Waiter Training Newsletter

Side Work Moans and Groans
and
Confessions of a Former Side Work Junkie

Side work slackers!  You know who you are - you slide out of your "behind the scenes" duties with the ease of a cat burglar.  Guess what?  Everyone around you knows who you are, too!

Side work junkies!  You know who you are - you do your side work to the shame of all others and even do others' work (slackers) when they have slipped out the back door.  Guess what?  Everyone, especially the slackers, know who you are and they count on you.  I think scientists and scholars call this phenomenon "being taken advantage of"!

This newsletter is for all of you!  No one escapes the wrath of my side work scribblings!  You might guess (correctly) that I am one of the side work junkies.  Side work never really bothered me; in fact, I looked at it as a chance to unwind and hone my "OCD" skills.  Just for the record, I confess that I might have a slight case of "obsessive compulsive disorder."  Side work allowed me the opportunity to clean, fill, store and line up alphabetically all that I could.  Many side work junkies are the same way; you have to be a little OCD to do this job well, in my opinion.

For those of you who consider side work to be a waste of time and beneath your superb money-making skills, and you're not OCD, consider this:  your employer supplies you with all the tools necessary to sell the food on the menu - food and menus that your employer also supplies.  Those tools are condiments, plates, dishes, silver, beverages, glassware, napkins, tables, chairs, building, advertising and customers, kitchen and equipment, chefs, dishwasher, cleaning supplies, partial uniform, food, paper products, support staff...I could go on and on...you have probably thought of even more as a result of my little list.  Some of you probably even get to eat at half price - and some for free!

You, as an independent salesperson, have been given everything you need to make your little business thrive.  Most salespeople have to buy much of their own supplies and stock to sell.  Spending money up front before money is earned is a major part of an individual salesperson's challenge.

You are independent salespeople.  If you don't believe that you are, you might be in the wrong career.  I don't want to shake your world too much; just realize that you're in total control of your own income - which makes you an independent salesperson - with a lot of fringe benefits by your employer.

People write and ask me how much side work is appropriate and how much they should get paid while doing those tasks.  The implication is that the hourly rate should go up when not on the floor earning tips.

The least you can do as a salesperson who isn't buying your own supplies is to clean, fill, stock and line up (perhaps alphabetically!) your work environment.

Side work done properly allows you and your teammates to sell with ease.  If someone asks for sugar, you don't have to go looking in dry storage in the back of the restaurant, taking you away from your other guests.  Someone's job, maybe yours, was to fill and stock the sugar in a convenient and clean location in the server's station.  You know exactly where to get it.

Here's a side work tip for you, Managerial Types and Delegators of Duties:  give everyone the opportunity to be in charge of side work.  Each shift has a side work checker; he is responsible for checking out all others' side work before they clock out and leave.  If they are allowed to leave before their work is done, the side work checker gets to do it.

Ideally, the checker should be a closing server on that particular shift.  This is truly an equal opportunity job.  Everyone should get to be the "checker."

On the flip side, recently there has been a spate of lawsuits taken up against employers who have allegedly abused their authority and asked or forced staff to clock out before doing side work.  There are other allegations related to side work and tipping.  I can't address all of them because they are in different states and state laws vary, as do pay scales for different jobs.

Make no mistake, you should get paid while you're working.  There are unreasonable duties.  The best advice I can give you is to educate yourself on your state's laws.  This is your career; take control of it.  Contact your state restaurant association; they have a plethora of information that pertains to you.

And one last thing:  MAKE 2008 A GREAT YEAR!

Training and information is the key!  Contact me, Susie, at Waiter Training, either by phone or email.  My business number is (720) 203-4615, and email address is Susie@waiter-training.com.  Web address is http://www.waiter-training.com.

Excellence is an act won by training and habituation.
We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence,
but rather we have those because we have acted rightly.
We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.
                                                                                - Aristotle

 

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