Movin’ on up…. to the east side…

So, I finally quit at the now “old” restaurant – let’s call it “The Bistro”.

The reason I left this job was for probably the most important reason for any waiter to leave: money. A few months ago, I had been bartending most of the shifts I worked, making ample amount of money each week to pay my bills, feed myself, etc. Well, as of two months ago, the outside investors of the Bistro decided that they wanted to have “pretty girls” behind the bar instead of guys. So, they started to phase the two other guy bartenders and me out of the money-making bar shifts. Funny thing, though: those pretty girls are for the most part completely inept. Many times have I had to wait at least 5 minutes to get a beer or a mixed drink because they were flirting with a customer at the bar, while my customers are getting irritated.

Anyway, as I started losing my money-making shifts, they also started giving me busser shifts, making $7 an hour. To me, this was basically worthless. With all these changes to my schedule, I found myself having a hard time making ends meet.

Luckily, I knew a contact at a local fine dining restaurant, set up a meeting and got a job working for him. Going from the Bistro to the Fine Dining was a drastic change.

Most fine dining restaurants you’ll see have waiters that have been there for years – like, 10 or 20. That’s because they’re making a ton more money, enough to realize that it’s like working a regular, salaried job when it comes to cashing those paychecks. It makes a huge difference, I noticed, and here’s the reason why:

Of course it’s simple, the tickets are more expensive, so the tips are bigger. On the flip side, you end up having fewer tables because people tend to sit and enjoy their meal for longer periods of time. So, we’re talking tickets for two people over $100, which is almost unheard of in my previous jobs.

Getting a job in a fine dining restaurant is a helluva lot tougher than your average Chili’s, or even a Bistro. Most fine dining restaurants will only take waiters who have a ton of experience, a certain look, and a desire to be a long-term employee. Fitting those requirements can be difficult for 80% of the waiting workforce. Even if you have two or three years experience in the industry, a fine dining restaurant will often have you bussing tables for a few months, which is often unappealing. It’s understandable that you may not want to do that because you just came back from waiting tables. Bussing doesn’t sound like an option, I know, but sometimes you have to bite the bullet.

The other thing that is an interesting thing about working in a fine dining restaurant is the apparent emphasis on “seniority” or the theory that a person who’s been there longer deserves the better sections/shifts. I like this idea, except for the fact that I’m the new guy, and as they say “shit always rolls downhill”. So, I have to put in my time as the new guy, get shit on from time to time, but eventually I’ll come out smelling like a rose that somebody gave me on my birthday death bed. Oh, and making the fine dining dough.
Cheers!