Message 4048 of 22774 in Behind the Bar

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Some very good comments here on what could have been a negative discussion - 
everyone is looking at the solution, not the complaints.

Obligatory self-quote (I do this a lot ;-)
[Dan the Melon Man] Re: Money or Happiness...?
The day I'm not happy I sure think seriously about moving on.
I've always chosen my bar as being a place where if I wasn't on one side of 
the bar, I'd be on the other.

> As far as striking out on your own and braving the interview 
> questions and providing those reasons for why you left your last job 
> -- be careful. 

Yep.
So far you haven't been specific enough, even in your follow-up, to describe 
exactly is now wrong with the place.

While I would sympathise somewhat with the 
"bartenders get in trouble if they look like they are having fun"
line, it is also a line used by total slackers as the reason they were fired 
from their last job. :-/

Soo... prepare your explanation carefully in advance.
Say 
- what things about the management reflected badly on the service,
- what things affected the clientelle negatively,
- which changes you saw as being bad for the bottom line,
and explain thet you didn't want to be a part of that ethos any more.
(without coming across as negative ;-)


Me, I left one job with a light heart, when I'd been hassling the mgt. about 
cleanliness/freshness standards of the place. Three of them were laughing, and 
explained to me that as far as they were concerned they could piss in the beer 
and the customers would still pay for it and say thankyou.
So I left that place within the week. :-P

Somehow I get the feeling that having a talk will not bear fruit.
I'm guessing that the GM has not come up through the trenches, and doesn't get 
the concept that we expect to enjoy our work. This concept is not common in 
many workplaces.
Is there a higher-up you can approach? Owner? You initiative will be 
respected, although your confidentiality may not.

I come to these talks armed with facts - pointing out the real-term 
effectiveness of micro-managing mls (cost price 4c) vs the effect of working 
on a customer and wanting to keep them there for another drink (till take 
$5) - because you honestly feel it's a good place. When the morale goes down, 
workers are less likely to care what happens. When morale is up, the good 
workers look out for the business, and mgt. has less to worry about.

... slightly rambling rant there today :-/ ...

.dan.