It's Thanksgiving today so naturally I dragged myself out of bed at crack of noon and I've been watching Youtube videos of Tracy Morgan for the past four hours.
Thanksgiving weekend is one of the slowest times for (insert real name here) and rightfully so. Families and friends get together, stuff their faces with turkey and pumpkin pie, and the thought of going out to eat is the furthest thing from their minds. Needless to say it hasn't been a money making weekend.
My parents live on the East coast and the rest of my family lives on the West coast so Thanksgiving dinner for me will probably end up being pizza. I've been invited to a bunch of dinners this weekend but if I can't have my mom's food I'd rather be working.
The party I went to on Saturday night was a blast. There was no drama and plenty of laughs. My mom always tells me "common sense prevails" and it did.
I'm about to get my ass in gear, go to work and hopefully make some money. Last night I got stiffed a couple times. At the 9:20 a couple came in to get some grub. Sure, the "crispy onions" weren't so crispy and the mozza sticks were a little underdone but I had a cook make new ones and I hooked them up with a couple free desserts. $50 check... nothing. I hope they break up.
Oh yeah, Happy Thanksgiving.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
Day eight.
When the temperature hits 26 degrees in Winnipeg in October it makes for a slow day/night at the (insert real name here).
Today I worked a split shift. I walked into the restaurant 10 minutes before my lunch shift only to find that almost my entire section had been seated and the tables were already being served. It blows, big time, when you get into work and there are limited tables to be sat. This means less money to be made by me.
I ended up serving two tables which left me with enough cash to go sit on a patio for my two hour break with some of the other servers working split shifts.
We got to talking about a party happening tomorrow night and who is invited and who isn't. Servers, cooks, bartenders, essentially everyone in the restaurant industry is notorious for drinking, drugging and whatever unsavory acts you can think of. I fall into the drinking category. Because I didn't make some drinking money I'm sitting at home on a Friday night plucking my eyebrows and watching old reruns of Law and Order -- why that show was cancelled after two decades of crime fighting I'll never know. I guess I'll have to check out the new L.A. franchise. Back to my point... I worked 6 hours today and walked out with a whopping $35 minus the $15 I spent on a couple pints in the sun.
While everyone else is out enjoying payday Friday, I'm at home drinking some old beer I found in the back my fridge, probably from last summer, called Gulden Draak. Tastes imported.
Back to my original point: a party with coworkers. In the six or so months I've worked at (insert real name here) I've learned who I like to socialize with outside of work and who I don't. There are the duds. These are the people that are annoying, boring or just young pups that I don't have anything in common with other than my place of employment. They rarely are able to hold their liquor and haven't read a book since the 10th grade.
There are the party animals. These are the people who get blackout drunk and make asses of themselves. Sure they're good for a laugh but the sad thing is those of us not lifting up our shirts on the patio at wing night or trying to sleep with every dude we work with, are laughing at the party animals, not with them. More often than not a party animal will come into work after a night of ridiculous antics with their tail between their legs and avoid eye contact because he or she acted like a hot mess the night before.
I like to spend my time with the chill crowd. These are the people that can hold a good conversation as well as their booze, like to have a chuckle and don't spend their time obsessing over the happenings of the restaurant.
In my 26 years on this earth I've learned a thing or two. One being: never get drunk in front of people from work. Save your sloppy it for the nights with friends that have known you for years and will accept your shenanigans with open arms because you've done the same for them.
We'll see what happens tomorrow.
Today I worked a split shift. I walked into the restaurant 10 minutes before my lunch shift only to find that almost my entire section had been seated and the tables were already being served. It blows, big time, when you get into work and there are limited tables to be sat. This means less money to be made by me.
I ended up serving two tables which left me with enough cash to go sit on a patio for my two hour break with some of the other servers working split shifts.
