DonRocks Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 Restaurateurs, How do you handle line cooks who steal alcohol during shift? Without getting into specifics, I have friends who have this problem that I *know* other restaurants have. How do you combat it? One (?) free after-shift drink, followed by restaurant cost for drinks 2 through "x" when the shift is over? This is, in no uncertain terms, theft. How do *you* prevent it from happening? It is killing the morale of small restaurants, as much from disappointment as actual loss, but the financial loss is real. The disappointment with the staff they genuinely care about is heartbreaking - they care about their staff, but the temptation is a clear a present danger, both to the restaurant's bottom line, but also to the trust that they place in their employees who they care about very much. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Pressley Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 You have a policy of zero shift drinks and establish a good relationship with restaurants close by where your staff is known and gets preferential treatment. Easily handled. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seanchai Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 The fun part of working for a tourist cash cow of a restaurant in the late 80s/early 90s. If you worked nights, you had as many shift drinks after the restaurant closed as the manager closing up. Working Saturday nights, the bartenders and wait staff would be loaded by 10 o'clock, last call for customers at 2, leave the restaurant when the sun came up. We would go through a case of Bass Ale after closing the restaurant on Saturday nights. Looking back, I can't believe that this was allowed to happen from a management perspective. Of course, the bad double standard was that the kitchen didn't get to experience any of this, strictly front of the house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPW Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 Stealing = Stealing = Termination + If they're stealing booze, they're stealing other shit too. I guarantee it. PS - I wish I could like Dave's post twice 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted October 18, 2013 Author Share Posted October 18, 2013 Stealing = Stealing = Termination + If they're stealing booze, they're stealing other shit too. I guarantee it. PS - I wish I could like Dave's post twice It's not that easy, however. Good kitchen help is *very* hard to come by - it isn't like you can just fire someone, and have someone else doing their job the next day. Yes, in theory, I agree with you 100%; in practice, it's much more difficult to implement. This is why I think (but I'm not sure) having well-defined policies spelled out for people is really important - it's a widespread and common problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Radigan Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 As much as i agree with Dave's comments, the problem that exists is when that same staff has other servers come in to their bar and they avoid the comp check, ergo give away free drinks, or heavier pours. Plain and simple, no shift drinks, it leads to other problems down the road. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiantiandFava Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 Zero tolerance during shift. I always appreciated the post-shift drink though--of course once that door is open you have to be pretty vigilant. A compromise is getting the line cooks/servers to bring/buy their own drinks after the shiftie, the sous or head chef has to be the enforcer on when/how this is allowed though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyjoan Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 When I was a server, the policies ranged from "no drinking here, ever, even on your off day and even in plain clothes" to "woo hoo, open bar," and everything in between. Frankly, I like the former - even at the jobs I enjoyed, I preferred to get the hell out of the restaurant and do my after-shift drinking elsewhere. There are good industry bars near every place I've ever worked. That said, one of the best things I ever saw as a customer was at Farm 255 in Athens, GA (no longer open, sadly) - the menu advertised the opportunity for patrons to buy the kitchen staff beers, as a way to thank them if you particularly enjoyed your meal. We asked the bartender how it worked, and he said that there was strict policy that they couldn't actually drink the beers until the restaurant was closed and the kitchen was clean - BUT, every time a customer opted to buy the beers, a ticket would print up in the kitchen so they would know they were appreciated during the hectic dinner rush. We also asked how many customers really did it, and he said it was a lot more than you'd think. Restaurant makes money (the beers were not at full markup, but they were definitely covering their costs), employees are happy, customer feels good - win win win. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 ^There's a place in DC that does this, but for the life of me I can't recall which one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted October 20, 2013 Author Share Posted October 20, 2013 ^There's a place in DC that does this, but for the life of me I can't recall which one. Daikaya Ramen (a six-pack for $10). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcs Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 You have a policy of zero shift drinks and establish a good relationship with restaurants close by where your staff is known and gets preferential treatment. Easily handled. Exactly the same strategy as Mario Batali. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkstar965 Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 Daikaya Ramen (a six-pack for $10). Interesting. How do places (BettyJoan's example for ATL) and here make this known to customers? I've been to Daikaya many times and never had a clue this was in place. Maybe because you have to rotate the menu 180 and 360 degrees a few times when ordering until you've memorized the menu? Maybe it's printed there but in a low-contrast, upside-down font in some romance language just to confuse things? How'd you know, Don? Guessing someone told you but I wish more restaurants would do this and somehow communicate it to customers if they do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted October 29, 2013 Author Share Posted October 29, 2013 Interesting. How do places (BettyJoan's example for ATL) and here make this known to customers? I've been to Daikaya many times and never had a clue this was in place. Maybe because you have to rotate the menu 180 and 360 degrees a few times when ordering until you've memorized the menu? Maybe it's printed there but in a low-contrast, upside-down font in some romance language just to confuse things? How'd you know, Don? Guessing someone told you but I wish more restaurants would do this and somehow communicate it to customers if they do. It was the last item on the top-left portion of the menu, definitely not hidden - it may not be there anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheezepowder Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 It's still on the menu on their website. Look under the Drinks section (but darkstar 965, you'll have to turn the menu 90 degrees ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielK Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 If you turn the menu 90 degrees, is it now imaginary? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkstar965 Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 It's still on the menu on their website. Look under the Drinks section (but darkstar 965, you'll have to turn the menu 90 degrees ) If you turn the menu 90 degrees, is it now imaginary? The first time I went to Daikaya...I swear...it was like playing Twister with that menu. Then, upstairs opened and they introduced the 14lb magazine menus with all the pages stuck together. But, loved and love the place; downstairs especially. Thanks for the point-out, cheeze. Will definitely look for that next time in and buy a six. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 Also now at Toki. I think the menu says "just like Daikaya!" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Deb Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Greenhouse Tavern in Cleveland gives customers a chance to buy the kitchen a round and interact with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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