In an earlier blog, I discussed what all goes on when servers open a restaurant. So in this post, I will be discussing what servers must do when closing at night.
First, each night there is a "checker" and a "headweight" (I touched on this in an earlier blog but wanted to expand on them). The "checker" is in charge of checking every server's side work and for closing the front of the house and the server's side of the kitchen. The checker's job is quite time-consuming and can be a tough one because they have to be strict with their fellow servers. If they are too nice and do not check the server's cleaning closely, they will end up doing that work at the end of the night. For example, if you don't check a server's tables and they didn't sweep, you as checker will end up sweeping those tables later on.
The "headweight" is in charge of taking all the money and credit card receipts at the end of the night. I am not trained as a headweight so I only know the basics of what they do, but I know what the servers are required to turn in at the end of the night. At the end of a shift, each server must turn in all their credit card receipts - divided by credit card provider, as well as any gift card receipts, and any coupons they were given during the shift. If you lose a coupon during a shift, you will be required to pay the money the restaurant lost from it so servers are extremely careful with those coupons. Sometimes, a manager will let it slide, but it is very rare and they must trust you. The servers are then required to turn in any cash they need to "remit". Sometimes, the restaurant will owe you money - if most of your customers paid with credit cards. However, usually you will have enough people pay you with cash that you will have to turn in a certain amount. After that, you will walk out with whatever cash you made each night so it is instant pay. The headweight has to go through all of the server's receipts, coupons, and cash very carefully because if any mistakes are made - they are liable for it. The servers who work as headweights are carefully trained and have usually worked with the company/restaurant for some time since that is a job that requires the management trust you. The headweight is usually the very last server to leave the restaurant since that job takes longer than the checkers.
For normal servers, there is still work to be done at the end of a shift. Each server is assigned a side work they must complete before they can leave. In addition, they must clean, sweep, and set up the tables they worked that night. For openers, the side work is minimal since they usually leave as soon as the restaurant slows down. Also, openers are assigned each side work since they worked harder at the beginning of the shift. The closers, the servers who came in last that night, are assigned the toughest and most time consuming side work since their work usually requires the restaurant is closed. For example, one closing side work is cleaning the bread oven, all the bread boards, and refilling the knives we send out with bread. Another closing side work is putting away the potato bar which includes butter, cheese, sour cream, honey butter, bacon, and chives. Both of these side works cannot be done until the kitchen has closed so they are reserved for closers. Other side works for servers include cleaning the checker and headweight's tables or refilling the coffee, tea, and straws. All of these usually take about 10-20 minutes depending on what you are assigned.
Then servers must clean, reset, and sweep their tables. Servers usually have two large or three smaller tables so this is not a very time consuming task. However, you must do it well or else the checker will ask you to redo it when she sees they are not up to par. Also, if you have one table still sat with customers, but you are cut at the end of the night, you will want to go ahead and clean your tables. Otherwise, you would just be wasting your time waiting on those customers to leave. Sometimes customers look at servers like it is rude for them to clean their tables in front of them - as if they are trying to urge the customers to leave. In reality, the server is just trying to use their time wisely so that they can leave as soon as possible. They are usually not trying to send any rude signals so I urge people not to take it that way.
I will expand a little bit more now on the checker's duties at the end of the night. As you can see from the above description of server side work, most of the major tasks are done by the normal servers so that only smaller things are left for the checker to do. This is because during the end of the shift, the checker is consumed with checking other servers and would not have time to do things themselves. That's another reason that the checker and headweight's tables are assigned to other servers to clean - they simply do not have the time to do so themselves. Once the other servers are gone, the checker must go through the kitchen and make sure all the metal is clean and wiped down. They must also make sure all trash is thrown away, all towels are put in the laundry bag, and all dirty dishes have been taken to dish. Basically, they just need to review and make sure the kitchen is totally clean. In the front, they must put up all the chairs - which at Outback is really only about 30 chairs so it's not too bad. They also need to spot sweep - walk around and sweep up the aisles or areas servers may have missed. Finally, they need to make sure all the tables are set up correctly. After that, the manager checks the restaurant and if everything is in order they are dismissed. Usually the checker leaves anywhere from an hour to two hours after the restaurant actually closes. This all depends on whether or not there were late tables. As I discussed earlier, one of the rudest things a customer can do is sit and stay late at a restaurant because it keeps these people there.
You may ask yourself - why would any one want to be the checker or headweight? Both of them receive a meal of their choosing at the end of the night, although it can only be a chicken, sandwich, or pasta dish - no steaks allowed. Also, they clock out when their last table leaves and instead of receiving $2.13 an hour, you receive minimum wage. It's not a great deal - but if you are in need of money it's not too bad either. Also, as a server you may end up staying late because of a table anyway so you might as well be making extra money while you are there.
I hope this summary helps you understand the way a restaurant closes down at the end of the night. It's a bit complicated to explain, but the reason I try is so that next time you eat out you recognize how much work your server has left at the end of his shift. Servers really do work hard for little pay and keep that in mind next time you eat out!
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