Pt 2: How Stella Got His Work Ethic



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IMPORTANT NOTE TO SELF!

Grown men who have accomplished so much in their lives as to be put in charge of multi-million dollar restaurants really don't appreciate pimply-faced teenaged busboys smarting off to them.

Is it possible that certain other people don't either? Hmmmm ... I dunno ... but I'll have to remember to look into that sometime.

So, for those of you joining us, my new boss had just invited me to "Sit Down" for a little pow-wow about my responsibilities as a busser, in response to a little comment I'd just made.

Now to be perfectly clear, this wasn't my first job - it's not even my first job bussing tables for that matter - and I think that I've always been thought of as a "good employee." A hard worker, even. Yes, I was indeed known as being perhaps more than a little sarcastic from time-to-time by those who knew me.. but it was normally in that intelligent/witty way you'd almost always laugh at.. not so much as in a generally disrespectful manner. I was very much liked by all my teachers while growing up, for that matter. I'll additionally offer that my former employers from my high school years would certainly say good things about me, if asked (I even moved here from Nashville with a great letter to prove this if you don't believe me, and I still have it today btw). What's more, as possibly most Southern Boys from my era might tell you - "I wuz raised raight" - and - whether by nature or by nurture - had what you'd call an overall decent level of respect for those in authority.

Nonetheless, my own personal little quirky "sense of humor" .. let's call it .. have "Yes Indeedy" gotten me into a little bit of hot water, upon occasion. This was turning out to be one of those times.

Mike's a tall gangly 6 foot 2 if he's an inch, sporting a classic Marlboro Man mustache. People don't mess with him often. Do you remember I previously (on Guy's Work Blog) mentioned that I've seen a guy fired for eating a cracker off of the salad bar? Mike's the guy that fired him.

We're seated across the table from each other, and I'm thinking that I'm about to get chewed out. He shoots me the opening volley :

"Look around. Tell me what you see."

Ummmmm ..

"A restaurant," I return.

He doesn't smile. "Be a little more specific," he counters.

"People. Lots of people, eating dinner at tables" I offer.

(To be straight with you, I absolutely DO very clearly remember Mike telling me to "Sit Down." The impact of the ensuing conversation forever altered my work habits. But from here I'm mainly ad-libbing the dialogue and the "spirit" of the conversation. The exact details are of course a bit sketchy now - it's been 25 years! So I need a little of that "willing suspension of disbelief" stuff I spoke of earlier from you to finish this off.. okay?

Thanks. Love ya!

Mike again: "I want you to pretend you're one of those people - a guest in our restaurant, eating dinner, at this table. NOW look around. Is there anything you can see from where we're sitting that you'd call ... messy? Out of place? Anything NOT PERFECT that might in any way interfere with your ability to enjoy your dining experience?"

Wow. He's not acting like he's mad at me. You might even say that he's actually being quite patient. My defenses slip, as I accept the fact that he's trying to teach me something ... something important, even. Meanwhile, in my heart of hearts, something else seems to tell me that whatever this is, I need to learn it.

I break eye contact with him finally, and do as I'm told.

I look around.

Nodding my head in one direction, I soon report to him "That looks like a crumpled up cocktail napkin on the floor over there, under A-4."

His lips might have just moved.. not sure. I keep looking around.

"There's a tea pitcher just sitting on that table over there" I add.

"It shouldn't be there, should it..." he .. asks ..? No, it was a statement.

He's totally right, of course. Tea pitchers should obviously not be sitting on un-seated tables. I'm a busser, and because of this I know that the hostess could walk up to that table any second with a new group of diners. They don't want to be met by a tea pitcher - moist with condensation - just sitting idle on the table they're about to sit down to - DUH!!! Some instinct tells me I need to go pick it up RIGHT NOW and make sure that the table is both clean and dry before this happens.

"No sir, it shouldn't" I (enthusiastically (?) .. (God, I suck) reply.

But I'm doing well. If this is a test, I'd say that I'm starting to get the hang of it. At this point, I even want to succeed. Squinting and straining my eyes for more, I finally realize (Eureka! Bingo!) "It looks like there's a light bulb out on the lamp above (Table) G-6."

By George he thinks I've got it. He asks me "Do you know where the light bulbs are?" I tell him No, and he stands up from the table. "I'll show you" is all he says. He doesn't ask or tell me to follow him. At this point, he doesn't need to. I just do.

The lesson wasn't over. Mike stops at the long wooden divider which separates the bar/lounge area from the dining tables in G-section. He asks me what do I notice about the divider? Absolutely nothing I can offer, at first. But I try to look at it with eyes that haven't seen the restaurant a hundred or more times already, and after second I realize that "It's dusty."

He doesn't have to tell me .. I just reach for the towel that's in my apron.. and wipe it down. While doing so, I notice there's a salt shaker missing from another table. Well that certainly won't do. I need to replace it, asap.

What I learned during this little excercise, remains with me still today. And at this strategic point where I seem to be already answering my original smart-aleck question all by myself, Mike finally answers it for me.

"Everything a customer can see.. THAT'S what your responsibility is."

Picking up trash on the floor of the bathroom while I'm mainly just in there to pee, or trash in the parking lot when I'm walking in or out. That's what I'm responsible for. What?!? I overhear from a table that we're out of paper towels in the ladies' room?? I need to get on that.

Someone walking around with a slightly lost look in their eyes? It's my responsibilty to see if I can help them. Maybe they're looking for the bathroom but are uncomfortable asking, or maybe they're just trying to find their server so they can pay and leave .. this too - if I see it - is my responsibiliy take care of.

And that's how I roll today, thanks to Mike.

There are other reasons I'm like this as well - reasons which I've only recently re-discovered in the past couple of months. They're more introspective, soul-searchy and self-analysis related reasons though, which I may share another time.

But now I know just exactly what my real job is, thanks largely to Mike sitting me down that fateful day in late 1986. This knowledge has served me well over the years, probably helping me to move up in most restaurants I've worked in since then in a shorter amount of time than it might take others to. (Hey as you already know, just six months here now and I'm getting closing shifts - cool). I look around a lot, I try to do what needs to be done whenever I see a need, and as a result of this I can keep myself pretty busy even on the slowest of shifts.


So, back to the topic of whether this blog is ever discovered by my current employers.. Whether I am fired or not for it I just want to say to you, "Mike" (my current GM, that is, not the original Mike of this story...) for the record ... and while I have your attention .. that

"Our bussers are not held nearly accountable enough for the condition and appearance of our floors! They look like hell sometimes, in fact!"

Mike, I know how you feel about trash on the floors (the same as I do, in fact) because I see you picking things up yourself at times, or instructing others to sweep from time to time, whenever you see the need. My point is however, that YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TO.

Bottom line: once a table has been reset the bussers are responsible for the way a table appears, and everything a guest sees while being seated there. But more often than actually picking up the crayons and fries that landed on the floor under the table, our bussers seem to sweep crumbs OFF of the table and ONTO the chairs and floors. Dude... our guests should NOT have to see this crap.

You don't have time to be everywhere and instruct them on a case-by-case basis either. Nonetheless, these bussers we have are the last line of defense we have to make a good first impression, as people are being seated.

Please, you need to sit them down and give them a good talking to.

They may not like you for it, but maybe when they're grown men, like me, they WILL appreciate you for it.