Angling for a promotion in a restaurant - help!
September 30, 2013 1:37 PM Subscribe
I am working as a restaurant hostess, and I am making, on average, maybe $14/hour, often with really short shifts. This is not enough. I have some serving experience, I want to be a server, but I'm not sure how to best go about it. Working in a restaurant is a good fit for my lifestyle right now (low monthly expenses, need the flexibility) and I am happier in a job that has me running around than sitting at a desk. My original plan was to try to supplement my hostessing income with another part-time job, but finding a keeping and scheduling such a second/third job is not really working out right now. Should I stick it out at one restaurant, or just look elsewhere?
I am currently working as a hostess at two restaurants. I will no longer be working as a hostess at one of them due to mutual scheduling problems after the next couple of weeks. I am mostly bummed because the staff at that restaurant is awesome and I enjoyed working there, but I only worked there one or two shifts a week and they tip out everyone and their mother, so while I suppose I will miss the money, it wasn't much.
But, I have comfortably paid my bills this month thanks to a personal assistant job that only lasted a couple weeks (wasn't fired, the person just didn't end up needing me that much) and a freelance job. While I am hopeful that I will rustle up another freelance gig for next month, I'm getting more hours at work, and I do have some savings, I am sick of feeling so much stress about money. I really and truly am not making enough money at my main job despite working five shifts a week. I have been there for only a few months and I am not the most senior host, and I doubt that they would promote me directly to being a server without having me work as an expeditor. The expeditors get a larger share of the tip pool than the hosts, but their shifts are really short and the money would, at best, even out.
I am a good hostess, but I am also good at server stuff. When I'm not busy, I run drinks and food, drop checks, clear tables, etc. and the servers like me and appreciate my help. I have fine dining experience and I cringe when I see people serving without an open stance or reaching across or making other rookie server mistakes. I know the menu and I can sell the food enthusiastically. I have used a POS system, and when the server or bartenders are busy, sometimes they will log me into the POS system and I'll put in an order for them. (Probably against the rules). Blah blah blah. This shit isn't rocket science, but I feel like I'm beating my head against a wall. My managers are young and inexperienced, and I know that they feel pressure to be stern and stay on top of the staff. As a result, I have no idea if they think I'm doing a good job or not.
I do have some serving experience, but not in a restaurant, and not recently. I work hard, I'm a good-looking girl (that's supposed to help, right?), and I should have a great reference from the restaurant that I have to leave in the next few weeks. My availability isn't awesome for the next couple of weeks, but I am trying to have a plan of attack for my job hunt when I can start it up again and/or figure out how to approach my managers and ask for a promotion.
Restaurant industry mefites, how the hell do I get out of Hostess Limbo? Do I need to just suck it up and put in more time? Is restaurant hopping bad? This is in Los Angeles, and I am one of many out of work actors looking for a restaurant job. Not expecting it to be easy. Should I try chain restaurants? Or working as a cocktail waitress? I'm working at chef-driven, kind of hip restaurants right now and I enjoy working for people who really care about the food they serve, but I am, obviously, willing to look elsewhere. (Except for catering, because the money and the work is terrible. Only if I'm really desperate for money. Let's just not talk about cater waitering, please).
(Note: I did not make it through training at this job because my lack of Japanese language skills and cultural knowledge were a big problem. Kind of a bummer, but it wasn't a good fit).
I am currently working as a hostess at two restaurants. I will no longer be working as a hostess at one of them due to mutual scheduling problems after the next couple of weeks. I am mostly bummed because the staff at that restaurant is awesome and I enjoyed working there, but I only worked there one or two shifts a week and they tip out everyone and their mother, so while I suppose I will miss the money, it wasn't much.
But, I have comfortably paid my bills this month thanks to a personal assistant job that only lasted a couple weeks (wasn't fired, the person just didn't end up needing me that much) and a freelance job. While I am hopeful that I will rustle up another freelance gig for next month, I'm getting more hours at work, and I do have some savings, I am sick of feeling so much stress about money. I really and truly am not making enough money at my main job despite working five shifts a week. I have been there for only a few months and I am not the most senior host, and I doubt that they would promote me directly to being a server without having me work as an expeditor. The expeditors get a larger share of the tip pool than the hosts, but their shifts are really short and the money would, at best, even out.
I am a good hostess, but I am also good at server stuff. When I'm not busy, I run drinks and food, drop checks, clear tables, etc. and the servers like me and appreciate my help. I have fine dining experience and I cringe when I see people serving without an open stance or reaching across or making other rookie server mistakes. I know the menu and I can sell the food enthusiastically. I have used a POS system, and when the server or bartenders are busy, sometimes they will log me into the POS system and I'll put in an order for them. (Probably against the rules). Blah blah blah. This shit isn't rocket science, but I feel like I'm beating my head against a wall. My managers are young and inexperienced, and I know that they feel pressure to be stern and stay on top of the staff. As a result, I have no idea if they think I'm doing a good job or not.
