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Communication And Commitment Or Lack There Of.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
OK so it has been a long while since I was in the hospitality industry and I am told so many things have changed, with that said I am truly dumbfounded how so many things have stayed the same. Customers still to be pleased and everyone is to still keep happy, to the point where its almost impossible to find where you start and the bull-shit waiter begins. Which brings me to my point..
Was I ever as shit at my job, as the new people coming through the industry are?. I think to myself, was I ever as green as the new kid? Does everyone truly have to start from somewhere? Does being able to talk your way ‘out of’ or ‘into’ almost every situation this industry presents, come naturally to some, or is it something that has to be learnt?.
For those that do not know me I have been out of the industry for quite some time, Vowing the day I left I would never return. However opportunities to travel arose and extra cash is needed to do so (that and I do miss it from time to time). So I find myself back working nights on a regular basis at one of the best restaurants my small town has to offer. For a place that prides itself on a high quality of service, it baffles me that we allow new people that barely…”have a heartbeat” able to work within it (although I could hardly call it work at times). The unbearable truth, that is finally starting to dawn is that pickings are slim and we all have to take what we are giving (as hard as it is to swallow). Why is this so??
When I left there were a number of completely different ways of operation; most have changed for the better but one sadly has not, and has changed for the up most worse. Communication… granted I have only worked in 3 different venues, The Railway hotel, Beaches Restaurant and the Plaza hotel. After that I worked as a sales rep for a local food distributor for a long period of time, having the opportunity to witness some truly amazing kitchens, chefs and waiters all over Queensland. I know what a fully functional venue looks like and sadly ones that are not.
I hate to sound like I enjoy blowing my own trumpet like a lot of people do, but if there is a restaurant from Rockhampton to Winton… I have been in it. A claim that any “lasting” member of this particular food distributor can boast. The one constant factor that always shined through for these successful establishments was communication. Weather it be between the wait staff and the chefs or the Executive chef to his single minded apprentice. Weather it be a restaurant supervisor to his/her wait staff.
Gone are the days of everyone getting along joking, having a good time getting along and still providing great service, when all one needed was a nod or a glance and it was known exactly what was needed. Why is it everyone can not all sit down at the end of the night and have a drink and be mates? Are we really that different from each other? Do we not all try to be the best we can be (trained or untrained)? Granted there are some people suffice it to say that just generally wont get along, However I do consider myself a pretty good judge of character and find the staff and the establishment in which I work to be a great bunch of people (all of them). Lets lean from each other and make it work and I think the customer will notice it.
That is as upbeat as I can muster the strength to conger regarding communication. I can not believe the commitment that some staff put into an establishment. I feel like an outsider looking in at times because this industry in so many ways is a hobby, passion and extra pay cheque for me at the end of the week. If I didn't give a 100% at every second of my waking moment there I would bow out gracefully and retreat to another industry. Maybe its work ethic or maybe it’s the love of the industry that drives me to get in the shower after a 9 hr day and make my way to do another 4-6 hrs. I don’t know really what it is, but I do know if I am asked or required to work I am there … If I am told that is how its done…. I do it. Those that are giving it a half arsed effort move the fuck over and give someone the opportunity to experience the opportunity to become a valued member within the industry…. Major wastes of spaces could be better filled with something or someone, in this instance, of value.
3 comments:
Hey Hairy Red Ones, interesting post.
Yes many things have changed some for the better and some not so, but the basic ground breaking news is that we are still giving a service to paying customers. Now as individuals in today's world we can either give a good or bad service at a whim, the cost of which is equal, would you not agree?
I mean the pay we receive doesn't fluctuate it's a set rate regardless, so I guess the attitude is what matters!!
Now if Joe is running around like a blue ass fly trying to get as much done properly as possible and Jack thinks well Ill just take it easy. That's down to attitude and work ethics. I personally have a problem with that, I know that back in my day if you didn't perform you were gone and the next was in, today where like you say, we take and use what we have, which is ridiculous, those that suffer are those like Joe and the customers.
As you said 'the unbearable truth' it is far to easy for the bullshit artiest to scam there way to the top.
I'm in agreement with you that the days are gone when the well oiled machine just ran. Today i find it harder to motivate staff to perform well, maybe I am getting old now and don't have the power to chase and hound every member of staff, but then I wonder if I left the industry, and the next so called chef came along, would you want to dine on crap. Just look at what is coming through the ranks....well god help us. What would be nice is to have the young guns take on a greater responsibility and produce the goods and absorb some of the knowledge gained from those with years of experience!
I also remember the days when we would have a drink or two after service maybe not every night, or maybe it was I can't remember that far back, but in the beginning the young newbies didn't even get a chance to drink with the big guns, they motivated themselves as a team to show the top man really what they could do! I never drank with the Sous chefs and only occasionally with the Chef de Partie, (aeiiii chef what french for..... private joke)that just came to mind!!
Today as an old dog, not that I'm old but in the teenage and just above era that makes me old, I just want to get home and relax with wifey. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing better than a few beers after a great nights performance, the emphasis on great tho let's not forget great in my eyes is a different great than most of those out there. Do you get my point?
The answer is no, most definitely not all try to do the best they can. It has to be a burning desire to perform well,of course we are not robots, but there is a time and place for certain things and work is work. You have to give 100% as you say you do in your post, anything less just infuriates those like you that also give 100%.
Congratulation to you for doing what you do especially as this is only your hobby for some extra holiday cash. Maybe some sweet talking motivation from within your circle is all that is needed. Whatever you do or don't all the best to you.
you are like the yoda of the hospitality industry ranting chef, yet slightly taller and minus the green glow. Thanks for you comment mate. Truly one to learn from.
ps your only as old as the woman you feel. (heres hoping wifey is younger lol)
I burn every day. Each day I go to my work and try to be the best I can be. It never switches off, it's a constant burning desire to better than the day before, and better than the people I work with. I'm a perfectionist and I demand it from myself, so why should I not expect it from others? I became this way by learning from others who were mauch more experienced than me, by listening to what they told me, and doing it! They had a name, and thy name was 'Almighty Chef God'! And I swore that one day I'd be just like them, because they knew better than me!!! Never did I get pissed off with them, they were only trying to maintain or improve standards.
The problem within the industry is the 'young guns' and the'just for extra cashers' coming through, truely believe they know it all. If you could compare my knowledge with one of these 'super chefs/waiters' in book form it would be like standing Lord of the Rings next to the Handy Trader.
The days of having a laugh at work are not gone, I laugh every day and we're always getting up to some stupid shit.
As to having a beer after work, I miss that, but I won't drink with people I don't like, however, staff change often and these things come around! I like to get to know the people I work with, but to do so requires conversation, which some people seem to be incapable of, or too scared to do so! Holy shit! If only people had seen me pissed off. I've had to mellow out and accept second best from most people in this industry, and as I've said in previous posts, it's just the way we find ourselves in now. To maintain the business we have to fill the positions with 'somebody'.
The modern age of our industry is starting to fill with shit.
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