A guy at a bar said something "derrogatory" to a bartender.
STOP THE PRESSES! THAT HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE!
Look I'm not trying to minimize the plight of the foodservice worker. Ok so maybe I am just a bit. I know that we as a whole get the short end of the stick on most nights. We constantly have to face the rudest, loudest and most insensitive people out there. They berate us, call us foul names under their breaths and curse the ground we walk on for "not putting enough alcohol in their drinks". We are forever doomed to hear the phrases "Uh no, sorry I don't have my ID, it was stolen last night, right out of my back pocket", and "C'mon just one more drink, 'hiccup' I'm not even feeling anything yet", and my personal favorite "Oh hey don't worry about the tip IM IN THE INDUSTRY". We go into work and walk into things called "the weeds". We work in a field where a "rush" has nothing to do with drugs and can be good or bad depending on if last night was "dead", which has nothing to do with your life expectancy and is generally a bad thing unless you want to get "cut" in which case its a very good thing.
The thing about all of that is, and pay attention cause this is the important part. Nobody chooses this life voluntarily, nobody, not now, not ever. Not by going to culinary school, not because of the freedom and definitely not because of the money. I know waht you saying. "That guy is a jack ass, I choose this life and I'm happy doin it". Really? Think about it for a second. No no no, just sit back and think, I' mean really think about that statement.
Did you really choose this life?
You were a little kid and while little Johnny wanted to be a Fireman and little Sarah wanted to be a Veternarian, you always dreamed of working your ass off 5-15 hours a day at a job with no weekends, nights or holidays. Where you come home smelling like the bottom of a trash can or a bottle.
I don't think so.
What probably happened was you were going to school and it was the most flexible job you could find, right? One that allowed you to finish your education (how's that degree coming by the way?) and gave you money in your pocket everyday. Nevermind that the majority of us have a problem buying a car or a house with our unverified income.Or you took the job at like 18, 19 or 20 right? You started serving then got "promoted" to a bartender, and now your a da da da da da an Assistant Manager with some "cool" title like "Service Manager" or "Bar Manager" or "Floor Entrande" or whatever crappy made up position your boss gave you. For get the fact that you are now your best friends boss and making like 1/2 what you were just making. Oh yeah, who teaches the class on how to go from making money everyday to only getting it every 2 weeks?
Did that sound familiar? No oh your different right? I got it your in the back of the house right? None of this applies to you, does it? Wrong my friend. Just because you have a "degree" (what the hell is an A.O.S. anyway?) from some made up school where they give out degrees like they gave out the "Most Inspirational Award" on your 5th grade soccer team, it doesn't make you anymore of an artist, professional or craftsman then the poor schleps on the other side of the hot line. Oh and if your "choice" was cooking over say using that "UCLA" degree you took four years of your life and 60k dollars of borrowed money from the feds to get. Well that maybe a choice, its just the wrong one.
Am I sounding familiar yet? You may think I'm talking about specific people. Well I am, sort of. These same "people" are the people I work with now, have worked with at past restaurants and probably will work with in the future. How can that be you say? Is there some iterdiminsional time shift that follows me? No. Its just the same every where else, EVERYWHERE. Can anyone say "Waiting".
Does everyone know that old coot on your staff? He or she is usually in their mid to late 30's and knows all the stories. They've worked at like 20 restaurants and have had so many different jobs their "resume" is longer than the freaking Declaration of Independence. The have seen some of the grizzliest injuries and have made some of the craziest tips you've ever heard of. They have nights where the power went out. Others where the kitchen caught on fire. And the night where the restaurant did like 480 covers, they ran out of half the menu, 4 people "no called no showed", the liquor board came in, secret shoppers were at table 36 and 14 and they ended the night by snorting coke off of Jenna Jameson's tits in the girls bathroom. Know that person? Well I have met so many of them I lost count. Funny thing is that 16 years after the fact...Its me. Who would have thought?
Food Service is like a virus that you can't kill. You get into it with the best intentions but it bends and morphs into exactly what you want it to and 6 years later your stuck doing something that less than 2% of the population would want to do. I know its bad back there. I know you think that by not throwing out the a%$hole on the other side of your bar you have got yourself some kind of moral victory. You didn't. Your becoming numb and that means your half the way to not caring. When you get there, well there's no going back. I love this job, I always have. But I wish to god I had chosen something else, anything else. Like I said, none of us chooses this life.
The Life Chooses Us
-tHe DiZzLe
