Notes from the Bay Area

[snousle]

I'm in Mountain View this morning. Working. Theoretically, anyway. I have a rather convenient circuit that involves stopping at the Hole in the Wall, crashing on a floor in Palo Alto, having a deluxious breakfast at some nearby cafe, and going to work early. Today, that also involves picking my mother up at SFO.

(A friend of hers had said that she could just waltz up to the transportation desk and get a bus to Ukiah. Um, no, not actually; there are no airport transportation companies that can take you directly there. Good thing I checked into it before she arrived, it would have been a real pain otherwise, and probably would have cost more than driving both ways.)

The Bay Area sure looks different coming in from outside. So many people. But Palo Alto at 7 AM is a pleasure. Not much is open, but the streets are quiet, and there's an expectant hum of activity as restaurateurs and shopkeepers get ready for their day. One of the things I particularly like about blue collar men is that they get up good and early. The eye candy is usually at its best in the hours just before dawn.

The cafes here are by and large excellent, but one gets the sense that this excellence is had by a whole lot of upstream paddling. As is the case in many urban centers, the food is prepared by people who by and large don't give a damn. Many things I've learned about the industry surprise me; one is the large gap between the business model and the actual restaurant, and I'm increasingly convinced that the gap is maintained by a whole range of conflicts of interest among the people that work there. It is easy to create a restaurant on paper that makes a whole lot of money, but it seems very difficult to inspire the staff to care deeply about the product instead of cutting corners and fighting amongst themselves. Few entrepreneurs imagine that their plans will be foiled in this way, and I can't help but think that this is why so many of them fail.

The cafe where I had a horrendously salty smoked salmon crepe and a punishingly strong cup of coffee reminded me of all this. The staff seemed very unhappy, and the food reflected that discord. Although it was obviously a carefully planned and technically well-executed crepe, there was that ever-present something wrong that can only be avoided by the cook's sensitivity and personal investment in the result. This is why I think it is possible to make a living at this business as a kind of lone wolf; with the highly structured and planned framework of a catering event, it is possible to apply a singular vision that is free of conflict, bringing the actuality of the event closer to the ideal economic scenario that has seduced so many would-be restaurant owners into ruin.

Famous last words. Heh.

Anyway. Must get to work.

Comments

[bitterlawngnome.livejournal.com]

It surprises you that someone who makes minimum wage hates the boss and probably also the customers?

[snousle.livejournal.com]

Um, no surprise there. But it surprises me that this conflict is so deeply entrenched in the business. One does not have to squeeze the workers to the point of despair, but it is apparently a very difficult practice to avoid. It is not clear if it is even possible for a business owner to break out of this pattern and survive.

[bitterlawngnome.livejournal.com]

Entirely avoidable, I've experienced it in a number of places. Treat employees with human dignity, and when the customers act like shits, support the staff (you have no idea how rare this is. or maybe you do. anyway, the customer is not always right.). In the end this usually pays off for the business since the staff stay and work harder and treat the customers better knowing you've got their back, and the customers who are shits generally don't come back, which is OK since they are usually the ones you end up losing money on cause their shrimp canape was not JUST SO and they demand you comp the job.

And when the staff fucks up try to make the "consequences" about the business and not about how stupid and useless they are as human beings, people are usually more accepting of "you did something wrong" than "you are scum". Be professional and consistent. Keep it private between you and the directly affected parties. No theatre allowed. Simple tactics but also extremely rare among diva entrepreneurs.

This is all stuff you can do without spending more money. It's not always about wages. Paying better than minimum wage never hurts but the above stuff is often more important in keeping your staff happy.

[snousle.livejournal.com]

You are most definitely preaching to the choir.

Simple tactics but also extremely rare among diva entrepreneurs.

Mmm, maybe. They sound simple, but I have seen enough to be seriously daunted by the challenges of leading a kitchen crew even with the best of intentions. It's not anything I plan to be doing myself, but of course it behooves me to understand all the other models of food service.

[bitterlawngnome.livejournal.com]

I wish I could introduce you to my friend Elias, he's got the balance down pat after having been in the biz for 20 years...

[bluebear2.livejournal.com]

I wonder if there would be any interest in, say, a reality show where the boss of a restaurant treated their workers right and with no drama.
Probably not.

[bbearseviltwin.livejournal.com]

Sadly most people aren't saints. Long hard hours in a hot busy kitchen while dealing with cranky customers, stubborn worn out equipment, greedy business partners, government regulations that are difficult and expensive to comply with, suppliers who are less than honest, and the every day disasters that happen from time to time, and I would tend to be a touch short tempered and less than congenial employer.

[bitterlawngnome.livejournal.com]

yup. all of that. but if you can't stand the heat WTF are you doing starting up a kitchen?

[bbearseviltwin.livejournal.com]

Actually I think it is the heat, I have yet to meet a cook or chef who wasn't a touch crazed at lest during work.

[bitterlawngnome.livejournal.com]

In my experience it's the booze/meth/weed.

[bbearseviltwin.livejournal.com]

would that fall into the category of cause, or symptom?

[bitterlawngnome.livejournal.com]

uh ... side-dish?

It's endemic to the culture.

[dhpbear.livejournal.com]

How not to deal with a customer: