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My New Year's Resolution: Try to post on here more often! I need to share my suffering!
This week has been the strangest week ever at the pub. Although the last two weeks of December are always, always busy, this week has been insane. There seemed to be an explosion in customers wanting to eat in the pub. Normally during those two weeks, the pub is 90% drinkers. This year has been a 50/50 split which has caused a lot of upset and stress, mainly because the schedules were done weeks in advance and no one was prepared for it.
From Monday, each shift had the same pattern, which again was unusual. I worked all day shifts from when the pub opened so I witnessed it first hand: the pub would open for breakfast, be ridiculously quiet and then noon would hit. And I am not kidding when I say that at noon it was a stampede of customers trying to get tables. It wasn't staggered at all. Every customer came in at the same time.
Monday: Noon
The stampede occurred. I watched the pub fill up instantly and within ten minutes there were no tables. This made everyone extremely anxious. Especially as the manager had started ringing around telling people to come in later as it was so quiet! The kitchen was very short staffed, and as the tickets poured through they began to have a meltdown. I am luckily trained in there, so I was literally helping them cook the food and I was also delivering it to the tables.
Then the SC's arrived.
SC: Excuse me, but I can't seem to find any free tables.
Me: Oh. I am sorry about that.
I went to walk away.
SC: Ermm...you have to find us one.
Me: I'm afraid it's first come, first served with the tables here. You may have to wait for someone to leave. I think there are some stools at the bar area though.
SC: It's your responsibility!! Why have you made it so busy??
Me: I didn't do this. I would never do this.
I walked back into the kitchen to help them cook.
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The cooks were starting to fall apart.
Me: Right! We will put a wait on food. How long do you want?
Cook: 45 minutes. The food will not take that long, but I need to take the pressure off.
Me: OK.
I walked around informing customers who were yet to order about the wait.
SC: I don't understand this! It's not even that busy!
Every table and chair was taken. People were standing waiting for chairs and tables and there was a full bar.
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When I work the kitchen I am loud. I am the person that stands in the middle and yells what needs to be put on and sends it. I was doing this to keep the kitchen organised. I go to take a meal out.
SC: Well, I don't think I want this now!
Me: Oh I'm sorry, is there something wrong?
SC: My whole dining experience has been ruined by YOUR annoying voice! It's all I can hear when the kitchen doors open!!
I was too busy. And I was also offended that he called my voice annoying.
Me: Do you want the food or not?
SC: Well yes..
Me: Ok then!
I later found out he complained to the manager about me. Manager didn't mention anything because he knew how stressed I was.
Tuesday: 11:50am
It was the same team as the day before. We were all discussing the surprising events of Monday and how we sure hoped there wouldn't be a repeat! I was in the kitchen chatting when a co-worker who worked the floor with me burst in.
CW: It's happening again!!
Yep. The pub filled up instantly. For hours there had been nothing and then suddenly everyone was there. Despite the fact that everyone had worked extra hard in the morning, preparing as much as possible, the exact same happened again. I was cooking and running food out, while CW started having a nervous breakdown.
Then one of the bar staff fucked up. He rang through a breakfast meal once the service stopped. That doesn't sound like a big deal, but when it's busy it really throws things out of sync. We didn't need that, especially as it made cook meltdown again. She started screaming and swearing.
Me: Right! I will cook this breakfast but that is it! CW, go to the bar and tell them no more breakfasts!
CW ran out to yell at the bar. I took the offending breakfast out. As I put it down, a customer at another table started yelling.
SC: I WAS TOLD NO FOR BREAKFAST!!! WHY DOES HE GET A BREAKFAST?!?! I WANT A MANAGER!! NOOOOWWWW!!!
He sure was grumpy. He yelled so loud the pub was looking at him. And then a couple of other tables started joining in.
SC2: Yes! I think it is ridiculously unfair! You should cook that man his breakfast! And we would like some scrambled eggs! It's only fair!
SC3: Could I get a bacon sandwich??
Me: Breakfast has finished! No more!
CW stormed on to the bar and yelled at the member of bar staff that rang it through. Tempers were VERY high. It was a lot worse than the day before. By the time I finished I felt like I had been beat up.
Wednesday: 12:20pm
I didn't work Wednesday, but at 12:20 I got a text from CW.
CW: It's happening again!!!!
Thursday: 12:00pm
New Years Eve is a day that is normally 99% drink and 1% food. The food that goes out is normally only snacky foods. Because of this it is a skeleton crew in there and a huge amount of bar staff for all the drinkers.
Nope. It happened again. And this one was like Monday and Tuesday combined. Thankfully I, again, was there to help out and there were also cooks who were working the floor doing glass collecting, but by 2pm the whole pub looked a disaster. CW was working again and she actually started to break down in the kitchen.
CW: I don't understand! I've been here for eight years and this has NEVER happened! It's always been busy, but not like this! And the fact that it's been like this for four days in a row! And that it's the same faces!
We all got through the shift, but not without customers complaining about the lack of tables (again!!) and the wait time on food. I simply do not understand how they can be so blind when it is busy.
Friday
I didn't work again and neither did CW. But one of the cooks sent out a large group text to all the pub staff at 12:30pm begging for someone to come in. I did not get that message until 4pm due to my New Year's Day hangover.
Saturday
I don't actually know anything about today.
Sunday
Sunday hasn't happened yet, but I am working tomorrow...at noon.
