Today was a slow lunch but as soon as I got off I had to go pay Verizon, get gas and scream by the high school to hug my girl's neck before she loaded up on a school bus to go to Cobb County for a band competition. School buses are so rickety and I am a paranoid Mom. I never want my kid leaving on a bus that has a maximun speed of 55 MPH to travel ANYWHERE in Atlanta without holding her close and hugging her so tight it makes her feel like she is suffocating.
I zoomed back to work and the bomb dropped.
We were busier than a bee hive being hit with a bat.
Before I knew it I had seven tables and felt like I was in a cartoon. We had a new girl start tonight for a trial run. She was working in the kitchen. I call her a girl but that only means she is female. I am fifty and if I had to guess her age I would say we were probably at "Prom" the same year.
She is an African American woman and has never worked in the restaurant industry.
Some of our cooks come in at 10:30 in the morning and don't get off til 10:00 at night. They get a short break to eat...decompress or hot box a cig..text their spouse , but pretty much it is a "Slam Wham Bam " job.
This woman came in at 5:00. By seven we were packed and I could see the panic in her face. She was working in the salad area..you gotta get those salads out before the meal so it is already a high pressure area. About 7:15 she told the owner (already known as Dr. Evil) that she needed a break. She marched out front to the bar and asked the bar tender where she could sit to take a break? She acted like she wanted to be directed to a table where she could sit and gather her thoughts about how crazy it was to try and work in the kitchen of a busy restaurant. The bartender (politely) told her we didn't HAVE a table for her to sit at and she needed to head back to the kitchen. Well she found a bucket to sit on and a little while later I saw her sitting on a plastic tub that we keep bread in. I guess she had a "WOO- WEE" moment and thought to herself "What the heck am I doing here?"
She took a good 15 minutes to decompress and gather her thoughts while we all got killed.
The restaurant industry is a brutal place to be if you have never worked in it before. Actually it can be pretty brutal if you HAVE worked in it before.
After all was said and done, she didn't slip out the back door and leave and Len didn't kick her out it. (Not yet)
I have been a server for over 32 years and there have been MANY nights I felt like saying "I just need five minutes to catch up." The problem is when you are busy, twenty more people get seated in the five minutes you want for yourself and they are ALL wanting and expecting something at the same time.
I bet when I go into work tomorrow there will be one less bucket in the kitchen. DAMN...there goes my seat!
You never know...she may come back tomorrow and say "I didn't know it would be THIS hard, but I am willing to try it again."
I am hoping she does. Trial by fire is a good thing...keeps you on your toes and cuts down on the bucket inventory.
Til next time...COTTON
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