“The rush of dinner begins. Plates of cooked food begin to fold on the rack. Six bottled beers are sent back because they are not cold enough. The place is almost packed and more people are left. on the table, three sprinkle and tear another glass of orange juice, for the third time. Where is this damned bus? Clients on the counter eavesdropping me for dessert order, lady. Someone asks their tab how I swipe four heavy sheets of food at another table.
A busy dinner hour is something James is all too familiar with. Chefs, restaurant managers and wait staff share this grueling part of the restaurant industry. Each employee has his own tests. Every employee has his own story. I meet with James this Sunday morning to catch a train for his part-time in downtown Manhattan. In the train, I could not help noticing our companions. People are quiet. There are men in the Sunday papers. There is a mother and her child in the pram. And there are some James, including their heads, hunched over, trying to catch a few minutes of sleep before they get off the train. I wonder if these people are restaurant servers that often work for fifteen hours. Restaurant servers work in shifts, usually on days or nights and most of the time on weekends and holidays. Working time depends on each restaurant establishment. His day shift starts at 10:00 and ends at 18:00, on the night shift from 18:00 to 1:00.
When we go to the entrance, I hear the whole place just starting to come to life. I hear the usual crackling sound of a knife and grill when it hisses. The sweet smell of cooked bacon permeating the entire kitchen is invigorating. He put down his apron and received his registration book by registering. He introduces me to Johanna, who is sitting on the counter and having breakfast. Today, they will complete the tables, and she told him that she, too, will make the night shift.
“Who got sick this time?” He asked and took a piece of bacon on a plate.
Michelle takes something to her new place, and I still need an extra shift. " She answered.
“It is clear, okay, then give me some money. Let's not begin to learn these tips, stat! ”
"Don't say, stat." She took a sip of coffee and looked at him.
According to the US Department of Labor, the restaurant's server requires dexterity, the ability to work under pressure, and most of the time it works on its feet for long hours during busy canteens. In addition, all employees, especially the server, must provide a fast and efficient service for all visitors. Being able to move quickly and think, taking orders from customers, and just getting along with people are the common qualities of a good restaurant server, says Sean MacDonald, the restaurant itself and the associated content author.
James grabs a cup of freshly brewed coffee and puts ice on it. He introduces me to the rest of the staff. When he goes to my kitchen, I see one of the chefs adding chopped vegetables in a high soup pan and stir in the broth to make the soup of the day.
“The soup looks amazing, what are you doing?” I asked the chef.
“Uh, well, edo?” James translated.
"Sí, sopa de pollo de la gran manzana." Cómo estás, chico? “The cook responded enthusiastically and looked at my hand.
"Say," biy! "! said James.
“Mui Bien, Mui Bien!” I replied.
James tells me that he did not speak a word of Spanish when he started working here. "This is one of the advantages of working in a restaurant." He adds.
Breakfasts are starting to appear. James lets me grab a rack where I see them doing their job. A customer on table three orders a short stack of pancakes and a cup of freshly brewed coffee. On the other hand, James serves an order for an omelet and potatoes at home to an older woman reading a newspaper. “I need an order of French toasts and waffles for the table four!” Johanna says in a commanding voice to one of the chefs. There are not many visitors who stopped to have breakfast this morning, which is never good for restaurant servers. They rely on tips to earn a minimum wage. Unfortunately, for some restaurant servers, they do not even make the minimum wage. The US Department of Labor claims that the average hourly wage (including tips) for restaurant servers is $ 7.14 as of May 2006.
This is a few cents below the federal regulated minimum wage, which, as of July 2009, is equivalent to $ 7.25. Here in New York, waiters and waitresses can earn an average of $ 30,640 a year, and for experienced waiters and waitresses, earnings can range from $ 36,570, according to the New York State Department of Labor. “Most of our income comes directly from our customers, not hourly pay.” said James. So what is the right advice? According to Kim Dickerson, a small business entrepreneur and a staff writer for the Associated Content, the right advice for average service is fifteen percent of the total bill. Excellent service describes twenty percent or higher, and poor service, which rarely happens, is ten percent. “I don't know where you get your sources from, but fifteen percent is cheap!”
Joanna jokingly considers. “All that we ask for is just generosity from our visitors for the service we provide.” said James. Now, another question, why do visitors dine or have to knock over their waiters or waitresses? I received many different answers from other restaurant servers to this question. But they all agree that James and Johanna are on the list — that the only convenience is that you don’t need to worry about dinner and mess after cleaning. “Everything is done for them when they sit with their friends or family and rest,” adds Kim Dickerson.
A few minutes passed, more and more visitors began to pour inside. Joanna has just finished filling small containers of maple syrup for pancakes, and James is finishing brewing another pot of fresh coffee. After an hour or so, the rush at lunchtime is in full swing.
The party of nine walks and is located in the middle of the dining room. James hands a few free salted pieces to their table, and, as he suspected, when they come in, they are European tourist tourists. James tells me that they are one of the worst types of visitors alongside random assholes who whine no matter how good the food is and how good the service is. European tourists do not leave a tip or very stingy with them and still expect that they will be served by each of them.
