his home in South America.  

The server comes to me to ask me about it.  

I am surprised.  

The men’s room always smells of piss. (I think of Sweeney Todd as I write this). Our urinal is poorly designed, or the men have bad aim, and by 6:00 there is always the lingering smell of piss. It’s so bad that the owner has spoken with his plumber several times about getting a new urinal.  

When the server asks me, I am at a loss as to what to say.  

It’s truly the smell of pee and the same vanilla scented air freshener from the women’s room.  

I tell her to let him know its just the air freshener we use.

She comes back later and says the guest thought maybe our chef ordered a scent from his home town in South America to give the restaurant a more authentic smell.  

I chuckle as I am taken back to the state candles that were for sale on line a few years ago. The smell of tobacco, bourbon and regret, I think was the Kentucky smell. Maine was pine, lobster and sweaty tourists. California was red wine, salt air and car exhaust.  

Perhaps we should bottle our men’s room scent and start an Etsy page with it. 

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

It is warm in Maine right now.  

Unseasonably warm.  

It will be in the 70’s this weekend, with the potential to break records.  

Anyone want to guess how many phone calls I fielded today about the patio?  

I get it.  

Everyone in Maine wants to be outside, because winter is coming. 

But keeping a patio open, or reopening a patio is not an easy task.

First, we closed out patio early this year not because of discomfort of the guest, but because we got a number of complaints about cold food. When it’s 54* outside, and you drop mashed potatoes at the table, they are cold in about 60 seconds. The same is true of the steak you ordered. When people began to complain, in order to maintain quality, we closed the patio.  

Closing out patio, isn’t just about the act of not seating it. It has to be weatherized. The plumbing has to be drained. The bar has to be emptied. The furniture stored.  

We couldn’t open our patio even if we wanted to.

And then there is staffing.  

We have a 100-seat patio, do I just schedule 3 people daily, just in case the weather is nice? What do I do with them when it’s 45* outside? It also requires an extra host and extra food runners.  

So I understand your wanting to be outside…

But from a business standpoint, it’s does not make good business sense, to be on call for weather that may not happen.  

I’ll be jealous of all of you eating outside on Saturday and Sunday, but I’ll be happy to not have the stress of figuring out how to cover the staffing needs to have out patio open. 

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

This is a public service announcement.

One I think I’ve done before, but after 550+ posts, it’s hard to remember.

When you pay your check with a gift card that covers a portion of the check.  

YOU MUST TIP ON THE WHOLE CHECK, NOT THE REMNANTS OF THE CHECK AFTER THE GIFT CARD!!!

So, if you are paying attention.

The check is $248.  You have a $100 gift card.  That leaves a balance of $148.  The correct gratuity is:  ________________???

You are right.  

$50.  

It is NOT.  

$30.  

This practice can also be followed when paying part of a check with cash.

And fun fact:

The fact that you had a martini, half a bottle of wine and a Scotch neat does not excuse your math abilities.  

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

I scheduled 9 interviews yesterday.

5 people showed up. Which is really not so bad a statistic.

My 3:00 is waiting on the sofa when I finish up my 2:30.

I say goodbye to him and introduce myself to her.

I take her into the dining room.

We get settled and I ask her to tell me about herself.

I always start my interviews this way.

What happens next is very telling.

It goes one of two ways.

Either they launch into their work history.

Or.

They begin telling me about themselves the person.

I like the latter. Your work history is on the resume I’m holding.

I am hiring a person. Not just the resume.

I’ve passed on many people who have the experience but not the personality.

I’ve hired personality without experience because most times that can be taught.

So I say, tell me about yourself.

She says that she is 15, in high school, and looking for a part time job. She continues, that she likes hanging out with her friends, going to concerts and playing tennis.

I ask her what kind of music she likes.

Without a beat, she says that she is really into Harry Styles these days. She really likes his music and that he is great in concert.

Of course, she is. She’s 15. I wonder if I ever told anyone I was into Madonna?

I tell her that I’m quite fond of his new song, Songs for a Sushi Restaurant.

She agrees that it’s a good song.

She is very sweet. And perfect for the job.

