If You Can't Take the Heat

I've started a new job (career?) in a brand-ass new restaurant.  Tonight was our first "test run," in which the staff invited guests to come dine for free, just so we could all figure the place out.


So, seeing a menu, wine list, beer list, etc. about a half hour before we started may have made me a bit anxiety-ridden.  Perhaps coupling that little doozy of a factoid with the fact that we didn't have a POS system made it worse, seeing as how hand-writing everyone's orders and delivering them to the kitchen (which is behind the door at the patio) and to the bar (which is in a New York zip code) even intimidated the veteran servers.  Perhaps the fact that I was not a veteran server, but a brand-ass new server in a brand-ass new restaurant, also made it a bit worse.


Apparently, I still did well, according to the guests.  I was friendly and humorous, I refilled everyone's drinks, I let everyone know when the kitchen was held up.


However, I did occasionally forget what I should take off the table and when, or forget to tell some people about drink specials, etc.  I wasn't perfect.


My biggest flaw, I believe, was in the fact that I am not particularly good at holding several plates at once.  Never really practiced it before - I am brand-ass new.  If any of you know me, and have ever seen what my hands look like - they're not very big.  In fact, I'm not 100% sure I'm very capable of holding several plates at once.

magic floating plates wtf???

Still, the expectation is that I can bring out four salads at a time.  I sure hope I'll be able to get comfortable with that, but I'm not holding my breath.


Any of you ever meet someone who tries to show you how to do something, who just gets repeatedly frustrated with you as you truly believe in your heart that you're mimicking exactly what he/she does?  Obviously not something they picked up in a business management class.  But hey, if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen right?


Here's a snippet of a minor confrontation, during being told how to hold four salad plates at once:


"Hold your hand like this" ::makes gesture::
::server looks at dude's hand, mimics exactly::
"No no no...." ::frustrated grumbling:: "You're getting too nervous, your hands are shaking."


Hey, thanks, glad you pointed that out!  Now can you continue telling me how to position my thumb 1.734 inches away from my other fingers so I can balance lots of salad plates?  I figure now is a perfect time to do so, since you've learned the secret of diffusing my nervousness: pointing it out, of course.  Not to mention, no frantic crowds of people are trying to work near us or walk past us, and the kitchen is a spacious fortress of serenity.  So yes, now is the perfect time, not later.  It would be silly of me to just bring two salads out, then two more and be fine.


I keep watching the bartenders, and I know that's where I can shine.  My entire job history consists of making drinks faster than everyone else.  I will get myself behind that bar.


Image from http://www.insatiable-critic.com/Article.aspx?id=699