I do have some serving experience, but not in a restaurant, and not recently. I work hard, I'm a good-looking girl (that's supposed to help, right?), and I should have a great reference from the restaurant that I have to leave in the next few weeks. My availability isn't awesome for the next couple of weeks, but I am trying to have a plan of attack for my job hunt when I can start it up again and/or figure out how to approach my managers and ask for a promotion.
Restaurant industry mefites, how the hell do I get out of Hostess Limbo? Do I need to just suck it up and put in more time? Is restaurant hopping bad? This is in Los Angeles, and I am one of many out of work actors looking for a restaurant job. Not expecting it to be easy. Should I try chain restaurants? Or working as a cocktail waitress? I'm working at chef-driven, kind of hip restaurants right now and I enjoy working for people who really care about the food they serve, but I am, obviously, willing to look elsewhere. (Except for catering, because the money and the work is terrible. Only if I'm really desperate for money. Let's just not talk about cater waitering, please).
(Note: I did not make it through training at this job because my lack of Japanese language skills and cultural knowledge were a big problem. Kind of a bummer, but it wasn't a good fit).
If talking to your manager at the restraunt you're hosting at now doesn't yield a good answer, I'd also explore other places. If you have a couple of weeks, really see if you can get a full-time serving job.
I'd check everything out. The object of working is to make piles of money. If you're really hot, aim for something like Hooters where you can make real money (if indeed you can, I always suspected it was a myth.)
Bartending is another good way to make dough. Especially in a trendy bar.
I wouldn't hesitate to work at a Chili's if I thought I could make a few bucks. Especially if it was close to home and I got a lot of hours.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:57 PM on September 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
I'd check everything out. The object of working is to make piles of money. If you're really hot, aim for something like Hooters where you can make real money (if indeed you can, I always suspected it was a myth.)
Bartending is another good way to make dough. Especially in a trendy bar.
I wouldn't hesitate to work at a Chili's if I thought I could make a few bucks. Especially if it was close to home and I got a lot of hours.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:57 PM on September 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
Going for the completely obvious here, but have you actually *asked*?
As a result, I have no idea if they think I'm doing a good job or not.
This leads me to believe you haven't. It doesn't work to wait around hoping for people to notice. It isn't always easy, but ask for what you want.
When I'm not busy, I run drinks and food, drop checks, clear tables, etc. and the servers like me and appreciate my help. I have fine dining experience and I cringe when I see people serving without an open stance or reaching across or making other rookie server mistakes. I know the menu and I can sell the food enthusiastically. I have used a POS system, and when the server or bartenders are busy, sometimes they will log me into the POS system and I'll put in an order for them. (Probably against the rules). Blah blah blah. This shit isn't rocket science, but I feel like I'm beating my head against a wall.
You make a great case here. I'd hire you in a minute just based on this speech. If you tell them this and they don't want to hire you, go somewhere else.
posted by cnc at 2:25 PM on September 30, 2013
As a result, I have no idea if they think I'm doing a good job or not.
This leads me to believe you haven't. It doesn't work to wait around hoping for people to notice. It isn't always easy, but ask for what you want.
When I'm not busy, I run drinks and food, drop checks, clear tables, etc. and the servers like me and appreciate my help. I have fine dining experience and I cringe when I see people serving without an open stance or reaching across or making other rookie server mistakes. I know the menu and I can sell the food enthusiastically. I have used a POS system, and when the server or bartenders are busy, sometimes they will log me into the POS system and I'll put in an order for them. (Probably against the rules). Blah blah blah. This shit isn't rocket science, but I feel like I'm beating my head against a wall.
You make a great case here. I'd hire you in a minute just based on this speech. If you tell them this and they don't want to hire you, go somewhere else.
posted by cnc at 2:25 PM on September 30, 2013
Best answer: I often got stuck in the "hostess zone" because I was good at it. I watched numerous other servers get hired while I held down the fort. Forget that!
Restaurant work is a total SOCIAL SCENE. You work the scene and if you're not getting what you want, LEAVE. Apply to other places all the time. If you haven't been "socially promoted" yet, you won't ever be, so try somewhere else. Go to a shittier restaurant and serve there for six months, and then you will be hired very quickly at the nicer restaurants. You just need your first break.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 5:02 PM on September 30, 2013
Restaurant work is a total SOCIAL SCENE. You work the scene and if you're not getting what you want, LEAVE. Apply to other places all the time. If you haven't been "socially promoted" yet, you won't ever be, so try somewhere else. Go to a shittier restaurant and serve there for six months, and then you will be hired very quickly at the nicer restaurants. You just need your first break.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 5:02 PM on September 30, 2013
Best answer: I'm a server and I've been working front-of-house off and on for about ten years. For what it's worth, I would ask to train as a server rather than to be promoted.