But I can’t hire her until she is 16. In Maine, 15-year-olds have to be off the clock by 9:00 p.m. And when you are only open for dinner, it sucks when your staff clocks out 45 minutes before the last meal is served.

I tell her this. But I follow it up with the fact that I think she’d be a great addition to our team. I give her my card and tell her to reach out after the new year, when she is 16 and I’d be happy to chat again, if she is still looking.

She is super understanding.

She takes my card and tells me I’ll hear from her soon.

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

At 5:35, two women walk into the lobby. I greet them and ask if they have a reservation.

They do not.  

They are there to buy a gift card. And have a drink.

I explain that I can get them a gift card, but the only two seats I have at the bar are for 2 people who will be in at 5:45.

I send a food runner in to process the gift card purchase.  

I wait at the door.

They keep asking if they can get a drink. To be honest they are being annoying.

Can we please.? 

We’ll be fast.

On. And On. And On.

Annoying.

Finally, one of them says, what if it’s because I have a broken heart?  

I tell her I’ve heard that before.  

It’s 5:40 and they are still begging.

At one point the one with a broken heart says it again.

I say, seriously….do you have a broken heart?

She says, not me, my boyfriend. He’s having open heart surgery on Monday and I need a drink.

I am moved. I take them in. Seat them at the two empty seats. Tell the bartender they are going to have a quick drink because they have a broken heart.  

Of course, the guests that reserved those seats come in 45 seconds later.  

I tell them I can get them seated in just a few minutes.

They get comfortable in the lobby.  

I ask if they are local or from away. A question I ask a million times a night. 

They are from Mass, but have a house here.  

We chat, they ask if I’m from here.  

I tell them the 30 second version of my story.  

I grew up in Kentucky. Graduated from college and spend the next 30 years moving ever couple of years. Kansas City, Atlanta, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Alabama, Cincinnati again, Iowa, California, New York City twice, Oklahoma.

Now Maine.  

They ask what my favorite place I’ve lived is…

I tell them hands down Maine. I follow up by saying, I love living here, I love our house, but I told my partner last week we need to move the furniture because I’m getting bored.  

We continue chatting.  

Soon it is 6:00. I go in and let the girls know the guests are here.  

They come out 45 seconds later.  

I tell the girls that I appreciate their coming out and that I appreciated their being nice.  

They look at the couple on the couch and thank them profusely for their patience.  

I tell them goodbye and then take the waiting couple in.

I say, the girls had a broken heart and needed a little comfort.

And once again, everyone lived happily ever after. 

That happened to me a couple of nights ago.  

3:00 a.m. No idea what I’d forgotten but couldn’t get the nagging feeling out of my mind.

I finally figured it out today.

I had not closed the books on the three weeks we’ll be closed over Christmas.  

Got to work and discovered we already had reservations that week. One for Christmas Eve.

Whoops.  

I got to call and disappoint people.  

Luckily everyone was understanding.

Two of the tables rebooked.  

One table for the Sunday before Xmas.

The other table for tomorrow. 

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

It’s often pointed out that I make fun of people or are hard on our guests.  I don’t mean to be and I don’t mean to make fun of them.  A lot of it is just the frustration of working too many hours, in a small town, with people who can expect a lot of us.  

However.

That’s not the story I’m telling tonight.

Tonight, is a good story.

At 8:00 a woman walks in.  I greet her and ask if she has a reservation.  She says yes, but that she is waiting for a friend.  She says she would like to wait on him before she is sat.  

Her reservation is for the bar.  

About 10 minutes later she is still waiting.

Meanwhile, a lone diner comes in looking for a seat at the bar.  I explain that we take reservations at the bar and that I won’t have any seats available for the rest of the evening as I still have other reservations to coming in.    

I offer him a table but he wants to sit at the bar.

Then the woman, who is waiting speaks up and says, He can have our bar seats.  We don’t mind a table.

I ask her if she was sure, and she said yes, they wouldn’t mind a table at all.

So, I seat the gentleman.

Her friend arrives about 5 minutes later.

They are seated.

And everyone lived happily ever after tonight.