Thanks Ever So Much For The Help!
My husband and I took over the lease to a pub kitchen. This happens on our second night. We never thought that we would be this busy this fast; we’ve been open for less than forty-eight hours and we have 200 people booked.
The problem is that the bar staff are not happy about suddenly having gotten work; the pub went from ten people a week to 200 in a night. They refuse to run plates, so that is left to me, and only me, while my husband is the only chef cooking.
To get from the kitchen to guests, I have to go down a very steep, narrow, dark set of stairs. I am dyslexic and I have trouble judging distances like stairs. But I focus hard. After about forty-five minutes of going up and down, the old boys from the bar have set up camp at the base of the stairs. Every time I make it down, they cheer me on. It becomes a game that helps me.
By the end of the night, I’ve spent four hours running plates, and I’ve carried and cleared over 350 dishes. There is one table left to serve: a couple on a date. The man holds up his table number.
Customer #1: “Lucky forty-four.”
I am standing there with two plates. The couple is in good spirits considering they have waited over an hour for their food. I look around the now empty bar.
Me: “Um, no, thirty-eight.”
Customer #1: “What the f***?”
Me: “I’m kidding. Forty-four. I am very sorry about the wait; it was just me and the chef tonight. Please enjoy your meal.”
Customer #2: “Just the two of you? What about the five standing behind the bar?”
Normally, I would bite my tongue, but we do not work for the pub. We lease the kitchen; we own the business.
Me: “They informed us that they are bar staff and they are not paid to run plates.”
Customer #2: “Oh.”
As one of the bar staff is walking behind me, I say:
Me: “The thing is, we are not employed by the bar; we are independent. We would have paid them to run plates on top of what they would have got from working the bar. They each missed out on at least $100 cash tonight.”
Ah, well. More money for us.
Question of the Week
Have you ever served a bad customer who got what they deserved?
