An Early Lesson in Work Politics

This is from today

You may find it interesting to know that sunny Orlando Florida often experiences heavy rainfalls and even Tornado Warnings. Being located in the central portion of the state, we occasionally experience the edges of storms from both coasts, resulting in "perfect storm" like conditions, and swirling skies above us. Just don't let the Department of Tourism know I told ya so, btw.

This was such one night. There was a Tornado Warning issued, and the rain was so heavy that I was watching weather reports on the news to determine when would be the most opportune and safest time to leave the house and drive into work - whether this meant being extremely early, or being extremely late, mattered not.

Making it to work safely enough, I heard right off that our manager had called the corporate hq asking permission to close early, so that the employees could get home before things got much worse (and given that it would not be a profitable shift, even for the company). "Permission Denied" of course, and we settled in for what would undoubtedly be a slow shift.

The rains continued, customers continued not coming in the door, and we started to send a few people home knowing that just a few of us would be enough to handle things. Well, just as the final cut is about to be made (and I was going to be included in those that got to leave) "Didi" - who was this shift's "closer" - asks me if I wanted to stay and close for her. She says "Well I don't have any tables right now, and I'm not going to make any money, so I might as well leave."

My initial response was "Hey I don't have any tables either and I'm not going to make any money either, so..." Then I stopped myself. If you're not a restaurant person yourself, then you probably don't understand the benefits of being a "closer." In short tho, like it probably sounds, this shift is where the biggest money lies.

While things run differently in various restaurants, in long, our system is such that the closer comes in first (4pm) and stays the latest.. until we are closed, duh. Statistically, that person will get the most tables of course. At our place the closer is guaranteed the first two tables even - meaning that when other servers come in later - altho it might seem "their turn" to be seated - they won't be seated until after the closer has gotten a second table. This makes slower shifts a tad more profitable - for the closer that is.

Sweetest of all, if there are any "big top" reservations (large parties, like 8, 10 or 15 people) the closers are assigned those right off the bat, receiving both the most tables and the largest. Equaling bank, see? It's a very coveted shift overall, and among restaurants with a staff of around 25 or 30 servers, maybe only 4 or 5 are routinely scheduled the closing shifts. These are usually the servers who have been there the longest. This being only around my second month or so, there was no way I was going to be scheduled one anytime soon, but I think for a second about my long-term future here.

So I unstopped myself, mustering the best "make lemonade" attitude I could, and changed my tune mid-sentence, saying "Well if I'm not going to make any money, I might as well stick around and learn how to close." At our place, the closer also has the responsibility of checking out all the other servers, assigning them their individual sideworks and closing duties, signing them out when they're ready to leave - and then getting stuck with cleaning or correcting anything they didn't originally notice some slacker skated out without doing.

So anyways, in obvious suck-up-to-the-manager-so-I-can-be-thought-of-as-closing-material fashion, I stayed the entire shift, and learned how to close. But shortly after accepting the closing shift, another server comes to me with a lesson in the politics of working here..

It was Cassie. (You remember Cassie right? She took me under her wing, gave me all sorts of useful advice about getting on well here... her!) We're alone, and she says to me "Hey, some friendly advice for you.. Don't be too eager to pick up closing shifts." Hmmmm, this should be good. I ask her "Why not?"

"There's a lot of people who will be mad at you if you start closing." I'm like "Why?"

"Well there's not that many of those shift and it's the best money obviously. But a lot of people that have been here longer than you never get to close, and they won't like you if start getting closing shifts." Wellll, that's true I realize, but deep down I know I'm here to make money, not necessarily friends. But I let her keep talking without saying just that.

"For instance" she says, "I've been here three years and I don't get closing shifts."

"OH!" I exclaim. "So YOU'RE one of the people who would be mad at me if I get closing shifts."

"Well, I'd be hurt.."

We hugged, the night continued, I did an okay job, and time passes. I am of course never scheduled any closing shifts for the next few months, but I do manage to pick up one more from a guy who wanted to leave early - again just to plant the seed in management's collective brain that I can do it. And like Cassie bemoaned above, I sometimes hear murmurings from certain other servers along the lines of "been here a year and a half and I never get to close." That's restaurant life tho, it takes time and a lot of proving yourself to get there.

Well, the Spring-time Firing Spree Jamboree has continued and we lost yet another one. What you didn't know is that all three of these servers got closing shifts from time-to-time. A fourth server - who only ever worked nights and often closed - took a day job recently and only works one or two nights on weekends now.

Add it all up an-n-n-nd ... you guessed it - closing shifts have recently come available. We also have a different manager (I'll call him "Luigi") writing our schedules now, and he's mixing things up a bit it turns out. Luigi likes me I think, and apparently thinks I do a good job. I've been getting more night shifts than lunch shifts the past two weeks in fact, which is good.

You know where this is going I imagine. Politics be damned...

Ironically, it's raining pretty darn heavily now. I'm about to eat lunch, shower, iron my shirt, and go in for my first ever scheduled closing shift. And nary a week away from having been here only six months.

Wish me luck!