This week has been the strangest week ever at the pub. Although the last two weeks of December are always, always busy, this week has been insane. There seemed to be an explosion in customers wanting to eat in the pub. Normally during those two weeks, the pub is 90% drinkers. This year has been a 50/50 split which has caused a lot of upset and stress, mainly because the schedules were done weeks in advance and no one was prepared for it.
From Monday, each shift had the same pattern, which again was unusual. I worked all day shifts from when the pub opened so I witnessed it first hand: the pub would open for breakfast, be ridiculously quiet and then noon would hit. And I am not kidding when I say that at noon it was a stampede of customers trying to get tables. It wasn't staggered at all. Every customer came in at the same time.
Monday: Noon
The stampede occurred. I watched the pub fill up instantly and within ten minutes there were no tables. This made everyone extremely anxious. Especially as the manager had started ringing around telling people to come in later as it was so quiet! The kitchen was very short staffed, and as the tickets poured through they began to have a meltdown. I am luckily trained in there, so I was literally helping them cook the food and I was also delivering it to the tables.
Then the SC's arrived.
SC: Excuse me, but I can't seem to find any free tables.
Me: Oh. I am sorry about that.
I went to walk away.
SC: Ermm...you have to find us one.
Me: I'm afraid it's first come, first served with the tables here. You may have to wait for someone to leave. I think there are some stools at the bar area though.
SC: It's your responsibility!! Why have you made it so busy??
Me: I didn't do this. I would never do this.
I walked back into the kitchen to help them cook.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The cooks were starting to fall apart.
Me: Right! We will put a wait on food. How long do you want?
Cook: 45 minutes. The food will not take that long, but I need to take the pressure off.
Me: OK.
I walked around informing customers who were yet to order about the wait.
SC: I don't understand this! It's not even that busy!
Every table and chair was taken. People were standing waiting for chairs and tables and there was a full bar.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When I work the kitchen I am loud. I am the person that stands in the middle and yells what needs to be put on and sends it. I was doing this to keep the kitchen organised. I go to take a meal out.
SC: Well, I don't think I want this now!
Me: Oh I'm sorry, is there something wrong?
SC: My whole dining experience has been ruined by YOUR annoying voice! It's all I can hear when the kitchen doors open!!
I was too busy. And I was also offended that he called my voice annoying.
Me: Do you want the food or not?
SC: Well yes..
Me: Ok then!
I later found out he complained to the manager about me. Manager didn't mention anything because he knew how stressed I was.
Tuesday: 11:50am
It was the same team as the day before. We were all discussing the surprising events of Monday and how we sure hoped there wouldn't be a repeat! I was in the kitchen chatting when a co-worker who worked the floor with me burst in.
CW: It's happening again!!
Yep. The pub filled up instantly. For hours there had been nothing and then suddenly everyone was there. Despite the fact that everyone had worked extra hard in the morning, preparing as much as possible, the exact same happened again. I was cooking and running food out, while CW started having a nervous breakdown.
Then one of the bar staff fucked up. He rang through a breakfast meal once the service stopped. That doesn't sound like a big deal, but when it's busy it really throws things out of sync. We didn't need that, especially as it made cook meltdown again. She started screaming and swearing.
Me: Right! I will cook this breakfast but that is it! CW, go to the bar and tell them no more breakfasts!
CW ran out to yell at the bar. I took the offending breakfast out. As I put it down, a customer at another table started yelling.
SC: I WAS TOLD NO FOR BREAKFAST!!! WHY DOES HE GET A BREAKFAST?!?! I WANT A MANAGER!! NOOOOWWWW!!!
He sure was grumpy. He yelled so loud the pub was looking at him. And then a couple of other tables started joining in.
SC2: Yes! I think it is ridiculously unfair! You should cook that man his breakfast! And we would like some scrambled eggs! It's only fair!
SC3: Could I get a bacon sandwich??
Me: Breakfast has finished! No more!
CW stormed on to the bar and yelled at the member of bar staff that rang it through. Tempers were VERY high. It was a lot worse than the day before. By the time I finished I felt like I had been beat up.
Wednesday: 12:20pm
I didn't work Wednesday, but at 12:20 I got a text from CW.
CW: It's happening again!!!!
Thursday: 12:00pm
New Years Eve is a day that is normally 99% drink and 1% food. The food that goes out is normally only snacky foods. Because of this it is a skeleton crew in there and a huge amount of bar staff for all the drinkers.
Nope. It happened again. And this one was like Monday and Tuesday combined. Thankfully I, again, was there to help out and there were also cooks who were working the floor doing glass collecting, but by 2pm the whole pub looked a disaster. CW was working again and she actually started to break down in the kitchen.
CW: I don't understand! I've been here for eight years and this has NEVER happened! It's always been busy, but not like this! And the fact that it's been like this for four days in a row! And that it's the same faces!
We all got through the shift, but not without customers complaining about the lack of tables (again!!) and the wait time on food. I simply do not understand how they can be so blind when it is busy.
Friday
I didn't work again and neither did CW. But one of the cooks sent out a large group text to all the pub staff at 12:30pm begging for someone to come in. I did not get that message until 4pm due to my New Year's Day hangover.
Saturday
I don't actually know anything about today.
Sunday
Sunday hasn't happened yet, but I am working tomorrow...at noon.
Guaranteed.
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