Message 9919 of 22774 in Behind the Bar

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That's a hard one for me to answer.

Mostly, what slows me down is when others haven't done what they are supposed 
to do. 

If I reach for garnish to finish a drink, and not only is there no garnish 
where it's supposed to be stored, there is none in the fridge for me to make 
up quickly, I then have to go in the back to find the garnish.

Get in the back, and the fridge is a mess. I have to wander around looking for 
the fruits I need. Reach into the box: it's empty. Now I have to look in 
another spot for the fruit.

This has taken me 30 seconds I didn't need to blow, but I did it because I 
only had the one guest, with the one drink. Now I get back to the front, and I 
have servers that want drinks, but don't know how to ask for them.

So, rather than ring in a screwdriver, they want a 'Vodka and Orange Juice, 
but the special instructions are they want that on ice'... I can't make the 
drink until they tell me the special instructions, mind you.

Ok... how many do I take care of? Well, I have the service bar. There are 
typically 10 servers ringing in drinks, and they each have 3 tables, with two 
people each. Then, there is room for maybe 20 people at the bar to sit. Then 
there are the people who hover NEAR the bar, not at it, and they like to move, 
so they may get counted more than once. Next, I have to answer the phones... 
calls from people wanting our directions, calls from people wanting our hours, 
calls from people wanting to speak to a particular employee (and I then have 
to determine if they are even there or not), calls from people that want to 
speak to a manager, calls from people wanting to know if the perch is lake or 
ocean, calls from people that want to place a carry out order (some want me to 
read every item on the menu to them, and tell them IF they will like it or 
not), and calls from employees who think it's hilarious to call when we are 
busy and see how kewl I can try to remain under pressure. 

Sometimes, the phone rings CONSTANTLY for about 5 minutes... which isn't a 
long time, but it's long when you are the guest standing there wondering where 
your food is and I keep hanging up to go to line two, only to hear the phone 
ring AGAIN.

(Yikes, am I that stressed at work? Yeah.. I guess I am, these days)

Then, the servers come to me to get change for their guests. Then, the guests 
who are seated NEAR the bar come to me to order a drink because their server 
hasn't returned. Then the guests who were seated elsewhere and come to the bar 
to smoke, oh, and "can you tell me how to make a zombie?", and "what kind of 
liquor is in that B & B?". 

I don't get a lot of patrons. I wish I could get more, then maybe the 
management would offer more assistance. I'm glad I don't get more because I 
have a lot of people to work with that don't put things back where they go, 
don't let anyone know when we are low on liquors, don't clean up behind 
themselves. 

So, on a GOOD day, where I am, I can handle maybe at one time 15 - 20 guests. 
I think that should I be elsewhere, or if the people around me did what was 
expected and didn't leave it for 'someone else', I could handle 30 people.

Still low, but not as low as it is right now. 
-- 
Pride is tasteless, size less and colorless, but it's the hardest damn thing 
to swallow.
- Author unknown