We got to talking about a party happening tomorrow night and who is invited and who isn't. Servers, cooks, bartenders, essentially everyone in the restaurant industry is notorious for drinking, drugging and whatever unsavory acts you can think of. I fall into the drinking category. Because I didn't make some drinking money I'm sitting at home on a Friday night plucking my eyebrows and watching old reruns of Law and Order -- why that show was cancelled after two decades of crime fighting I'll never know. I guess I'll have to check out the new L.A. franchise. Back to my point... I worked 6 hours today and walked out with a whopping $35 minus the $15 I spent on a couple pints in the sun.
While everyone else is out enjoying payday Friday, I'm at home drinking some old beer I found in the back my fridge, probably from last summer, called Gulden Draak. Tastes imported.
Back to my original point: a party with coworkers. In the six or so months I've worked at (insert real name here) I've learned who I like to socialize with outside of work and who I don't. There are the duds. These are the people that are annoying, boring or just young pups that I don't have anything in common with other than my place of employment. They rarely are able to hold their liquor and haven't read a book since the 10th grade.
There are the party animals. These are the people who get blackout drunk and make asses of themselves. Sure they're good for a laugh but the sad thing is those of us not lifting up our shirts on the patio at wing night or trying to sleep with every dude we work with, are laughing at the party animals, not with them. More often than not a party animal will come into work after a night of ridiculous antics with their tail between their legs and avoid eye contact because he or she acted like a hot mess the night before.
I like to spend my time with the chill crowd. These are the people that can hold a good conversation as well as their booze, like to have a chuckle and don't spend their time obsessing over the happenings of the restaurant.
In my 26 years on this earth I've learned a thing or two. One being: never get drunk in front of people from work. Save your sloppy it for the nights with friends that have known you for years and will accept your shenanigans with open arms because you've done the same for them.
We'll see what happens tomorrow.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Day seven.
I love a good deal then again, who doesn't love a good deal? No one hates deals. That's like saying "I hate movies." Speaking of which, I used some of my hard earned tips today to hit up a good deal at the movies. (See what I did there?)
The movie: The Social Network. The deal: University Combo.
Last school year Empire Theatre Grant Park, the best movie theatre in town, had a brilliant deal. Seven days a week your university/college student id got you admission, popcorn and a soda for the low low price of $9.99 taxes in.
This school year, the theatre upped the price to $11.99 PLUS tax. Really Empire Theatre Grant Park? True, it is still a good deal considering the price of admission is 10 clams to begin with and the popcorn and soda was less than $4 but the whole allure of the University Combo was all the free stuff: food AND beverage.
My very first job was at a movie theatre -- Silver City Polo Park (really uncomfortable seats). I worked at the concession stand shucking out bags and bags of overpriced popcorn and Pepsi products. Did you know that movie theatres make little to no money on ticket sales? The revenue comes from the concession, or the Pizza Hut or Starbucks or Mercedes dealership kiosks movie goers drop loads of cash at before settling in for their two hours of entertainment. Feel free to share this fun fact with anyone you like.
I probably didn't need to get popcorn and a drink seeing as how I had already eaten dinner: perogies I got on sale at Safeway after my shift today. Even after the combo inflation I got it basically for the feeling only a good deal can give you. It's the same reason I have a freezer full of perogies. Sure I could have just bought one bag but they were on 2 for $5, regular $3.99. That's only an extra dollar for an extra bag it just makes sense.
I suppose all that really matters is that I saw a pretty good movie with some pretty good friends and ate so much popcorn that I now have a popcorn food baby and I feel like yaking.
Total hours worked: 3.56
Tips earned: $41
Tips spent: $24.67 on groceries, $12.37 on entertainment
The movie: The Social Network. The deal: University Combo.
Last school year Empire Theatre Grant Park, the best movie theatre in town, had a brilliant deal. Seven days a week your university/college student id got you admission, popcorn and a soda for the low low price of $9.99 taxes in.
This school year, the theatre upped the price to $11.99 PLUS tax. Really Empire Theatre Grant Park? True, it is still a good deal considering the price of admission is 10 clams to begin with and the popcorn and soda was less than $4 but the whole allure of the University Combo was all the free stuff: food AND beverage.
