Restaurant Punk

When going out to eat with a group, deciding what to order for the table to share can be a challenge. Some people are inclined to choose their own entreé and enjoy it all to themselves, while others prefer to select appetizers aplenty for everyone to pick at. On this episode, Yianni, Nikos, and Noelle are talking about how they prefer to order when eating out, and debating questions, including:

• When you arrive at a restaurant, would you rather there be more appetizers or entrees on the menu?
• Would you rather order multiple apps and one entree, or vice versa?
• Do you check the menu and determine your order before you arrive for a reservation? 
• Should you tell a table the price of a special while describing them?
• If you’re the person covering the bill, are you inclined to question the charges when it arrives?

Working in the hospitality business isn’t easy. Most people get frustrated with their family’s eating habits and table manners but imagine having to deal with the bad form of every single person that walks through the front door. Over the course of their career, most industry professionals will tell a table to get out at least once and most likely give back a tip or two as they grow into their own and learn that the customer isn’t always right. Yianni, George, Liz, and Matt are considering questions, including:

• How do you deal with a customer interrupting you while you’re helping someone else?
• As a server, are you more of a schmoozer or a speedy Gonzalez?
• Have you ever worked with someone who runs the room instead of letting the room run them?
• Would you ever kick a customer out of your restaurant?
• Do you believe that a review once called Yianni the antichrist? 

Whether your restaurant has 18 seats or 180, reservations are a tricky game to master. From deciding whether to take them at all to signing up for a scheduling system like OpenTable or just keeping a paper book and all the customer drama that ensues, it’s a fundamental aspect of the hospitality industry. So, what do Noelle, George, and Peter consider questions including:

• As a sit-down (BYOB) restaurant, how do you feel when a table comes in and just wants to order drinks?
• Do you ever tell a table that’s making a reservation how long they have for their “table turn?”
• How do you feel about reservation security deposits and reservation cancellation fees?
• Have you ever given a customer their tip back?
• Should you still leave a proper tip if you have a bad experience?
• How long of a grace period should a customer have when they’re late for their reservation?

In restaurants, the dynamic between the kitchen and servers can change the entire experience for guests. If it’s a battle between the two, you’re bound to have unhappy customers, but if there’s balance, it’s a beautiful ballet that leaves every table in awe. So, when the pressure hits and everyone is overwhelmed, who has the “right of way?” Nikos, George, Leah, and Matt are consolidating a lifetime of interactions into less than 15 minutes while answering questions, including:

• Does the kitchen resent the front of the house because they make tips, while the kitchen has a set pay rate?
• Should there be a “middleman” between the front-of-house and back-of-house?
• Who is more important – the server whose been with you for ten years or the cook whose been with you for ten years?
• Should servers offer the kitchen a drink at the end of their shift?
• How do you breed respect between the different teams within your staff?

Ok, so the title of this episode may not go along with the conventional saying, but we think it’s pretty d**n impressive how quickly Noelle, Peter, and Lena pulled together their brand-new restaurant, Petunia. While March had its fair share of showers (read: tears), the grand opening in April was met with rave reviews from the community. In this episode, Noelle, Lena, and Liz explore a few of the many challenges of opening a new restaurant, with questions including:

•  Would you rather have one server, one busser, and a food runner, or two servers who can manage all three jobs?
• When you have all new hires, how do you instill the culture and energy that you’ve envisioned?
• Should the owner be in the front of the house all the time in a new restaurant?
• How do you navigate hiring friends when you’re a new business owner?
• Does Noelle’s mom know that she’s moving back to Cape May this summer?

The recent full moon has the gang feeling feisty as they discuss the bane of almost every restaurant owner/manager’s existence: hiring. But not just hiring off-the-street applicants – hiring friends and family. From kids who think they’re untouchable because their parent owns the establishment to the siblings who work well together but refuse to help anyone else and the old-school grandmother whose set in her ways (which contradicts yours), many complications arise from what some may call nepotism. Noelle, Peter, and Nikos are putting their relationships on the line as they get honest about questions, including:

• What’s the difference between working for your family and your family working for you?
• How do you set boundaries with your family members at your restaurant, especially when your standards or expectations differ?
• Can you be happy, helpful, and make money all in the same job?
• Does sharing employees between businesses, specifically within a restaurant group work?

Customers come in all shapes and sizes. Some stop in once a year and spend big money, while others come in once a week and rack up the same $50 tab each time. In resort towns, there are tourists who come in once a day for a week straight, and then there are locals who help keep your business afloat in the off-season or when business takes a turn for the worse. So, among all these – and many other – types of customers, who do you define as a “regular?” Matt, Leah, Peter, and Liz are going through their record logs of regular customers and sharing insights into questions, including:

• What qualifies someone as a “regular” in the hospitality industry?
• How does a “regular” differ between bars and restaurants?
• Are you more likely to remember someone’s name or their order?
• Can a high tip outweigh a customer’s bad attitude?

It’s 2 minutes to closing time – the restaurant is empty – and a group of people approaches your hostess stand looking for a table. Do you seat them, or do you tell them that you’re closed for the evening? Kate, Peter, and Leah are weighing the pros and cons of taking one last table at the end of the night and probing questions like:

•  Does the size of the table, or how long it’s been since you had your last table, impact whether you’ll take the party or not?
• Should you check with the kitchen before you accept the late-night party?
• Will the two top’s check be enough to cover the amount you’ll need to pay the staff you need to serve them?
• If a table won’t leave at the end of the night, is leaving them alone or talking their ear off more likely to get them out of the restaurant quickly?
• What is a restaurant’s equivalent of a bar’s “last call?”

As we get older and gain life experience, almost everyone becomes at least a little jaded. Unfortunately, for those in the restaurant and hospitality industry, the things you see – and how people treat you – can cause this attitude shift to happen exponentially faster. Liz raises the topic of how a peppy 18-year-old hostess can quickly become a disillusioned industry veteran by 25, as she, Nikos, and George explore questions, including:

• Do you know anyone whose attitude has actually improved after working in a restaurant?
• If servers wore body cams, would customers be kinder to restaurant staff?
• Is George’s sweatshirt blurred for copyright reasons or because the Cowboys suck?
• Do people stop being rude and/or complaining if you ignore their bad behavior?
• You can only choose one to fire – do you keep the incredible employee who complains all the time or the one who never complains but has no work ethic?

The service industry, food service in particular, is often considered a gateway job (read: give me the foundations I need to find a “better” role), a summer job (read: a way to make a quick buck), or a filler job (read: something to do while searching for your dream position). These facts create some challenging dynamics among coworkers, especially when someone raises the subject of their “real job.” Committed to their careers in the industry, Nikos, Yianni, and Liz and discussing questions, including:

• How does it impact your coworkers if you ask to come in late or leave early for the sake of your “other” job?
• How are restaurants and prisons alike?
• When it comes to employees, is there higher turnover in the kitchen or the front of house?
• Should employees earn “perks” based on merit, or should everyone be treated equally?
• Does loyalty have an expiration date?