Since in my last post I wrote about how difficult it is on the staff when people stay late in a restaurant, I decided that I would focus on how frustrating it is when people try and sit down before the restaurant is technically open. So in this post, I will describe what exactly servers have to do when they open a restaurant at the start of a shift.
Usually, about three servers arrive thirty minutes before the restaurant opens to set everything up in the back. The kitchen staff usually arrives about this time too in order to cut vegetables, get out the meats, and just generally set up. I will focus on the tasks servers have to do since that is really what I know. This focuses on what the opening tasks are at Outback, but I have worked in three restaurants now and they all have these same basic tasks.
First, the servers must make tea and set up the soda machines. Setting up the soda machine only takes a few minutes and just consists of screwing the dispenser tops on so that the soda comes out without being too fizzy. The tops have to be cleaned every night so they do not get too sticky. Making tea is a very large task however. The servers have to make enough tea to fill up about 12 pitchers - 6 sweet and 6 unsweet - and then to fill up two large canisters of sweet tea and one of unsweet. This takes one server about the entire thirty minutes. So, when people request to be seated before the restaurant is technically open, the tea might not be made yet. If you tell people who sit down early this, they are not very happy. But how would they feel if you went to where they work and showed up before they were open and demanded a task. They probably would not like it very much at all!
Next, the servers must set up the potato bar, where the baked potato toppings are added. To do this, you must get out a tub of butter, of sour cream, of cheese, of honey butter, and of chives. This takes awhile since you often have to combine tubs to make them full or you have to find the cut cheese and put it in a tub. It's an easy task, but one that takes about 15 minutes for one server to do. At Outback, we also have parmesan cheese graters so you must cut cheese to put in those.
Another large task is cutting lemons. To do this, you cut the top off of a lemon (where it connects to the tree) and we have a lemon cutter that cuts it into slices. This is another easy task, but one that takes a really long time since a restaurant (especially one in the South where sweet tea is so popular) goes through hundreds of lemon slices a night.
The last large task is to make butter balls to take out with the bread. This is another easy task but takes about 15 minutes. To do this, you must locate clean ramekins and you put a scoop of butter (using a butter scoop) in each ramekin. It's often difficult at the beginning of a shift since the butter is hard and frozen, but putting the scoop in boiling water really helps the task move faster.
Along with these tasks, the servers have some other small things they have to do such as turn the bread oven on and fill it, fill the to go cups and straws, and put ice in the cooler.
At Outback, our owner often seats people before we open in order to try and please the customers. This is a fine thing to do, but only if people recognize that the restaurant is not fully open yet. If it takes a couple extra minutes to get some sweet tea or some warm bread, please understand. Also, the kitchen may not be fully ready yet so customers should be understanding about that as well.
Hopefully this shows how hard servers work when they open a restaurant at the start of the shift. As I said in the beginning, usually only three servers open the restaurant and if you look at how much time each task takes, it's a very hectic thirty minutes before opening. Next time you eat a restaurant, consider these things and how hard your server works when it comes time to tip!
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