Monday, June 29, 2009

The Owner's Sons.

Today, I lost my cool. And I'm known for my cool. I never lose my cool. People wonder at my control of my cool. Today, I mis-placed it for a few seconds.

My immediate supervisor is the owner's son. He came late to the party that is his father's business. But of course, he knows everything. Until his father tells him otherwise. And his father tells him this alot. And loudly. In front of everyone, or in his office with the door open. Yeah, they're classy that way.

Over the course of the last couple months, the dynamic has changed a bit at the workplace. Owner has been more vociferous in his ridiculing of his sons pertaining to their performance. This is all taking place at the same time that Owner Wife is scaling back her time at the shop, so that Twin 1 (I think I've mentioned before that they're twins) can assume more command of the financial side.

Well, Twin 1 is obviously Attention Deficit Disorder inclined, but not diagnosed by any doctor. Twin 2 is the Charming One, with no chance of being recognized by Owner as ever doing anything right. Owner is quick to place blame when a mistake is made, but slow to congratulate good performance. Owner also wants everything done fast, fast, fast. Don't bother taking time to investigate or do homework. Just Get-R-Dun! Although, lately, there's been a few mistakes made that would have been noticed if a moment of reflection had been made when placing 5-figure orders for equipment.

Now, my specialty is taking 5 minutes now to save 2 hours later covering up (one of my big mistakes in the restaurant biz). So, now, when I'm placing $4k orders for glassware, I take my time to research how much I need to order. Only, I'm going too slow for Twin 1. According to him, it should only take 5 minutes to place a four figure order. But, if you miss something while scrambling to slam in an order, you're thrown under the bus faster than you can say 'Greyhound'.

Today, while putting in an order for bar sinks and surrounding accoutrement, our computer said we had an item in stock. I spent a total of five minutes researching where it was, when it was received and who it was ordered for. Twin 1 overheard me asking a fellow worker if he knew where this speed rail was. He castigated me for wasting time trying to find out where it was and if we had ever received it. So, I moved on and just added it to the Purchase Order.

Fifteen minutes later, Twin 1 (having nothing else to do) looked through the Purchase Orders filed today, and pulled the one I placed. He looked over my order and asked me, "Did you look to see if one of our stores had this ice chest in stock?".

After looking at him squarely in the eyes, I said, "No, I didn't want to waste the time."

My nearest workmate didn't hide his surprise very well. If he'd had coffee in his mouth, his computer would have been toast.

I think I got a mental demerit from my boss, the ADD Twin.

And the search goes on for a real job.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello there ...

Well I think you are skilled enough in the "biz" that there's company out there that would just love to snag you. Even in these tough economic times, smart/cautious/loyal employees are priceless. Example: your "twin" management tag team ...GIGO ..garbage in - garbage out.
It's nice to read more of your thoughts ..please keep posting. The truth is, if you know know who Waiter Rant is ..I like him (and he's been published) but blogs like "Beentheredonethat" and "Restraunt Gal" are the fresh breaths of air that first lured me to my Blog reading habit - and I really prefer this diamond in the rough kind of media.

Best,
L.
( p.s. I do click on your site looking for an update after reading Restaurant Gal's blog re: her post on this site)

Ex-Restaurant Manager said...

To My New BFF L,
Thanks for the kind words, they're always appreciated.
You know what's funny, is that I love the line of work I'm in. I still have access to restaurant stories, provide bars with a service, and still get to go home at 5:00. Monday thru Friday.
When I figure out the $/HR, it's pretty close, but a substantial hit, nonetheless. Being able to say TGIF every Friday makes it worth it.
I may complain every now and then, but I'm pretty lucky, too.

Anonymous said...

Aw how nice, thank you this reply was the cutest thing ever!...and you can be my new Blog BMF : ) I bet you hear all sorts of stories. It's a story tellers dream to cast your nets wide but have them come to YOUR island and still get home by 5:00p.m. and no weekends! Cushy gig.

Well, I got tired of leaving an "L" that looked so faintly like a capital "I" - so you inspired me (yes you did!) to come out of hiding and make my own blog. I'm not sure what I'll do with it, but since I'm now "In Exile" on a Leave of Absence - but really planning on Never going back - I'll try my best to scribble something up now and then. At least it'll seem a little more polite when I leave a comment in Blog Land. Hope your 4th was good.

Best,

L.