I think I'm going to get fired: Restaurant edition!

February 3, 2015 1:02 AM

I just finished training as a food runner/expo at a high volume, fine dining restaurant in LA. I am not doing well, and although I've been scheduled for five shifts for the next two weeks, I feel like I'm doing a shitty job, the managers are always on my ass, and I'm getting carpal tunnel syndrome from the heavy plates. I'm obviously looking for a new job, and I'm on the verge of asking for my old job back, but if the hive mind has any advice on how to salvage this situation, please help me out.

I am a good expeditor, but I am apparently a shitty food runner. If you'd asked me before last week if I could carry three plates (two on one arm and one on the other), I would have said, duh! But the plates at this restaurant are fucking heavy, they have to be carried in the correct order of table position number, and most of the plates are hot, hot, hot. I've worked as a food runner before, but not like this. I have small hands, and I am physically struggling.

My manager said that this is basic stuff that I need to nail, and that considering my level of experience, my inability to do said basic stuff is blowing his mind. I am nervous as shit, which is making things worse.

Any advice for the plate carrying/physical side of restaurant work? Or how to frame getting fired so I don't feel like a complete piece of shit?

posted by ablazingsaddle to Work & Money (7 answers total)

Is there anyone friendly and experienced on staff who can teach you some tricks for how to do things the expected way for your workplace? They might use tea towels to deal with the heat, or be able to show you a way to modify your grip in a way that makes it easier to hold the plates, or it might turn out that they're not usually carrying three plates at once anyway. You would hope that this would have been covered in training, but you might find that your coworkers have their own personal tips and tricks that aren't common to everyone.

Where I work we are expected to carry three plates when it's possible and practical (it works best if at least one of the plates is smaller), but it's also not completely unheard of that a couple (or even a few) servers will take the plates out to one table. There's usually a senior staff member standing where the food comes out from the kitchen and if when food is called a less experienced person can't take it all at once, even if it's only three plates, someone else will usually say, "Okay, you take these two, I'll follow with the rest."

I've burnt my hand on a plate, and I've seen other people drop food and drink. I'd personally rather be a little bit cautious and ask for help when it's needed, than cause a mess or injury.

Try not to take it too personally that your managers are constantly on your back about everything. My experience of managers in food service is that they are notorious for micromanagement, and making mundane things into dramas. They're probably doing this to everyone else to some degree. I started my current job just over two months ago and thought that I was the only person ever getting in trouble. I went out for lunch last week with a coworker and it turns out that she is also constantly being told to do something else, do something differently etc. Just like I have been. And when I described some of the rude and nasty things that more experienced staff members have said and done to me, she knew exactly who I was talking about even though I didn't name names.

I'm sorry you're having a crappy time. The worst case scenario is that you get fired. If that happens, at least you won't have to deal with your manager being on your case. I hope this current jobs works out long enough for you to line something else up, though, at least. :)
posted by kinddieserzeit at 2:06 AM on February 3, 2015 [4 favorites]

Or how to frame getting fired so I don't feel like a complete piece of shit?

Not every job is for every person. Sometimes you have to do the wrong jobs for awhile to figure out what the right job is. Take it as a learning experience, be thankful that you didn't waste too much time on it, and move on.

(That's only if it gets to the point of getting fired. I personally think this situation is salvageable. And just think how impressed your managers are going to be when you step up to the plate and show them what you're really made of).
posted by sam_harms at 2:10 AM on February 3, 2015

Check your MeMail.
posted by Room 641-A at 3:27 AM on February 3, 2015

It's been one week? Your physical strength hasn't had time to build up. You may be fine. But maybe also see if you can ask for guidance, practice your technique when it's slow, and consider using towels for the heat. Can you get the plates before they get hot? (Is it only when they've been sitting at the warmer that the entire plate gets hot?)
posted by salvia at 10:09 AM on February 3, 2015

considering my level of experience, my inability to do said basic stuff is blowing his mind.

I don't think you can come back from a comment like this from your boss. That's pretty dire. I think you're right that you'll probably get fired. That said, that's not a reflection on your ability to do this work, just that this place isn't a fit, and definitely shouldn't make you feel like shit.

In the meantime, yes, seek out some friendly coworkers who've been there a while and get some tips and tricks, and reach out to your old job.
posted by zutalors! at 10:14 AM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

Don't use towels to protect your hands, it looks tacky. Instead, snag a couple of napkins from the dining room (I'm assuming they're cloth) and use them the same way. Carry the hottest plate in your dominant hand, with nicely folded napkin insulation. Second hottest is in your other hand, coolest on your forearm. You can also increase heat tolerance by running your hands under increasingly hot tap water--repeat daily. As long as you know which plates are which seat numbers, you should be fine, unless they insist on serving seat numbers in order 1-2-3-4-n.

Carpal tunnel takes a long time to develop, what you're feeling is muscle strain. Look up exercises for increasing finger and wrist strength.

Ask advice from colleagues for sure. And shine at expo. A good expediter is an incredible resource to have in a kitchen. It's better if it's the exec or the sous--they have more ability to see exactly what's going on in which pans. But if expo is going to be a FOH person, that frees up trained hands to be on the line. So it comes out a bit of a wash, in the end, so work as hard as you can at being Super Expo. Food runners are a dime a dozen and easily replaceable. Truly great expos are not.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 10:20 AM on February 3, 2015 [3 favorites]

We were trained in a wonderful four-plate carry method when I waited tables at J. Alexander's mumblety years ago. I was trying to figure out how to explain it in text, but luckily found it on YouTube instead. Every server, no matter how big their hands, was able to use this method; it just takes a bit of practice.

As for your strength and heat tolerance, both will improve if you can stick with it. If you can't, don't beat yourself up. Different people have different skills, and you will find yours.
posted by Scienxe at 10:34 AM on February 3, 2015 [3 favorites]