Ever wonder why some of your staff members act too laid back for the job? You know they can do the job and when they do it, they do it well. Ever notice a sudden shift in work effectiveness and overall production? All too often I have experienced this situation first hand from an employee level as well as at a management level. Regardless of your position, many of us feel under appreciated for the work we do for a company.

Small Things Go a Long Way

Many times we may feel obligated to accept additional responsibilities even though they were optional. In our minds, we may feel that if we do not take up certain additions, the company may regard it as a weakness and further make untrue characteristic judgments.

One may even question themselves as to their ability to be fit for the job. Mentally and physically your staff will slowly breakdown under certain conditions. What they need is a boost of confidence and a show of appreciation. A simple “Thank you” is most often all you need to make a staff member feel appreciated. Companies and managers commonly make the same mistake. They believe money is the sole solution for increasing staff motivation. True, money can increase motivation and confidence, but many times it’s all the smaller things that go a long way. Words such as thank you, well done, great job, excellent work are just two words that you can quickly change a person’s attitude.

As a manager or owner, we may appreciate a staff member’s good work, but we sometimes forget to show them we know and how we feel. Remember, the power of two words is beneficial for both the company and the employee. Employees appreciate being appreciated and therefore will likely work harder for you.

Staff Appreciation

A company’s success is highly dependent on its staff. A corporation would not be a corporation without the various positions beginning from bottom to the top executive position. Thank your employees for a job well done or when they have personally gone the extra mile. It doesn’t take much effort to say two words. Remember, everyone always wants to feel appreciated.

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Being a waiter at times can be the most frustrating and nerve wrecking moments. As waiters we deal with customers on a daily basis and when something goes wrong, somehow we have the ability to keep on going. It’s our responsibility to please the customer.

Waiting for the First Time

I remember my first waiter job was at a fine dining restaurant. I was given the title as follow-waiter which is a waiter that provides assistance to the lead waiter.

A follow waiter’s responsibilities were very much the same as the lead waiter but without taking the actual order. One afternoon, the owner/manager informed all the staff that a VIP table was coming for lunch. The group was composed of important figures in the city’s fashion industry.

The Mishap

After the group arrived and sat comfortably, drinks were ordered. Normally, the lead waiter would be in charge of wine service, however that afternoon the owner asked me to serve. I had never done wine service nor have I ever served a group of 12.

I arranged 12 crystal wine glasses on the bus pan and went to the table. As I set one of the glasses in front of the first customer, somehow I had lost my grip and the glasses began to tumble. Six glasses fell to the floor and shattered with bits of glass falling on top of a young woman. I panicked and my faced turned red. I was nervous and was deeply apologetic. I apologized so many times to the woman and to the rest of the party.

Swiftly, the restaurant owner came to my aid and assisted in the cleanup and sent out their drinks right away. I don’t understand why, but the group was forgiving and the young woman disregarded the incident and repeatedly informed me it was ok.

My boss pulled me to the side and said, “If you know why it happened, learn from it and move on. You still have a table to serve and you can’t show your frustration or disappointment. Mistakes and accidents happen. Keep your chin up and be confident. Don’t worry about the glasses, they are replaceable.”

He was truly a well respected restaurant owner/manager within the neighborhood and I understood why people would think so. Perhaps, his close relationship with the group made the situation calm or maybe the group gave me a break because I was the youngest of the staff. At the end of the meal, we offered a complimentary dessert to the young lady which she did not expect but gladly accepted. Although this was a disaster, the same group returned.

Lesson Learned

I learned from that day, we all make service mistakes, but it is important as to how you handle the situation. There is still a service that needs to be provided and most customers are forgiving as long as you show you really care.

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Working in the restaurant industry is no doubt hard work that comes with long hours and many sacrifices. People have different reasons for working in the restaurant. Some will purely do it for the money and become a server, but for me, I do it because I love it.

There is nothing wrong to purely earning money because we all know everyone has different life situations and if the restaurant industry provides you with that comfort, then by all means do what you have to do. If you are not a server, then often times you are receiving less than what the servers can make in a week with their tips. I have been in that situation.

Regardless, I continue to work in the restaurant industry because it’s my life long passion. I understand what is involved and have prepared myself both physically and mentally. A word of advice, if you are in a serious relationship, it is important that your spouse understands the work involved and you both are willing to make sacrifices. For myself, I am grateful that my wife is in the same industry and we understand what it takes.

About five years ago, my wife decided to return to school to earn her culinary management diploma. At the time I was managing a Japanese restaurant where I worked about 70-75 hours per week. Likewise my wife held four different part-time jobs while attending school. She was a cook at the school’s restaurant, a prep cook at a steakhouse and a co-op student/prep cook at one of the city’s top restaurants. As for the fourth job, she became a bartender for the restaurant I managed. None of her jobs conflicted because they were set days.

During that period, we only saw each other no more than 20 hours per week. It was tough but we were used it. We did everything we had to do to excel further in our careers.

Today, we both hold one job each and we see each other 30-35 hours per week. I am at work everyday at 5AM and finish at 5PM while she begins at 3PM and finishes at 3AM. We see each other more, but not much more. There was even a time that I worked seven days a week for six months straight, no days off. My wife came to the restaurant to see me whenever she could. There was no anger, no disappointment but we shared a mutual feeling that someday we would have our own place and work together.

Some call us workaholics, others say its commitment. We already know the way we work is crazy. One can choose a different lifestyle. However, we enjoy what we do because we wouldn’t still be doing the same thing we do. There are hundreds of jobs available that will pay us thousands of dollars more, but money doesn’t always bring happiness. For us, it’s the learning experience and the love for food.

Photograph by paulaloe

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