(This is draft two of assignment two for English Comp, week two)
Looking out over the brand new dining room in the four star hotel I quietly thought to myself I had arrived. For that matter, on the ride into work I felt full of electricity and anticipation about how the day would unfold. I had to get my thoughts in order. I had a dining room to run, I had reports to be sent and a bank run to do. Louie would be calling from corporate any minute and I felt like he would go through the usual questions about covers we did the night prior and the daily reports sent from the other management team members about the activities in front of the house and the back of the house. My servers were on time; I had to send Bill downstairs as usual to iron his shirt. First impressions are everything, the more ready we are as a team to tackle any issues, the better. Putting the teams mind on crispness and professionalism started the shift out in the right direction.
It had been quite a journey landing in Portland, Oregon and knowing only three people. All of them are family so that hardly counted as a local reference. So I kept an eye on the classifieds, Craigslist and the unemployment department. I had several interviews set up for the day as a server for a restaurant. I recall it was sunny outside as I searched the streets of downtown for the address of the restaurant that I was interviewing for. When I found the restaurant, I saw two men standing out in front of it. I heard one of them say, “That’s him.” He then turned around and went inside. I was apprehensive to say the least. I craned my neck up to a very nice Hotel. The Westin Portland is located in the heart of downtown Portland. The clientele are pretty much the crème de la crème of travelers. I was later going to find out in the state of Oregon there are fewer than ten four star hotels and no five star hotels.
“Oritalia” had a set of stairs that led to the lush, dimly lit dining room. There were custom chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and a funky, swanky décor about the place. When I interviewed, I was intimidated a bit by the atmosphere. I had never worked in an environment quite like that. I somehow managed to impress and was offered the job as a server. I had no idea what was in store for me when I accepted the job.
“Oritalia” was having some serious management issues. They could simply not hang on to there teams of managers. I saw them come and go and kept on doing my job. That’s when I met Shannon. She was a young woman about my age who was delighted to be hired on as an assistant manager. She was impressionable, positive and excited to be in the position that she had. Sadly, we went through another manager. He quit or didn’t show up. Shannon was devastated. She was asked to run the restaurant, acting as manager. I recall the announcement that she made and how terrified she looked. Later as the stress of the position settled in she got worse. I could see that she was exhausted and getting thinner. I finally went to her office and said ” Shannon, I see that you are under a lot of pressure. I am here to tell you if there is anything at all that you need at any time, I’m your guy.” I could tell she appreciated what I had to say because the next morning she offered me a job as the dining room supervisor.
When it was all said and done, she also decided not to call or show up for her job one day. This made for some serious stepping up from the front of the house and the back of the house. The restaurant was in its final days as it had been up for sale and had been purchased by a company called Grill Concepts. It still needed to be run till the day the doors were to be locked forever. With the help of a head chef and two souse chefs we got it to that point. We had many a mountain to climb and many a river to cross to get it there in one piece. Just to give you an idea of the stress and expectations that are involved in this unique situation, I will tell you this. The head chef also quit. We went through the management team down to two souse chefs and me.
I was offered an extension of my job when the final day of “Oritalia” arrived and renovation for “The Daily Grill” ensued. The hotel needed a room to serve their guests breakfast. They needed three servers, a cook and someone to run it. They asked if I would do the job. I accepted. At this point there was a definite bond that had been built for the team. Now there is normal damage control between a guest and a restaurant in every day restaurant life. If you add a jackhammer, drilling and pounding to a breakfast shift, it’s something else all together. We had been set up in a banquet room upstairs while the dining room downstairs was to be rebuilt. We were tired and broken. I had little or no time to worry about how I was performing my duties. The compensation was having satisfied guests under difficult and challenging circumstances. The pay off was a change in my surroundings and myself. Literally.
When “The Daily Grill” had completed construction downstairs it was ready to open. There was a new restaurant and a new management team. When they offered me the job of Dining Room Supervisor, I accepted. I had been through a lot and I was waiting for the pay off. I think this was part of it. I will never forget what it had been like to be a server and the hell they are put through by a guest. How hard they work to bring you a hot and perfect meal as well as entertain you. There are inner workings of an establishment you as a guest will never be aware of. When my water glass is not filled right away, I understand. When I see a supervisor standing with their hands comfortably behind their backs and a slight smile on their face, I’ll know everything is the way they would have it. This is a rarity and the feeling is priceless. When I found myself looking with pride out onto the dining room and imagine I looked the same way. I also quietly promise myself the next meal I have out on the town, I will over tip and be over courteous. The restaurant team deserves it. You can never know what it took to get the service executed to perfection, or even close to it.
