So I didn't get to go on my super awesome hiking trip this weekend :(
Mainly because I want to pick up my new check card from the fedex office last night and somehow left my drivers License there. I had to get it before work Monday and if I went on the trip that was very unlikely. also the fact that I didn't get home until nearly 11pm last night because of searching and what not, I didn't get packed up and yeah... so major bummer

I did get my DL back. at least, but if I hadn't I would have gone over and got a new one over on county services.

But I am really bummed out 'cause now my weekend plans are ruined, the one and only guy still on my plan is busy with his kid this weekend, and I don't have any friends that want to go with me to any of the fetish nights tonight.

I have stuff that I can do... just nothing I really want to do. I can job hunt... wooo fun... I can work on trying to get or make the costume I want to wear to con, and I can work on my yard. bleh.

I'd recently been talking about Billy and Amy, the owners of Billy Bob Jack's BBQ Shack, when I was at a party a few days ago with Dory, one of BBJ's longtime waitresses. She was pretty sure they were still in town, but hadn't seen them in a while. They also came up a couple of months ago when someone asked where they went, and when someone scanned a photo of a bunch of us on opening day at the Outhouse, their second location in Collegetown, and popped it on Facebook.

Well, imagine my surprise when I pulled into the 8th grade class-trip fundraising parking lot near GrassRoots last night, rolled down the window, and saw Amy! A moment later, Billy pulled up on the golf cart they're using to lead cars to where they should park. I ended up standing and chatting with them for about 15 minutes before heading in to meet Alexi and enjoy some music.

No, they're not in the restaurant business any more, and while they miss some aspects of it, they don't miss the headaches and probably won't be doing that again. (I stressed that we really miss their food!) Their kids keep getting bigger; Chelsea is 17, and Amy laughed when I told her I met her when she was pregnant with Chelsea.

I gave Billy my e-mail address on a Moo card, and I'm looking forward to hearing from them soon so I can share some of the old photos and keep in touch.

http://www.cartoonlabs.com/comics/index.php?date=2009-07-18&show=sinfest

Sinfest
Tatsuya Ishida

We do a fair amount of complaining about rude customers, but at my restaurant, our customers are rarely rude and so I have nothing to contribute to this fine community. My issue, however, is with our bussers/server assistants, or SAs. Or... just one in particular. Let's call her C.

I work on a dinner cruise and our start time is usually an hour and a half before our customers board. My manager told me that the SA for my section was C, who is easily the least liked person on our boat. C does not show up until ten minutes before customers board and I had to get some other SAs to do her job because she was late and I was very busy.

She finally meanders her way onto the boat and announces to me, "Amanda! I hope you make some good money tonight! I need cigarettes!!" followed by horrible, maniacal laughter that makes everyone cringe. Oh, okay. I too hope she has enough money for cigarettes because I am sick of her bumming them off of me.

Once our customers start to board, she just stands there. She would clear a few plates (usually while people were still eating off them) and then ask me, "What do you want me to do now?" Bitch, you have worked here for five months. I am extremely busy and I don't have time to think about what I need to do and what you need to do. You should know what to do! Refill water glasses, clean the coffee station, clear empty place settings, FUCKING DO SOMETHING and don't ask me about it. I told her this very nicely and she got uppity.

C has worked at my restaurant for five months, is totally unfamiliar with table numbers, but insists on dropping food, even when I tell her not to because, as you can well imagine, she drops meals off at the wrong tables. Not to mention the fact that I went over every single table number in our section to her earlier in the shift to make sure that sort of thing didn't happen (which, of course, it did).

C becomes fed up with my "attitude" and tells the hostess (who doesn't like her at all) about it. "I'm not fucking helping Amanda!! She can do her shit herself!" Three full tables hear her and complain to our manager about her language. This brings up another point: Why would you refuse to help someone who is responsible for paying you at the end of the night? Because I don't care one way or another if you help me.

Table 1212 is finished with their entrees, so I clear their plates as I begin my usual post-meal small talk. 1212 is a talkative couple, so I balance their empty plates on my hip as we chat. C comes up to me and literally starts grabbing the plates out of my hand. "Don't worry about it, C, I'll take care of it." She responds: "No, it's okay, I got it." By this point, she's interrupted the conversation. I tell her, "No, C, I told you. It's fine. I will take care of it." She doesn't give up: "No no no, I'll take them." Really now? Really? "Seriously, C. I will take care of it." AKA: GO THE FUCK AWAY.

One of the most important times for the SAs to physically be on deck is during dessert time because it's their responsibility to take coffee orders. C is nowhere in sight. I take all the coffee orders and distribute the beverages myself.

In fact, I did not see C for the entire last hour of the cruise (our cruises typically last three hours). And I'm not exaggerating. She was upstairs for the last hour. "Washing silverware." Oh, because washing silverware is totally first priority when there are paying customers dining below.