"Do you want to take them?" They are Spaniards, our favorite people in the world. " He sarcastically asked Joanna, handing her his order for dinner.
"Not by chance. This is to take my bacon before. ” She grinned when she left, carrying a beer at table three.
They collect a fairly decent amount of tips at lunchtime, and, as expected, they received nothing from these European tourists. But James still provides them with quality service. This is part of his job as a restaurant server. The responsibilities of the restaurant server can be simplified in two main categories. Number one provides excellent service to all customers. Providing a welcoming environment sets the tone for the service from the moment a customer enters a restaurant. The simple act is always with a smile and just pleasant in front of customers is the key to creating a warm and welcoming environment, offering Rodney Southern from Associated Content and author of a short essay "How to become a fantastic server in your restaurant." "What I do, I kill them with my kindness." says Johanna. Even the most cynical and gloomy customers are discarded when they show sincere kindness according to Sean MacDonald.
The second number does "work." Sideworks refer to the tasks that the servers of the restaurant do during off hours or at the end of each shift. Such by-products fill salt and pepper shakers, wiping the floor and cleaning the coffee pot. "It will take me an hour to do all my work for an hour and a half." - says James. General cleaning and disinfection of working areas of a restaurant is basically a general definition of working in the restaurant industry, as well as eighty-five percent of Steven’s daily restaurant routine, also known as Ribeye, a professional restaurant server in Nashville, Tennessee and its Internet webmaster site blog ragingserver.com.
Rush at lunchtime slows down, and the flow of incoming visitors begins to dissipate. Joanna and James take turns eating their meals. The lunch staff consists of yellow rice and beans, fried chicken patties and some sliced avocados with squeezed lemons. They let me make a plate and ate them. I have bitten and it is very tasty. "These are other benefits for working in a restaurant, great food, and you will never return home from a hungry shift." - adds James.
During the whole time, watching James and Johanna for their work, I notice that a middle-aged gentleman is sitting in five places separate from me on the counter. I notice that he was there at about the same time that James and I arrived this morning. "He is one of the regulars here." Joanna told me. She tells me that this client, in particular, hangs here almost every day. Most of the staff here seem to know him by name and even some of the regular visitors. He will walk, greet everyone, sit in a chair at the counter — he even has his own chair here — orders “ordinary” food and drink, and just hangs out and reads his book for hours. "It's good that we never had a problem with him." She adds. He gets along with almost those who stumbled upon a conversation with him. “He is also a lawyer who sometimes gives us free legal advice. As a result, he is the only snack bar here that gets free drinks. ” She adds.
The dining room is now quiet, without demanding and imperious visitors. James tells me that he takes this daily calm as an opportunity to do some of his usual side effects. Johanna does the same. It cleans the laminated menus with detergent and gently places them on a rack above where the napkins are. Prior to that, she throws from the frames on the wall photos of old Western movies and a mirror six feet by four feet on the back of the dining room. James also sometimes takes this quiet period to catch up with homework at school. He takes his book bag for registration and takes his math homework.
"Hey Joanne." When he asked her to sit next to him on the counter. “Do you still remember your college math?” He asked.
"Of course, what kind of math?"
"This is calculus, and I will have problems with solving this problem right here." He pointed to the question of the textbook.
"Ok, here's how you do it." And she began to write numbers and odds on a notepad.
Being a restaurant server, this is an excellent entry level job for a high school or college student. According to the US Department of Labor, "food and beverage manufacturing jobs are the main source of underemployment for high school and college students." There are no specific training requirements and only basic skills are required. However, due to the nature of the work, which pays very little, it is not very pleasant to get qualified from the waiting tables and to move forward very thin. “Job promotion is limited to finding a job in a more busy or more expensive restaurant where the prospect of accumulating savings is slightly better,” according to data from the US Department of Labor. “Even landing in a more busy and expensive restaurant does not guarantee better earnings,” says James.
"This is more a transit job, and it really is not intended to be the only source of income." Adds Johanna. According to the forecast of the US Department of Labor, the jobs forecast for restaurant servers "is expected to be thirteen percent compared to the decade 2006-2016." As more restaurants go to restaurants, more servers are also needed to serve this growing trend. There is still hope for decent earnings from waiting tables, which, of course.
It seems that James has completed his math homework through Joanna’s mathematical skills. She studies in college and learns from her masters. degree in psychology. He has postponed his homework, and the staff on the night shift begin to prepare, including him and Johanna. He goes to the bathroom and splashes his face with warm water to cool off. He returns to the dining room, and the visitors start pouring out again.
“Are you ready for round two?” He asked Johanna when he raised his right hand by five.
“Let it be a child!” She replied enthusiastically.
"You made me hang myself here."
"I do not do high heels." She said, and instead saved him.
The familiar sound of the dishes, tapping on the plates and the dinner table, waving their hands for James to take their food orders, indicates the beginning of dinner.
