FOH Follies - When Front-Of-The-House Employees Must Handle Multiple Functions

[lperry]

At a recent meal, we were surprised by a couple of activities that were going on during our meal.  First, the hostess was seated in the front dining area completing some sort of filing and paperwork.  Second, a manager or owner was giving instructions to an employee, quite loudly, in front of guests.

We both thought it was odd, particularly giving instructions in public, and it took away from the relaxing ambiance we were hoping to find.  If it matters, the hostess was doing her greeting and seating duties quite well, but she was also supposed to be refilling drinks, and there were many dry glasses in the room.  Is this the new "normal?"

[DC Deb]

Did they seem short staffed?  It does sound weird that the hostess would pour water too.

I once worked in a restaurant where the owner would not hesitate to yell at staff in front of guests.  It happened enough that people commented in reviews.

[lperry]

They did not seem short staffed.  We only figured out it was the hostess' responsibility to pour water at the end of the meal when our glasses were dry and our server said something to her, after which she grabbed the pitcher and went around the room.  I don't know why he just didn't fill the glasses.  There was also a runner bringing food out, so he could have done it too, I suppose.

The manager wasn't rude to the employees, just loud with the instructions.  It felt strange - like the diners were an afterthought to the work that needed to be done for the restaurant.

[ChiantiandFava]

Power politics aren't very appetizing ehh? I think these dramas are more prevalent/exacerbated by the expectations of living in DC--that is, so many of your FOH employees aren't proud to be working in restaurants and would rather be in the non-profit/government world like their friends. 

[DonRocks]

I know of multiple examples of female owners or GMs getting irate when they're working the host stand, and someone asks to speak with a manager. Yes, every case I know of is female, and I wonder if there's an extra irritant thrown into the mix because of entrenched assumptions that women probably aren't owners or managers. I think the proper way for a diner to initiate this situation would be to ask, politely, "Are you a manager?"

[bettyjoan]

Power politics aren't very appetizing ehh? I think these dramas are more prevalent/exacerbated by the expectations of living in DC--that is, so many of your FOH employees aren't proud to be working in restaurants and would rather be in the non-profit/government world like their friends. 

Wait...what???

I cannot be the only person rubbed completely the wrong way by this statement.  "So many" employees are ashamed of their restaurant jobs?  DC has more FOH "dramas" because restaurant staff are all pining for government positions?  In addition to being a tremendous generalization, I feel like this comment smacks of classist assumptions.

Or maybe I'm just cranky this morning.

[ChiantiandFava]

It was both a generalization and a comment on class. There are tons of restaurant employees who view their work as their calling, or just as importantly, treat it as such. It's a convoluted argument and probably has little bearing on the OP's post but-- FOH employees have to invest both time and effort to attain a higher skill level, this is often undermined by a "this is only temporary" or "this is less important work" type attitude. That's true everywhere. I don't think it's difficult to see how a place like DC, filled with intense ambitions and expectations, could intensify or diffuse these mindsets.

[DonRocks]

bettyjoan, I can see how ChiantiandFava's post was intended to be thought-provoking, and I can also see why you'd ask for clarification. I tried to get a little thought-provoking jab in myself, but apparently it didn't work.  Honestly, I was afraid that what I wrote might raise more hackles than what ChiantiandFava wrote (in a way, I was trying to protect ChiantiandFava by deflecting some of the responses onto myself). That said, what I wrote is true, and something that I have personally witnessed (and heard about - oh, have I heard about it ) - several times.

[lperry]

bettyjoan, I can see how ChiantiandFava's post was intended to be thought-provoking, and I can also see why you'd ask for clarification. I tried to get a little thought-provoking jab in myself, but apparently it didn't work.  Honestly, I was afraid that what I wrote might raise more hackles than what ChiantiandFava wrote (in a way, I was trying to protect ChiantiandFava by deflecting some of the responses onto myself). That said, what I wrote is true, and something that I have personally witnessed (and heard about - oh, have I heard about it ) - several times.

