Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Attitude and razors

You know I hate to be "That" guy but I have to get this off my chest. Since when did the city of Tempe run out of razor blades?

The last few times my Gal and I have gone out to eat in this city we've had "Scruffy young guy" as our server. I don't have anything against facial hair or any of that, all I ask is that the person who handles my food look like they gave two shits before they left the house. It's almost as if they don't even want the job they're working. I know that might not sound an unreasonable conclusion to come too but holy crap people, these servers were like 22 at the oldest! I blame the older generations like ourselves for the young peoples dismay, perhaps we shouldn't have made the air of discontent so inviting.

Ok back to the service or lack thereof. Listen folks, I've been in this business for nineteen years and  regardless of what you think of me I KNOW how to make a restaurant run in the black and I'm telling you this," Everything matters!" When it comes to the FoH or (Front of House) you have to have a close eye on every aspect of their work, from the look in their eyes to the cleanliness of their uniforms because they all send out a message when the guest walks in the door. For that reason you as a boss have to look for the weed in your garden that will spread quickly and choke out the roses you've worked so hard to grow. Seriously all it takes is one crab ass to ruin a whole shift for your crew.

Don't believe me? Next time you go into work make sure you are giving out an angry vibe and in thirty minutes everyone on your staff will be in a shitty mood. Even the person on your crew that is always happy and beaming with light will turn into a quiet somber little mouse that runs from everything. after you've done that try the opposite. Come in with the best attitude in the world, as if it's your birthday and every friend from the past and present are at your job and they're going to spend the day working and smiling right beside you. You'll find that it's much harder for that positive vibe to spread but when it does holy shit is it a beautiful thing.

That "Vibe" is as important an asset of your business as your cooler or your safe  because you'll never succeed with out it.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Heavy is the Head

Morning everyone,
I thought I'd start out the day reflecting on what it means to be in charge. I know there are a lot of people out there who have many issues with their boss. I know there are a lot of people who think their boss is just some jerk who has no idea of what they're doing. You know what that is?

Your cowardice, plain and simple.

It's been my experience that all critics tend to be scared shitless when it comes to stepping out of the shadows and actually doing something to either fix a problem or heaven forbid, improve a situation. It's almost as if they're back in High School trying to get something over on their teacher if only to prove that they can outsmart the one person in the room who is trying to help them. Does anyone else find that logic asinine?

Let me break it down this way:
If you think your boss is an idiot. Perhaps they are but they're still smarter than you.


Your boss acts like they know everything. They know more than you.


Your boss can be a mean jerk. If they get crabby maybe it's because they have the weight of the business on their shoulders and you don't.


I bring this up it's because I think subjects like hese needs to be addressed. Topics left unsaid tend to fester and rot in the workplace. It might not feel good to bring up but sometimes you have to remind the staff that they should try to see things from your point of view from time to time.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Another day another dollar, or in my case another buck and a quarter. 

I went out to eat a few nights ago and I seem to be noticing a trend of ill server karma coming my way. You see when I go out to eat I always like to tip 20%, if a server does a "meh" job they get 15%, and if they really piss me off they get 10%. why 10%? For the very reason that I would hate it if it happened to me (and it did many times over), I mean there's tempting fate then there's slapping Fate's mom while peeing on their favorite rug. I'd like to think I'd never go that far.

So what is good service? what kind of service should you look for in your own staff? 

Sure servers need to be friendly, that's the basic requirement for any server. However that should not be the main focus of their abilities. I know this because I've hired and fired many servers in my day and I'd like to think I know something about this. While "friendly" is nice, "friendly doesn't cut it when your food comes out cold  or if your tables are never bussed, or even worse you're guests have to wait 15 minutes to pay for their tab. 

Trust me on this one folks, the three qualities you need to look for are efficiency, consistency, and then a friendly/professional demeanor. As long as your staff have these traits in common success is sure to follow!

Oh and for all you hacks out there, putting hot chicks in the front only tells your guests that you hire with your cock and not your brains. If I want to see young hot chicks I'll go to a club or the internet, that and they doen't make your brought in food taste better in the slightest! Deal with it!


Saturday, March 17, 2012

Doing What the Other Guy Won't.

Welcome to Chef Dave's new blog! This blog is for those interested in pursuing a career in the culinary arts of the business at large. There are a lot of things I'm going to be talking about here that might not sound too pretty or easy to take but I have to be honest about this business (It's the only way I know how to be).

First off I wouldn't recommend getting into the food biz unless you have at least 6 years in the industry. Why six years? It's not that it takes that long to learn about flipping burgers or busing tables, not at all. I say this because I think six years is how long it takes for a guy's ego to settle down and see this business for what it is, it's about making people happy.

Now making people happy may sound simple but it's not always so easy. Sometimes you have to think outside of the box, sometimes you have to break the rules a little bit. In the coming blogs I'll go into examples of how I accomplished what success I have and maybe you'll find some way to achieve your goals as well.

Stay tuned everyone!