Ask for the training, then ask to take the tests involved in training, then ask for recs for the servers who trained you, then ask to pick up some shifts. That sounds like a lot, but you can probably get it done in a couple weeks if you hustle. You might just have to pick up some shifts other servers don't want or call out on at first, but if you prove yourself as a hard worker and keep picking up as many and as difficult shifts as you can, you should get on the server schedule pretty soon and your hostess shifts will peter off. You will have to be *very* assertive about making sure your training days and tests are scheduled, though, and make sure you schedule those shifts with the manager who actually runs the restaurant (the proteges of anybody but the big boss and/or the person who actually does the bulk of the managerial work never get anywhere, in my experience).
I wouldn't directly ask for a promotion. One reason is that the managers are likely to give you lots of lip-service and just continue to schedule you as a hostess. Once they know you want to be a server they're also likely to hold that out as a carrot to get you to take on extra scunt work as hostess, and won't actually give you what they want as long as they can hold it over you instead. I don't know why restaurants in particular seem to work like that, but in my experience they do -- maybe the customer service culture of never saying "no" *shrug.* The other reason is that you need to get the wait staff on your side before you start picking up serving shifts, because unless the place is *severely* understaffed you'll be stealing shifts from them and therefore taking money from their pockets. Obviously, they aren't going to want that to happen. If you let the servers feel like you're coming in as their trainee, though, and become the person who is happy to save the day by picking up some shift they can't come in for, or by working extra hard on the floor, then you'll probably be in a much better position. So I would basically be extremely pushy about training and then let super hard work and humility on subsequent shifts speak for itself.
When you talk to either the management or the other servers about becoming a server yourself, I would also talk up how much you love interacting with the waitstaff and customers, and how you love selling, etc, and would leave out any criticisms about the waitstaff/serving style (such as, I wouldn't say anything about shuddering over servers not having an open stance or not serving plates by seat position, etc). Especially if you're in Cali, remember to be *super positive.* Again, I don't know why service culture has to be so extremely negativity-adverse, but it is, so I would try to reflect those values. My advice would be to sell yourself as someone who will be a good contribution to the waitstaff as a team, not just in talking to management, but also in how you prioritize your work everyday. If you can make them believe that you'll make their lives easier by being a server, you'll become and stay a server in their restaurant.
posted by rue72 at 5:15 PM on September 30, 2013 [3 favorites]
Ask for the training, then ask to take the tests involved in training, then ask for recs for the servers who trained you, then ask to pick up some shifts. That sounds like a lot, but you can probably get it done in a couple weeks if you hustle. You might just have to pick up some shifts other servers don't want or call out on at first, but if you prove yourself as a hard worker and keep picking up as many and as difficult shifts as you can, you should get on the server schedule pretty soon and your hostess shifts will peter off. You will have to be *very* assertive about making sure your training days and tests are scheduled, though, and make sure you schedule those shifts with the manager who actually runs the restaurant (the proteges of anybody but the big boss and/or the person who actually does the bulk of the managerial work never get anywhere, in my experience).
I wouldn't directly ask for a promotion. One reason is that the managers are likely to give you lots of lip-service and just continue to schedule you as a hostess. Once they know you want to be a server they're also likely to hold that out as a carrot to get you to take on extra scunt work as hostess, and won't actually give you what they want as long as they can hold it over you instead. I don't know why restaurants in particular seem to work like that, but in my experience they do -- maybe the customer service culture of never saying "no" *shrug.* The other reason is that you need to get the wait staff on your side before you start picking up serving shifts, because unless the place is *severely* understaffed you'll be stealing shifts from them and therefore taking money from their pockets. Obviously, they aren't going to want that to happen. If you let the servers feel like you're coming in as their trainee, though, and become the person who is happy to save the day by picking up some shift they can't come in for, or by working extra hard on the floor, then you'll probably be in a much better position. So I would basically be extremely pushy about training and then let super hard work and humility on subsequent shifts speak for itself.
When you talk to either the management or the other servers about becoming a server yourself, I would also talk up how much you love interacting with the waitstaff and customers, and how you love selling, etc, and would leave out any criticisms about the waitstaff/serving style (such as, I wouldn't say anything about shuddering over servers not having an open stance or not serving plates by seat position, etc). Especially if you're in Cali, remember to be *super positive.* Again, I don't know why service culture has to be so extremely negativity-adverse, but it is, so I would try to reflect those values. My advice would be to sell yourself as someone who will be a good contribution to the waitstaff as a team, not just in talking to management, but also in how you prioritize your work everyday. If you can make them believe that you'll make their lives easier by being a server, you'll become and stay a server in their restaurant.
posted by rue72 at 5:15 PM on September 30, 2013 [3 favorites]
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You are the only person who cares about your career (until you make it as an actor). Take charge of it.
posted by Etrigan at 1:47 PM on September 30, 2013 [1 favorite]