We recently purged our restaurant of employees. And I mean, an absolute mass exodus went down.
Whether they left on their own accord, or were shown the door...it doesn't matter. What did matter is that the remaining few were over-scheduled and falling apart due to exhaustion.
So, out with the old and in with the new.
Thus far, our measly lineup has added both Natasha and Shoshana as servers.
When there are new employees, a trial run begins. Are they a good fit? Are they easy to work alongside? Are they easily trained? Do the guests like them? Can they keep up, and more importantly, do they have thick skin...
Some people last longer than others. Some people phase out after awhile. Others are immediately sent running for the hills. I find it that women make it particularly difficult for newer women to join the current staff. I would compare my gender to savage animals. Similarly, we've pissed on our territory, and newcomers are not to talk to our regulars. If you're cuter than us, kick rocks. We can only pray that you don't know the difference between a red and white wine so that you'll be on your way out shortly.
What's worse is that women are catty. Unnecessarily so. Shockingly, I catch myself acting this way from time to time. Who am I, and where did this asshole of a person come from?
I've been the victim and the culprit. I've been kicked when I was down, and yet at times when I couldn't beat them I have shamefully joined them. I should know better.
Natasha is doing just fine as an employee at The Valley. Shoshana, on the other hand, not so much.
She served as an employee a few years back, but much has changed. The menu, the wine, the staff, the customers. Like a new piece of fine gossip, she waltzed into the workplace and started waiting tables. Struggling here and there, we saw her weaknesses. The good person might sit down and go over what she should know already-- in all honesty, she didn't receive much of any training this time around. But no, she is the topic behind the bar, and at the table as we fold napkins. Why so cruel?
The odd one out. The stinky kid in class. The overweight girl at the lunch table. The anomaly.
When did we become too cool to extend a hand, or become too busy to be concerned with someone else's questions? Afterall, isn't the point of hiring new waiters to lighten the load?
At the same time, I balance out the scales. Fact: Some people are not meant for waiting tables. It's not that people are too fragile, or easily offended... It's that they are too nice, too kind-hearted even to a fault. Perhaps the restaurant is not a conducive environment for their personality and ability to adapt. Maybe it's the best thing that they get out now before it's too late and they become numb to the tyrannic rage we occasionally endure from the boss, agitated by the tables we greet, and grow more indifferent day in and day out.
Although brief, I have spent some time with Shoshana outside of the restaurant. She definitely is nice and genuine, considerate and hard-working, dealing with much of what I am dealing with in my own personal life, but is being stepped on in the dog-eat-dog world of waiting that we exist in... and I've made up my mind.
You should be happy with the job you have, in the very least be content. People don't deserve to go into work everyday expecting something to go amiss. To be alienated. To feel unappreciated.
So no, Shoshana, you can't sit with us. You don't belong here.
Ironically, that's the nicest thing I've said all day.
Use your skills in a workplace that values you, and stay beautiful.
-Malia Etienette
Photo Credit:
Pink Slip: www.lexleader.net
Jealousy: www.forbes.com
2 Broke Girls: www.butch-in-progress.tumblr.com
Keep Calm: www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk
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