My very first job was at a movie theatre -- Silver City Polo Park (really uncomfortable seats). I worked at the concession stand shucking out bags and bags of overpriced popcorn and Pepsi products. Did you know that movie theatres make little to no money on ticket sales? The revenue comes from the concession, or the Pizza Hut or Starbucks or Mercedes dealership kiosks movie goers drop loads of cash at before settling in for their two hours of entertainment. Feel free to share this fun fact with anyone you like.
I probably didn't need to get popcorn and a drink seeing as how I had already eaten dinner: perogies I got on sale at Safeway after my shift today. Even after the combo inflation I got it basically for the feeling only a good deal can give you. It's the same reason I have a freezer full of perogies. Sure I could have just bought one bag but they were on 2 for $5, regular $3.99. That's only an extra dollar for an extra bag it just makes sense.
I suppose all that really matters is that I saw a pretty good movie with some pretty good friends and ate so much popcorn that I now have a popcorn food baby and I feel like yaking.
Total hours worked: 3.56
Tips earned: $41
Tips spent: $24.67 on groceries, $12.37 on entertainment
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Day five.
Sunday night and again tonight I am not serving but rather working in the kitchen as an expediter or an expo. An expo is basically the person who makes sure there is a lemon wedge on your fish or a sprinkle of cilantro on your salad. He or she is the go-between of the kitchen and the front of house. Sure, not all restaurants have an expo but for the ones that do the job is all the same. Get the right right food out to the right tables so that it looks good and it's hot.
So in the interest of keeping track of my tips here are Sunday night and yesterday's stats:
(Sunday)
Sunday night I somehow defied the laws of physics when I was wiping off a plate to be sent out. The plate broke I saved the steak but when anything glass breaks around food it means the grub must be chucked. No one wants to run the risk of a bloody massacre. Picture a tiny bit of broken glass stuck in the food then tearing apart the diner's esophagus to that of ground beef. A highly unlikely scenario but you never know. In a circumstance like this, dropping food on the ground or breaking a plate, the kitchen has to remake the dish and sometimes the whole table. Almost always the server whose table has now been delayed gets pissed off and that generally effects how much I get tipped out at the end of the night. She was okay with the remake since her table really appreciated us not sending out a glass shard steak.
I think that it was later on I told her to "shut up and get out of the kitchen if all you're gonna do is stand there and get in my way" that, let's call her Dumb-dumb, decided not to tip me out. Dumb-dumb is a prime example of what not to do as a server. I will get to some of her greater performances one of these days.
I don't mind working expo as a favour every now and then but the problem is that in doing so, I am losing money. A night working in the kitchen means I don't make any tips other that when I get tipped out by the servers at the end of the night and those tips are definitely lacking. Between the nine servers working that night I made $8 as opposed to the $40 or so I would have made on a slow Sunday night.
I don't mind working the occasional expo shift since it is a welcome break from being out front. I get to wear jeans and a hat, joke around with the line cooks and yell at people. I think I should be making more money an hour if I work an expo shift to compensate for what I'm not making out front.
So in the interest of keeping track of my tips here are Sunday night and yesterday's stats:
(Sunday)
- hours worked 3.38
- tips earnerd $8.10
(Monday)
- total sales $147
- tips earned $21.50
- hours worked 1.98
- tip out $4.41
We'll see how I do today.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Day two.
I went grocery shopping today before work. I wish I would have had enough foresight to bring my reusable shopping bags with me because then at least I'd only buy as much stuff as I could fit in my bags rather than the 8 bags of food I ended up with.
That was the last time I ever go shopping without a list but with only a wallet full of cash. I spent $70 from the $120 I started the out with this morning.
Today was nowhere near as busy at yesterday:
That was the last time I ever go shopping without a list but with only a wallet full of cash. I spent $70 from the $120 I started the out with this morning.
Today was nowhere near as busy at yesterday:
- total sales $29.30
- tips earned $6.00
I had to tip out the kitchen $1.
