- Seeing a customer knock on the door 15 minutes before you open. Or worse, forgetting to lock the front door and that customer just comes right in expecting to be served immediately.
- Realizing that the closers did a half-assed job on their sidework the night before.
- Getting an 86 list that’s longer than the menu.
- Finding out it’s one of these days: National Secretary Appreciation Day, National Teachers Appreciation Day or National Nurses Appreciation Day.
- Walking into work and discovering that every salt and pepper shaker needs to be refilled because they were all washed the night before.
- Setting up the patio only having it start to rain the second you are finished.
- Putting on your apron and finding out that a pen exploded it in it.
- Seeing that someone left the coffee pot on the burner with one inch of coffee in it and now it’s burnt to a crisp.
- Learning that all the mousetraps that were put out the night before were super successful.
- Slipping and falling onto the walk-in floor and then having to wear pants covered in whatever that crap was on the floor.
If you haven’t ordered my book yet, what the hell are you waiting for? CLICK HERE. (If I sell enough, I can give away my Thursday night shift. Won’t you please help?)
Stevie
Walking into work and seeing someone halfassed your section from the night before.
Finding out a new menu is coming out.
Corporate is coming in that same morning or same night you’re there.
You forgot your apron with your awesome book and favorite pen at home.
Walking into the office and seeing someone you enjoy working with put in their two weeks notice.
Ending up being the only serve on all morning because your employees suck.
jeff
Coming in and seeing a party of fifteen grandmas waiting in their cars and then seeing it’s going right into your section which a lot of places in three tables so it’s your entire section. Please just kill me now….you can have the $7 grat…
Mel
I work lunch shift Mon-Fri. My duties include: checking floors and tables for cleaning; making tea (sweet and unsweet); putting the soda machine back together; filling ice; cutting lemons; roll leftover silverware from the night before; opening umbrellas on patio; wiping off patio tables; clean tables/floors (if needed); making sure the water is hot in bathrooms; setting silverware on tables; prepare cleaning buckets/rags/towels; etc. Now, my beef is that sometimes, there is food and sauce on the tables when I walk in. What I hear consistently is that they were busy, or it was too dark. Really? You couldn’t see that massive fry on the floor, or that huge chunk of meat drowning in sauce in the middle of the table? *sigh* it’s the job which is why I come in 10 min before I have to be there. Another beef is silverware. I don’t mind it being 5 or seven, but 15-20??!!! I ALWAYS wash the ramekins and silverware AND roll silverware before I leave. I think I may be the only server that does. So yea, I get most everything on this list. Except the coffee, it’s made before I get there.
Traci
Having incompetent managers who suck at making a schedule.
Mmp
The coffee pot thing kills me but it’s usually midshift when I personally want coffee.
Jacqueline Willis
Umm, the click here doesn’t work.
Tam
The beer delivery guy knocked the garnish tray over in the walk-in and left it there. Olives, cherries, fruit all over the kegs and floor.
Amanda
I used to keep an extra uniform in my car for #10. Forget that nonsense.
AX Pendergast
Hey BW – as a teacher, let me apologize if anyone from our profession has given you a hard time on “our” day. Personally, I’ve never encountered a restaurant that gave us anything special on that day…perhaps it’s different in your area. Hell, out here in CA we’re lucky to get a lunch break at work, let alone go out to dinner on a regular basis. And, seeing how “our” day is next week – here’s hoping you don’t get anyone using their Teacher Voice on you. Have a happy.
Kathy
Dear AX…it’s just that teachers, nurses, admin. assts. and women general, are usually NOT the best tippers. NOT ALL…but a great percentage.
Meh
You kidding? Women tip me amazingly well. The men who come into my work are cheap and inconsiderate
outhousecat
Hey Bitchy. I don’t know where you work but unless your restaurant sits in the middle of a downtown hospital and puts cottage cheese on its pizza, then you don’t know jack about Nurses Day. Our hospital sends out that nasty cottage cheese mess from the hospital caf every year, and every year we don’t eat that shit. I wish they would find a good restaurant and get us a nice meal for once on Nurses Day.
Mogz
I boycotted the show 30 Rock for several years due to their writing staff calling in ridiculous delivery orders (before we were even open) at the restaurant I worked at. The orders were always incredibly detailed and obnoxious, the person on the phone was always rude, and we didn’t even have a delivery service (just a crazy ass owner who would randomly send a server out with the order).. If you were lucky enough to have a car in Long Island City to get there with, then you got the task. If not, he’d send a poor bus boy, or you would have to give them the bad news that they would need to pick it up.. It always screwed up our shift, and always happened to be on the busiest days… And we weren’t even open yet.
Sharon
#8……….. the smell!!!!!!!
It is like someone assaulted your nose with a bag of burnt coffee beans.
Dayna
My restaurant doesn’t even close… :-/
Side work, burnt coffee pot, trashed tables, full bus tubs… And the start of my shift gets slammed…
Anne
As a server who has worked the first shift at a diner for the past 20 years, this is my life. To a T.
Lauren
Once I walked into work and all our computer systems were down. We couldn’t even clock in. They were down for the entire morning shift so all payments had to be done completely manually all morning much to our impatient customer’s dismay.
CincyDrunk
As the permanent patio server at my restaurant, 6 rings all so true to me. But it gets better when I’m off at 6:30 on a Saturday and I get to go to the bar and laugh when the sun comes out ten minutes later.
Kerry
I have had the coffee pot thing happen numerous times. Here is how I fix that – baking soda, vinegar and super hot water ( I get mine from the coffee machine tap). Let sit for a bit and rinse.