littlelotte | Entries tagged with serving

I would just like to say that this is the biggest BS of an article EVER:

Restaurant Renegades
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=2085903&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

I have known servers to pull the whole "try to make it so the people don't realize there's a gratuity added in already" thing, but not many and none of the rest of that stuff. There have been one or two throughout my serving career that have bragged over how ridiculously much they make, but we've always thought they were exaggerating, though it's also possible they would pull some of the above scams.

Oh! And never ask for "light ice" in your drink unless you want a weaker drink. For some reason, people think that a lot of ice makes for a weaker drink. We do it so the alcohol to mix ratio is lower, thereby giving you a stronger drink.

Bed. Now. Must be up to work 13 hours in 8.

*collapse*

Current Mood: exhausted

*bounces up and down and squeals uncontrollably*

I got a call for a second interview!

*squeals more*

If I get this job then it means opportunity for full-time doing something I generally enjoy, opportunity for pretty decent health benefits, 50% off at any Outback affiliated restaurant, and the opportunity to move within the chain when I leave Kalamazoo. Who knows...if I end up staying with them and becoming a valuable employee then I may even have a shot at management. That would be really cool and something I'd bite for, considering I'd love to own a restaurant someday...and it means I can leave Rhino's!

I'm looking way ahead of myself right now, but that's okay. Right now all I care about is that I'm going back Monday for a second interview, and they said everything so far was excellent!

Current Mood: ecstatic

SO COLD!

Fairly successful first interview with the new restaurant--I was the very first applicant. Let's hope for a call soon about a second. I had to take the same ridiculous test that I had to take for Red Lobster last summer (and Red Lobster called me back for an interview, but I was already working at the Brewery at the time), so I'm pretty confident about that. Stupid restaurant math, though :-P At least for Red Lobster I was able to use a calculator...here it was all longhand division and multiplicaton I had to suffer through doing :-\

I almost hope the comedy show tonight didn't sell out. I want to come home early since Dan will be here when I get back.

Current Mood: tired

sicksicksicksicksicksicksicksicksicksick...

you get the idea.

*mumbles and grumbles* No clue what to eat because I have no soup or anything, and most of what I have is too involved to make...

Wait! I have ramen! And my typing skills have reverted back to that of drunken Alley or drunken Lissa. Seriously. I'll stop coorrecting my mistaknes. See what I mena? isnt' this just rather pathentic? I typed in queenofwands.net as queenofeands.com earlier when I wanted to read it...

We were so dead and I looked so miserable that they sent me home halfway through my shift. I'd been there for three hours and had all of two tables. This is how much being a waitress can vary: I made $80 in about five and a half hours yesterday afternoon, and about $12 in three hours today.

Okay. I'm going to make some ramen now.

Current Mood: sick

hehehe...I managed to weasel my way into working a double on Thursday. Background: I generally work Thursday evenings. This week is one of the comedy shows, and I was scheduled to work the afternoon, for some odd reason. Kathy called me this morning and left me a message saying she screwed up when she made the schedule and can't serve because her and Phil (she's the general manager and Phil is the owner, but she serves and Phil bartends...which I have huge issues with because the servers and bartenders would love to take over the shifts they work) have to seat people, could I work the comedy show, I'd be first off after it was over and she guesses that she could work my afternoon shift instead. I called her back when I got the message and told her I'd be happy to work the comedy show. When she sounded relieved at that I told her, "I could still work my afternoon shift, too, unless you want to work it for me." She sounded really surprised at that and said, "Yeah...if you really don't mind."

I'm happy :-D Five shifts...yay! This will be a nearly 12-hour double. I haven't done one of those in a very long time, but the 10-hour shift I recently worked wasn't bad, so this shouldn't be too bad, either. I wish I could weasel my way into extra hours like this every week. Just as an aside for Andrea: I guess the comedians we have coming in this week and next week are guys that have done the Bob and Tom show. It should be interesting at the very least.

...and now I must go and return movies. Maybe I'll rent another as well. Tomorrow I need to buy Anna more mealworms, too. I've no more, she's nearly eaten all the ones I put out for her tonight, and she needs to eat more tomorrow, of course!

I'm rather tired, so I'm slightly loopy right now. I apologise for that.

For the record: I am indebted to whomever it was that mentioned watching the POTO DVD in French was far preferable to the English. Unfortunately they matched the voices for the Phantom and Christine far too well with Gerard and Emmy, but Carlotta and various others are much better. Even with the Phantom and Christine you're too distracted by the different language to care too much about the voices. I don't speak French, so I can't be distressed by things like awful Gerard vowels.

Current Mood: loopy

This week has me thinking of you,

peithecelt. The Medieval folks have infiltrated the campus for yet another week of gathering ;-) For those of you unfamiliar: every summer, Western Michigan University holds a Medieval Studies conference. It's really cool, actually, and is great for the area. It's very amusing to see SCA posters posted around campus.