It did.  I found it pretty annoying that you proposed that diners change their behavior only when speaking to people of a certain gender.

[DonRocks]

It did.  I found it pretty annoying that you proposed that diners change their behavior only when speaking to people of a certain gender. 

I did no such thing. "Are you a manager?" applies in every single instance: male or female, young or old, casual dress or upscale dress, caucasian or otherwise.

You're a scientist, Linda. If I have a bag of fruit, pull out an orange, and say, "This is an orange," that sentence does not imply that the rest of the fruit isn't all oranges as well. Extrapolation is a useful technique, but it must be applied wisely, and tempered with appropriate uncertainty.

[lperry]

I did no such thing. "Are you a manager?" applies in every single instance: male or female, young or old, casual dress or upscale dress, caucasian or otherwise.

You're a scientist, Linda. If I have a bag of fruit, pull out an orange, and say, "This is an orange," that sentence does not imply that the rest of the fruit isn't all oranges as well. Extrapolation is a useful technique, but it must be applied wisely, and tempered with appropriate uncertainty.

Blah, blah, blah.  "May I speak to a manager" is not a rude phrase by any definition.

[DonRocks]

Blah, blah, blah.  "May I speak to a manager" is not a rude phrase by any definition.

Hah, hah, hah. True, but it could be construed that the diner is assuming that the person at the host stand is not a manager.

Assume a young, female of color, casually dressed, working at the host stand, with three middle-aged white males dressed in suit-and-tie working in the same area.

I don't think I could say "May I speak to a manager" in that situation. "Are you a manager?" is a tried, tested, and true opening foray that I've been using without fail for many years. It offends nobody, and might even bolster the confidence of a young hostess.

That said, I can envision a scenario where it might not work as well: Imagine a middle-aged white man, dressed in a suit-and-tie, working at the host stand, and a young female of color, more casually dressed, standing right next to him. He looks up at you.

In that situation, I think "May I speak to a manager" may be the more appropriate question to ask (or maybe, "Are either of you managers?"). I admit it, I'm a softie, and yes, I silently practice affirmative action every day, in a myriad of small, imperceptible ways that I'm *very* good at concealing. I'm also a romantic, and want to believe that a polite society is built upon good deeds that extend outward from the heart; not upon laws hammered down by a judge's gavel (though of course we (unfortunately) need both).

It gives me a very uncomfortable feeling discussing this: sexism, racism, agism, elitism, all whisked together into one neat little topic, and read by many people who don't know me or my philosophy of total equality. "Squeamish" is a good way to describe how I feel right now. And yes, I'm making a mountain out of a molehill, with very little upside potential, and a large downside potential. But hey, even though I'm a softie, I also like being a risk-taker.

[lperry]

Two things.  One, you know what I look like.  How many people look at me and think, hey, there's someone with a doctorate in Anthropology, and I bet she's published in Science and Nature, too.  My life is still pretty good.  Two, I worked customer service when I was finishing my dissertation and for a year afterward.  By the time someone got to me, the problem was big enough that it didn't matter who I was, it mattered that I made things right.  That's what being in the service industry is about.  It wasn't about my feelings, it was about making it right for the customer.

I admire that you spend a lot of time advocating for the restaurant industry, and encouraging people to speak with managers when there is a problem is something that comes up here quite a bit.  I get it.  I really do.  I am one who is not a contact-the-manager-with-a-problem sort of person for some of the reasons that have been discussed elsewhere on this site.  So now, when something is bad enough with the meal or service that I am compelled to talk to a manager, I have to screw up my courage to take that step knowing there could be blowback that might ruin my evening even further, and I also have to take the time to be sure not to offend someone who is supposed to be the end point in the chain of customer service?  (Insert - hands in the air with a bewildered "what do you want from me" look on my face - emoticon.)  Cripes.  I just wanted to have a nice meal, you know?