I've only got an hour to kill because I offered to start my dinner shift early. I'm hoping that if I'm not going to make any money from tips today, I might as well get the hours in. Yesterday I hit overtime and a repeat is the goal tonight. Fortunately, servers in Manitoba, and all over Canada for that matter, make minimum wage. Yesterday, minimum wage in Manitoba went from $9/hr to $9.50/hr. Somedays, including my tips, I make $25/hr.
I doubt this will be the case tonight. I can already hear the speculation as to why (insert real name here) isn't busy. "The Bomber game is on tonight at nine, I bet a lot of people are staying home to watch it."
Yeah right.
Winnipeg Blue Bomber fans who are staying in to watch the game are for sure not the reason (insert real name here) will be dead. (Insert real name here) will be slow tonight because there is no way I'm gonna make sweet, sweet cash two nights in a a row. It never happens but it would be powerful awesome if it did.
Go Blue Go.
****Update****
Bombers lost. Boo.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Day One.
Today, I officially started living off of my tips.
I worked a split shift. The lunch shift, which for some reason I call a morning shift, started at 11:30 and lasted until 3:15. Rarely do I work past 2 on a lunch shift. Longer shifts mean more tables and more tables means more money for me:
The evening portion of my shift started at 4:00.
Tonight was one of those nights that being at work was a lot of fun. I had no problems with my tables, guests laughed at my jokes and when food went out late, as it tends to do when (insert real name here) gets busy, my tables understood and didn't get upset. I think I was as Zen as I could be considering that I was at work.
When a table is pleasant to serve it makes my job easier.
A good section is pivotal in having a good night, too. In my opinion, good section is close to the windows and had both booths and regular tables.
A section is the area of tables in the restaurant a server is assigned to wait on.
Of course I forgot to write down my total sales and tips I made but my guess is about $700-$750 and $80.
I decided that I'd go an meet a pal from work at my neighbourhood bar. In oder to not blow 60 bucks on booze, I'm taking $20 for a couple of beers and the rest goes in the savings jar. I don't understand why, until now, I've never only brought out some cash rather than all the cash I had. Maybe I'd have more to show for my summer of non-stop working if I had used this method earlier.
Only bring out some cash is also nifty device to help me snap out of patio season mentality and put me back into reality. I can't sleep away my mornings because I was out having dinner or drinks or dinner and drinks with friends like I did in the summer. Now I have to limit myself and --gasp-- budget.
Tonight, the sky's the limit... up to $20.
I worked a split shift. The lunch shift, which for some reason I call a morning shift, started at 11:30 and lasted until 3:15. Rarely do I work past 2 on a lunch shift. Longer shifts mean more tables and more tables means more money for me:
- total sales $466.32
- tips $61
The evening portion of my shift started at 4:00.
Tonight was one of those nights that being at work was a lot of fun. I had no problems with my tables, guests laughed at my jokes and when food went out late, as it tends to do when (insert real name here) gets busy, my tables understood and didn't get upset. I think I was as Zen as I could be considering that I was at work.
When a table is pleasant to serve it makes my job easier.
A good section is pivotal in having a good night, too. In my opinion, good section is close to the windows and had both booths and regular tables.
A section is the area of tables in the restaurant a server is assigned to wait on.
Of course I forgot to write down my total sales and tips I made but my guess is about $700-$750 and $80.
I decided that I'd go an meet a pal from work at my neighbourhood bar. In oder to not blow 60 bucks on booze, I'm taking $20 for a couple of beers and the rest goes in the savings jar. I don't understand why, until now, I've never only brought out some cash rather than all the cash I had. Maybe I'd have more to show for my summer of non-stop working if I had used this method earlier.
Only bring out some cash is also nifty device to help me snap out of patio season mentality and put me back into reality. I can't sleep away my mornings because I was out having dinner or drinks or dinner and drinks with friends like I did in the summer. Now I have to limit myself and --gasp-- budget.
Tonight, the sky's the limit... up to $20.
Tips earned: $140
Tips spent: $20
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