Could use some help

[AidenMaccullagh]

First off I want to say thank you for all the help you have given me. Here is a work situation that I could use help with. I work at Applebee's and it gets pretty busy.

I was working Wednesday and we were packed. So I am doing my job and I see the rest of my team moving frantically.

As people are leaving they tell me that the service was horrible and that the staff should be replaced. The best I could say was I am sorry I hope you come back and we do better.

But when there are still places to sit my manager puts a wait on the door for 30 minutes as they are helping out the kitchen. I'm thinking there is no need.

Once I am allowed to go home my thoughts are did I perform my job at a place that caused everything to collapse? I could use some insight as well as personal experience.

 

[Judge]

Aiden, you have to consider one thing that is common to all restaurant operations. -The unknown.

The number of customers coming through your doors at any given time opposed to the number of seats and tables available. Then factor in that they all come in as irregular numbers of groups of people. And then perhaps worst of all, such factors are subject to an unknown amount of time that they will occupy their seats based on how long it takes to prepare their food, how long it takes for them to consume it, and then how long they choose to remain seated well after a meal is consumed.

So it's a guessing game, and not an exact science as to how organized a restaurant can be in terms of anticipating a forever varying number of patrons relative to how long they choose to remain in the restaurant.

When there are more incoming patrons than seats and tables available, it's always going to be stressful, whether every employee is optimally doing their job or not. It's just an element of the business you have to come to terms with, and hope that more often than not you have adequate resources to meet logistical demand. Where four empty chairs cannot meet the needs of a party of five. So there will be times when it seems like total failure. And there will be times where you may feel as if you are contributing to a "well-oiled machine". And it may happen within hours or days of each other.

You just have to come to terms with dealing with the dynamic nature of restaurant operations relative to the ability to seat and serve, compounded by a dynamic nature of customers, who control the amount of time they choose to be there. And in a business that itself is ruthlessly competitive.

A business whose primary function is to sell products can formulate and rely on metrics like inventory turnover ratio apart from the quality of the product itself. However when your primary business is serving people, apart from the quality of food served there is a need to estimate average amounts of time outgoing customers take which ultimately impacts the perception of incoming customers. A much more difficult dynamic to measure than products going over the counter and out the door.

In essence, cut yourself some slack. Even as a team effort, there are no guarantees of winning on every game night. The odds aren't just against you personally, but everyone on your team.

 

[Streetwise]

Remember businesses !only !exist to make profit! it is not a charity !.
So that's what the manager cares about ,its a lack of foresight to presume empty seats means ease .
Yes you are performing your duty adequately I think.
You could contact undercover boss !if you think your employment is at risk !they may respect your views where H.Q may not.

 

[Pats]

In reading your post the first thought that came to my mind is the struggle with guilt. When I was working as a nurse, no matter how good a job I did, I would leave feeling like I had done something wrong. mentally I knew I did good, but still felt horrible. I babysit my grandkids - they have fun, they may or may not have eaten something nutritious but my kids know I keep cookies and junk food here, no one got hurt, nothing got broken, toys were a hit, etc, etc. But every single time as I leave their house or they leave mine I feel like I've done something not right, and I feel horrible. Most the time I have to call and make sure everything is okay. It doesn't matter if I do good or do something bad, it feels the same way to me.

 

[Judge]

In reading your post the first thought that came to my mind is the struggle with guilt. When I was working as a nurse, no matter how good a job I did, I would leave feeling like I had done something wrong. mentally I knew I did good, but still felt horrible. I babysit my grandkids - they have fun, they may or may not have eaten something nutritious but my kids know I keep cookies and junk food here, no one got hurt, nothing got broken, toys were a hit, etc, etc. But every single time as I leave their house or they leave mine I feel like I've done something not right, and I feel horrible. Most the time I have to call and make sure everything is okay. It doesn't matter if I do good or do something bad, it feels the same way to me.

I used to underwrite workers compensation for hospital staff. From my own perception, it was always the nurses who were most concerned about meeting the need for patient care regardless of perceived duties and job titles. Where doctors and administrators seemed more focused on the nuances of mortality and morbidity conferences relative to insurance and legal costs than their patients.

Where that feeling of guilt may be something confined to the middle or lower part of a corporate chain of leadership, and seldom at the top of it.

 

[Pats]

I used to underwrite workers compensation for hospital staff. From my own perception, it was always the nurses who were most concerned about meeting the need for patient care regardless of perceived duties and job titles. Where doctors and administrators seemed more focused on the nuances of mortality and morbidity conferences relative to insurance and legal costs than their patients.

Where that feeling of guilt, may be something confined to the middle or lower part of a corporate chain of leadership, and seldom at the top of it.

Or maybe that's one of the reasons we never make it to the top. That feeling comes with everything I do. I actually have left this forum wondering if I've said the wrong thing.
And I totally agree about the doctors viewpoints being different. I had a doctor come up to me asking questions about a patient's lucidness, I looked at him and said, "Go talk to the patient." I'd get so irritated that they want to treat from the charts and information we give them without having to literally see the patient and I refused to cooperate in that kind of treatment.

 

[Pats]

I used to underwrite workers compensation for hospital staff. From my own perception, it was always the nurses who were most concerned about meeting the need for patient care regardless of perceived duties and job titles. Where doctors and administrators seemed more focused on the nuances of mortality and morbidity conferences relative to insurance and legal costs than their patients.

Where that feeling of guilt, may be something confined to the middle or lower part of a corporate chain of leadership, and seldom at the top of it.

Many doctors didn't like me either. While most nurses jump when a doctor says jump, I didn't.

 

[George Newman]

I like Applebee’s grilled chicken wonton tacos. I guess saying what I like and only talking about me is self-centered maybe even narcissistic. I tend to do this but these days I am trying to look at my issues as a whole and in the context of the overall human narrative. Doing so, helps me understand that my problems are really quite insignificant in the grand scheme. This perspective removes the stress and helps me chill out. Aiden, hats off for identifying efficiency opportunities there at the Applebee’s. It speaks to significant situational awareness. Being situationally aware could save your life on the African savana where prides of lions roam but may cease employment if acted on with a strong minded manager. Talk to your manager about it though. Be easy and not judgemental in tone. Be encouraged by your depth of understanding. Understand that Applebee’s employs 28,000 employees world wide with 1,990 locations. Just imagine how many efficiency issues there may be out there. You sound like a good employee. Do your best and work hard. Thank you for the great post.

 

[Bella Pines]

Yes you did perform your job.

You are not the manager. It's very hard for aspies to watch things fail. We are apart from the world and can see it objectively. You will be able to see clearly areas for improvement, empty seats, people needing seats, we take in information like that, form patterns and come up with improvements. It seems simple to us, put people on the seats.

However, this is not how the world works and not everyone can see it.

So no one is going to thank you for pointing out the obvious and you will just end up annoying people. Simply do your job, make a show of "helping" your manager out, play subservient and do as you are asked. If this doesn't sit well with you, then get some qualifications and apply for the manager job. But you can't remote manage, find your place in the team.

 

[Mr Allen]

You did your own job as well as you could, if the customers are saying the service was horrible, it's NOT down to you.