[DonRocks]

Two things.  One, you know what I look like.  How many people look at me and think, hey, there's someone with a doctorate in Anthropology, and I bet she's published in Science and Nature, too.  My life is still pretty good.  Two, I worked customer service when I was finishing my dissertation and for a year afterward.  By the time someone got to me, the problem was big enough that it didn't matter who I was, it mattered that I made things right.  That's what being in the service industry is about.  It wasn't about my feelings, it was about making it right for the customer.

I admire that you spend a lot of time advocating for the restaurant industry, and encouraging people to speak with managers when there is a problem is something that comes up here quite a bit.  I get it.  I really do.  I am one who is not a contact-the-manager-with-a-problem sort of person for some of the reasons that have been discussed elsewhere on this site.  So now, when something is bad enough with the meal or service that I am compelled to talk to a manager, I have to screw up my courage to take that step knowing there could be blowback that might ruin my evening even further, and I also have to take the time to be sure not to offend someone who is supposed to be the end point in the chain of customer service?  (Insert - hands in the air with a bewildered "what do you want from me" look on my face - emoticon.)  Cripes.  I just wanted to have a nice meal, you know?

I agree with everything you wrote here, and, in fact, I'm the same way when it comes to asking for a manager in a bad situation: I *hate* doing it, and almost never do - in fact, I can't remember the last time I did. When I do ask for a manager, it's almost always to praise an employee who went out of their way to do something good (that would have otherwise gone unnoticed), or to leave a tip for the kitchen staff (this involves a degree of trust, of course, but it's a risk I'm often willing to take).

I'm seeing this society take baby steps in the Everest-like journey of becoming tip-free, and I think it's wonderful. However, I wish there was an easier way to tip line cooks and dishwashers. They don't make squat. Sorry to go off-topic, but if *I* owned a restaurant, and was about to use my profits to form a chain? I'd take that money and double the salaries of the line cooks and dishwashers instead, throwing in a 50% increase for the AGMs. Yeah, I'm a free-market commie which is why I'll never be wildly wealthy, but I don't care. And I have no problem standing here, holding up my middle finger to the entire restaurant industry for paying their workers such terrible wages. If a restaurant wanted to pay their line cooks $20 an hour? They'd have their pick of the best in the industry. Dishwashers - who any chef will tell you are *indispensable* to a restaurant - are payed like they're indentured servants, at something very close to minimum wage. That tip you're about to leave your server? That money may represent several hours of scouring someone else's dirty pots and pans at 2 in the morning.

[lperry]

While you're fixing things, print out some name badges that say, "Manager" on them.  Another problem solved. 

[DonRocks]

While you're fixing things, print out some name badges that say, "Manager" on them.  Another problem solved. 

Can you picture that at Citronelle?

[Pat]

Can you picture that at Citronelle?

That's a hypothetical about a hypothetical, for sure .

[lperry]

All anyone needs to do it right.

[ulysses]

Can you picture that at Citronelle?

I can...

[DonRocks]

I can...

I had completely forgotten you'd worked there! It's funny, I remember you at Palena like it was yesterday, but I just cannot picture you at Citronelle.

[Antonio Burrell]

I have always thought understaffing in the front of the house was/is one of the stupidest things a restaurant can do. Sure you need productivity out of employees, but I feel someone who is hustling for tips @$2.72 an hour shouldn't have to sweep or mop or clean excessively. If the money was an hourly rate and a good one that is commensurate with experience perhaps it would motivate for more professional growth in young servers and make it a "respectable" long term career as opposed to a college throw away experience.

At a recent spot I worked at (name withheld to protect management) often the owner was bartender, busser, host and food runner during the first part of the week while I got to play full time prep and line cook, wash dishes. Customers often left because they couldn't find anyone to seat them and when they did, we'd have to buy alot of food cause it's near impossible to do anything over 30 during a lunch service with that kind of staffing model. Needless to say I've seen just about everything bad about how to run the FoH but I tell ya, this was taking the cake. Needless to say, I extracted myself from that situation quickly.