By this point, word had gotten around to me that C shit-talked, for a lack of better phrase, me in front of my customers. I am far from pleased and I keep it in mind. Our customers leave and I clear my tables completely (with no help from C. Remember? The silverware that we don't need until Monday needs to be washed!!!!). Typically, servers are supposed to give 20% of their total tips to their SAs. This isn't set in stone, however (I've even given half my tips to an SA in the past). I decided to be generous and give C $6 even though $11 would have been 20%. She didn't deserve any tips whatsoever, but I didn't feel like being confronted.

As I'm getting ready to leave for work, C walks by me and says, "Five dollars? The fuck am I gonna do with five dollars?"
"It's six, bitch!"



tl;dr--I hate bussers so much sometimes. Does anyone else have terrible bussers/server assistants? I just needed a good rant, I'm not normally this pissy!

http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=462

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Dear Table 100,

Today you came in O'Charleys and said there would be four of you and that your final person would be along shortly. You ordered an appetizer then three of our 7oz steaks for 9.99 each. You drank tea like it was going put of style. After all three of you had finshed eating--appetizer, salads and all-- you asked for boxes. Then your joiner came. An hour and a half after you sat down. Then one of your grabby hands pulled me down and you proceeded to whisper that it was someones birthday, breathing your nasty smoker breath all over me. I brought a piece of cake for you and you finally left after over two hours. Your check was 62 dollars including the cake I had comped for you. Five dollars was not an adequate tip for your bullshit.

No Love,

Your Server

http://www.cartoonlabs.com/comics/index.php?date=2009-07-16&show=sinfest

Sinfest
Tatsuya Ishida

http://www.cartoonlabs.com/comics/index.php?date=2009-07-17&show=sinfest

Sinfest
Tatsuya Ishida

Hi! My name is Melissa and I'm a volunteer at d*con. My best friend and usual roommate can't make it this year so I'm at a loss for a place to bunk. I'm looking for a spot in one of the host hotels, preferably in an all women room but I can be flexible on that, for Friday night through Monday morning. I'm a non-crazy, occasionally spazzy library assistant and I basically just need a place to shower, nap, and store stuff. I'm pretty easygoing and I don't drink or smoke or mind if you do/don't either.

Hey everyone!

This isn't a roomshare request or reservation post, but it is a heads up post to those who are still trying to get rooms at a similar to dragon rate. One f my friends just made a reservation today for the W Hotels Midtown for $169 a night. It was part of some kind of package for 9/3-9/7. It's not as far as some of the overflow hotels so just passing this along!

Hope it helps some folks out.

Of course Franken was on the Supreme Court Confirmation Committee -- he's done it before!

THIS IS OLD I KNOW BUT ITS EFFING AMAZING!

Not Safe For Work really...

ALSO, TRIGGER WARNING

just a few questions...

obviously from my last post, i work for the crimson crustacean. i work in the 2nd busiest one in the nation, and while business has dropped a bit lately, it's still pretty f-ing busy. i bartend and serve, but i have a lot of problems with my bar shifts, my main problem being take-outs. i've been told that no red lobster has a regular take-out person. this is my 3rd red lobster (i've moved a lot), and have found that to be true so far... this one is the only one i've worked at that has a to-go person on the weekends... so my question is to my fellow lobsters, especially those who bartend - how does your take out system work?

bartenders handle take outs during the week, which means we take the order over the phone, ring it in, and then put it all together and cash the guest out. typically we have 2 or 3 bartenders on a weeknight, but we also have 3 high top tables in the bar section that we take. so we have a section, the bar, service bar, and take outs. if there are 3 of us on, it's usually not a problem, pretty easy to handle, but then tips are of course split 3 ways and we don't make money (last night, i walked with $36). but if there are only 2 people on, this situation can lead to total chaos.

we've tried to figure out a way for us to still be able to make some money, but not be completely overwhelmed all night... some managers try and help with take outs, but that just depends on which one is working, and if i ask a host to take the order for me, she freaks out because they're not menu trained.

this is where any suggestions would be helpful. i know that we can't be the only rl that faces a problem like this. there aren't really enough take outs during the week to have the need to put a to go person on, just enough to make things difficult for us bartenders.


and, changing the subject slightly, what is your red lobster like? like i said, this is my 3rd one, and i am still surprised by how little the servers do and are held accountable for. at rl#1, servers were fairly lazy, but still managed to get their own ice, glasses, do minimal sidework, and not be complete and total slobs. at rl#2, everything was by the book, the place was spotless, people cleaned up after themselves, if someone used the last of the romaine lettuce, that person would re-fill the pan, it was pretty hardcore. i loved it. and now, at rl#3, 5 servers will stand around in the service alley asking the bar for ice instead of just going to get it themselves (it's typically the busser's job to get ice and glasses). they leave dirty plates for other people to clean up, the salad bar is always a disaster, and in general they are some of the laziest, messiest people i've ever worked with... and management doesn't do a thing about it.

which is your store more like? rl#1, rl#2, or rl#3?

sorry for the long post...