Anyway...I smell like food and smoke. Ewwwwwwww. Bad combination...but I love my job (when I get the right hours)...and if I ever start whining about how much I hate it, hit me and say, "You know you love it." It's so much better than retail. I will NEVER work retail again, unless I'm desperate. I adore the people, and the work is exhausting, but when I can make a table happy and add something a little extra to their day I feel like I've accomplished something when I'm finished. Having cash without relying on paychecks is always a huge bonus, as well. I definitely took home over 20% of my sales today, and just deposited it...our main regulars were in (most of the Friday group own their own businesses, and one of the main guy's friends likes to refer to him as "the richest man in Plainwell." Him and his wife are reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally generous), and one of them (this one only comes in with them occasionally, though) says he's going to Greece with me when I become an archaeologist there *laughs* I also ended up closing last night. I was in at 4 and was there until 2...I haven't had a ten-hour shift since December! :-) It was fun. At about midnight/12:30 one of the regulars, Jay, said, "You're still smiling. That's really cool. Princess Julie runs out of gas at about 11, and Kate...well, she never really had any gas." Ooh! And I found a new way into work so that I don't have to take 131 through construction hell! And the new way is right by my apartment! This will definitely save me some time. Instead of going through all the lights on Main and the construction on 131, I can take one road all the way into Plainwell that has about two lights total to deal with.

Okay...Christine and Alleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey! More images up...take a look?

I also finally broke down and am setting up phone service in the house. I'm getting really sick of this "relying on the computer lab" stuff, though I love the speed. I also hate the idea of being entirely disconnected from the world aside from my cell phone.

I really love having this apartment to myself. I've never really had anything "all to myself" like this before, and it's so great. The place is still a disaster, but I blame it on settling into the new school/work schedule ;-) I'll have pictures once it's not so much of a disaster. The only thing that really bothers me is when I come home to an empty house late at night. I'm already a paranoid person, and being a girl who comes home late at night can be terrifying. Does anybody know if there are any hotlines or anything available that one can call simply as she's walking through the house on that "just in case" chance that someone's there when she walks in? I'd be extremely relieved if so. It will be nice once Dan's there with me to stay :-)

Okay...I usually don't update before I read my friends list, but this time I did. Now I shall be off to do that :-)

Current Mood: content

Note to self: Check minutes before talking with Mom for two hours on the phone on the last day of monthly plan. Doing so could help avoid spending $61.98 for phone. I suck.

In other news, Anna Livia is becoming ridiculously spoiled. I adore her :-) I forgot to see if the pet store had waxworms, though :-( I wanted to give her a special treat when I bought her crickets today. She doesn't really eat the mealworms much, so I worry that she's not eating enough. I think I'm going to start her on a primarily cricket diet.

Walking down the stairs for class after break this evening made me suddenly realise I would never be walking down them again for an anthropology class. That was very depressing. Sitting through class tonight made me almost wish it were Chuck's Bio Anthro class, which was in the same room--that's how nostalgaic I was getting (most of you understand the loathing I had for that class).

Oh! Restaurant debacle!

For those of you who haven't really heard my descriptions of the restaurant I work at, we have 17 tables total (mostly four-tops, a few two-tops, a seven-top and two five-tops)--it's a very small restaurant/bar. On slow shifts we have one server and on busy shifts we have two. Generally the GM serves on Tuesday nights, but she's decided she should start doing more "behind the scenes" work over serving work so she put me on. Alone. With one bartender and one cook. Last night the Pistons were playing in a play-off game, AND the men's softball team decided to come in for drinks--and some of them for food. At LEAST twelve of the tables were packed, and it didn't let up for at least two hours. Every time I turned around I was bombarded with food and drink orders, or one table left and people sat in their place so I was forced to bus the table. It was really rather absurd, and I'm not sure how I got through it without collapsing. I'm really lucky I'm not one of those waitresses that will cry and throw my apron down as soon as something like this happens (luckily I have more self-control, and I would never leave that mess for someone else to deal with alone), because otherwise I would have been a wreck last night.

Tonight I made enchiladas and Spanish rice for dinner--so yummy. I'm really looking forward to going home now, because the smell after I cook something, leave, and then come back makes me really happy. It makes me feel like the place is lived in and happy. Hestia's been completely having her way with me since I moved in *grins*

Now I must be heading out. I wanted to try to find something before the computer lab closes.

Current Mood: content

Mainly for

cdaae and

alleykitten, though any other Phantom elitists (and others, I suppose *grins*) are welcome to view, as well ;-) http://ucoe.wanderingchild.org

Alley and I have already been talking. This may very well become the banner img: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v349/alleykitten/titleerik2.gif

How appropriate that the first real entry in this journal is so POTO related...

Anna Livia shed for her first time the other night. It was kinda scary. I've gotten her a warming lamp, and some more crickets. I found a great mealworm dish I should probably get. It has a removable edge that keeps the mealworms from escaping into the vivarium.

Last night really sucked at work. For you servers on my friends list: you know those nightmares where you're the only one working, the restaurant is filled to the brim, you finally get a table out and more people show up to immediately fill it again? That was my night. My actual night...not a dream nightmare, a real actual "I lived it" nightmare. Thank gods I had a competant bartender working with me and we have a pretty small bar (12 seats, but there were probably about 20 people surrounding it last night). He ended up doing 95% of my food running for me, and then bussed a LOT of the tables once they started staying away. If I had more time I'd go into more detail, but it's really not necessary.

And now I must be off to class. Boo class.