I started training at the restaurant I'll be working at on Monday. It was interesting. There were all these cute young blondes in for training too. Only one girl (that I know of) was older than me. Also of the 12 or so girls in for training all but two of us had restaurant serving experience.
The trainer was kind of like a boot camp sargeant telling us what to wear and how to do the job. I guess you have to be like that though. Anyway the thing I was surprised about is that we are not allowed to wear pants, only shorts (and they should be short) or skirts. She also told us our hair needs to be down, and if we wear it in a messy bun or something she will tell us, "your hair is ugly, I hope you brought a straightener." Another thing is that she brought out the uniforms and shows us a medium shirt. It looked small! I asked for a medium, pretty much all of us did saying it looked small. But nope, me and another girl had to get extra-smalls, most girls got a small and only about 1 or 2 were able to get that medium.
I went shopping on Wednesday for black shorts and black shoes. It's already been an expensive job! Especially for making under minimum wage! Almost $2 under minimum!
I went again yesterday for more training, we learned about wine, etc. Was actually feeling it a little bit after all that wine and it was before noon! But one of the things she talked about in the afternoon was tip-outs. Apparently the way it looks to me, is that we owe 2.5% of total food sales to the kitchen and hostess staff, and we owe 5% of alcohol sales to the bartenders. That's more than I was expecting. So if a person doesn't tip we still owe and that would mean I'd be making way under minimum wage. So I hope people tip there!
I am going back today for a split shift to shadow a couple of waiters. I live 30 minutes from this restaurant so it doesn't make sense for me to come home for my break in between shifts so I will have to find something to do while in that town. Good thing I have a book to read and they have some nice beaches.
This uniform sounds ridiculous! If this is a classy restaurant then they sure make it look like a Hooters. Unfortunately, this isn't the only place that is like that, and you'll come to find that the short shorts/skirts, and tight tops sadly bring in the tips. A little much to to tell you that your hair is ugly. I don't envy you...waitressing is a draining and thankless job, but it gives you great experience to learn how to multitask and keep cool in a high pressure situation (read: a Friday or Saturday night). Don't worry about mistakes either...my first night I spilled two 23oz beers on a guy in a white shirt. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteYeah really, what exactly are they trying to sell? It's unfortunate that that actually brings in more tips. What did you do after you spilled those beers on the guy? Oh that would just be my nightmare, I definitely need some practice carrying trays!
ReplyDeleteThey made us pay for our uniform too, $35 for the shirt, $20 for the apron, and $4 for a hot cloth. I hope to make some of these expenses back! I may also owe 4.5% of total sales to the house too, which I think is ridiculous, the management already makes enough. Ugh, that's half my tips gone as tip-out.
This sounds ridiculous but let's see how it goes(at least I hope you will keep us updated).
ReplyDeleteAny experience is good experience as you get to learn something but I don't know if I could have handled a job like that.
I hope everything works out for you. I wish you luck.
That sucks, you do most of the work but you still have to pay everyone else? Bummer. I've never worked as a waitress before but I know it's a hard job that I can't do. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI've owed 2% though. But it covered anything I broke or anyone running on bills. I have a feeling 4.5% is a little steep!
ReplyDeleteThose percentages sound high to me. My daughter is a server and she doesn't pay out that much! But she does get bummed out when people don't tip! I hear americans tip better than canadians so hopefully you'll get lots of tourists!
ReplyDeleteGreat readding your blog
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