Humor me for a moment while I share an experience I recently had at work. I finished my shift at my night job. As is customary, I hung out at the bar and had my shift drink, which we get one free one for each shift we work. At my table was the owner (my boss), and a regular customer who is a manager of some higher end restaurant here in my city. On this particular night we had some special guests: some 50 bikers who formed a charitable group, and came to our place for their meeting. We were busy.
The conversation at the table between my boss and the regular was him basically trying to convince my boss to offer these guys a regular spot once a month on a particular Saturday for their meeting at our little bar and grill. He suggested we do a buffet for them; with a set price for the event, and predetermined food items. I disagreed with his suggestion. He proceeded somewhat aggressively to belittle my position by suggesting she would be making a smart business decision that would make money which would pay for my salary. This, of course, meant that I should just shut up and agree BECAUSE it would be paying my salary. My opinion, and my reasoning for my position was not even heard, or allowed to be presented, but was just ignored completely.
My reasons for disagreeing were the following. First, we are not a buffet type of establishment. That idea is crap for our business. We would have a large group of people serving themselves with precooked food just sitting out, being kept warm. The cooks, being paid hourly, would make their money regardless. The bartender might make some cash from drink orders, but the servers wouldn't make much at all since these folks would be serving themselves. Next, we are a small place. With 50 people in a large party, that will take away from table space for the average customer walking in to eat our food at regular prices. That takes away from table turn over, and tips for the servers, which I mentioned. And what happens when people who have never been to our place come in on that particular Saturday, have no pace to sit, and leave without ordering anything. they won't be back. Chances are they will spread a bad word about us, too. Another factor this guy was not considering was the actual group themselves. Bikers are notorious in our bar for being terrible tippers. No offense to bikers intended. I have many friends who are bikers. For some reason, however, when they come into our bar and grill, their tips are crap. One night a group with a $100 tab left $1 and some change. I don't know why this is, but it happens every time we get bikers in our bar. It isn't really a "biker bar", but that doesn't mean we don't accommodate. We have many regulars who are bikers, and they tip well. Get non-regular bikers in a group of four or more, however, and they don't tip. The night in question the server who serviced this group of 50 only made $40 from the entire group. That is $0.80 a head, and the majority of them ate food, plus drinks, and averaged a tab of $15 each. Even at the meager rate of 15% for a tip, she should have made $100 easy of the group.
The customer suggesting we make a deal with these guys eventually stated that he meant catering. This complicated things more, because I actually agree that catering their party might be a good idea. He didn't mention this in the beginning, but was stating "buffet". When he stated catering, I tried to agree, but he suggested I shut up since I didn't know what I was talking about, obviously because I am just a line cook and a low level employee. (I'm not a violent man, and probably more of a coward when it comes to fighting, but at this point I was getting angry. Being an employee, I can't get into a fight with a customer, though.) It was becoming clear to me that this guy wasn't considering all of the factors, and was only thinking that this group would make the bar a quick chunk of cash. In the long term, however, and all factors being considered, it simply isn't worth it. And we don't any kind of reputation of being a biker bar, because they often fail.
I am a line cook. I don't make a lot of money. It isn't the most lucrative of career pursuits. Hell, for me, it isn't really even a career. It is just a job that I enjoy doing, that I happen to be good at doing, and that I am doing right now, end of story. I'm an artist, and a perfectionist, and a philosopher, to boot, you can't ask for more from a line cook. My customers, and the awesome women with whom I work, show me daily that I am good at what I do. Sure, I could easily pursue this as a career by going to culinary school, traveling the world, and that would be fun, but maybe in another life.
That being stated, DO NOT EVER assume that is the limit to my education, experience, awareness, or understanding of life, business, or anything else. I understand the restaurant business. I've been in it for ten years. I understand people, and profit. I come from a point of multiple perspectives. I consider things from the customer's point of view, from the cook's point of view, from the owner's point of view, and from a synthesis of all of it all. Telling me that a decision is better because it will pay my salary is only belittling my opinion, and me as a person, and isn't going to convince me of your point of view. Not to mention it is just disrespectful and insulting my intelligence, which is a serious mistake. If I disagree with your opinion, I have justifiable reasons for it. I am not disagreeing simply because I am a "line cook". Despite what some may think, my boss is not "paying my salary". I don't have a salary, I am paid hourly. I also do other things to make money. The reason I am still there doing this job is because I love the place, I want to see it succeed. I KNOW I can contribute to that success. I have had several offers for better hours, better pay, and overall better work, which I turned down. Don't assume my opinion is based from a perspective of being a mere "employee", which implies being lazy, inconsiderate, and incompetent.
Judge me by merit, my ability, my talent, my character, not by my position or your preconceived notions of my position in life, because the latter means NOTHING! Whether I end up a failure in life is my business, and time will tell. I sleep well at night, however, knowing that when I dreamed, I dreamed big, and didn't settle for upper management. I am in the trenches, so to speak, with the "lowliest" of them, and have shaken hands with the loftiest.
“They are but beggars that can count their worth.” - William Shakespeare.
UPDATE: The next day I went into work and the customer caught me and apologized. He said he didn't mean to be an ass, and that he was only trying to help.
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