Wednesday, September 9, 2009

The Second Interview...


So I went to the second interview for the big corporate restaurant yesterday. It was scheduled for 3:00 but I was at another restaurant at 2:40 waiting to meet with a manager and getting a little nervous. I finally had to bail and literally run to catch a bus and then run three blocks to make it to my interview on time. Believe it or not, punctuality is hugely important to me and to show up late for an interview is just showing a bad first impression. I made it at 2:59. Mr. Fancy "I Wear a Suit to Work" Manager came to meet me at 3:35. Nice. He asked me all the same questions that the other guy in Chef's Whites asked me last week. I wanted him to notice that I had cut three inches off my hair to show how serious I am about my future with their company, but he never did. And voicing it just seemed to fucking desperate. Even for me.

I asked them some questions and got some startling answers. At peak they have twelve servers on the floor. Twelve! I looked around the restaurant. "How many tables do you have in here?" I asked. He told me that each person has a three table section. At my last job I had the whole place to myself sometimes and had up to 12 or 15 tables at once. What do you do with three tables? hover? Chew their food for them? Wipe their mouths and their asses? Jeez. He told me that sales for a dinner can range from $1000 to $2000 and a slow lunch could be $500. That's not vague or anything. I also asked about the tip out situation. Not too shabby. You only have to tip out 3% of sales and I was really surprised that it was that low. (I worked for a corporate place once that shall remain nameless [Rosa Mexicana] and we had to tip out 40% of our tips. We were supposed to tip the food runner, the bar, the busser, the guacamole maker and the fucking coffee girl. Even if you didn't use coffee. They told me that on day two of training. There was no day three of training.) I fed Mr. Manager some bullshit about how long I have been a waiter and that they wouldn't have to train me to be one. They just have to tell me what steps of service they require for their restaurant. When I told him I had been waiting tables for almost 18 years, I could see the realization on his face that I had been serving food since he was in the fifth grade. That made me cry a little on the inside.

Finally, he told me he would discuss my application with the other managers and decide if they wanted to bring me in for a third interview. A third? I'm sorry, did I accidentally apply for the position of brain surgeon because I thought I was just asking people what food they wanted and then carrying a plate to a table.


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15 comments:

Anonymous said...

That section is easy. You probably flip it 3 - 4 times a night. As to the third interview that is ridiculous. Obviously they were freaked out by your experience. Wait till you have 30 years like myself then you have to really downplay yourself.

Anonymous said...

yeah...the 3 table chain corporate station. I have 27 years in the biz and have to find stuff to keep me busy. The newbies run around like idiots trying to keep up with it all. I had 3 interviews also at( should i say the name ??) Red Lobster. I had a math test and the usual corporate handbook of asinine questions. I was told i didnt answer them in the way that Red Lobster would like them answered ( didnt have my Lobsterbot with me that day) so they would call my references. No prob with that and i did get the job but the corporate crap pisses me off every shift. I just laugh it off and make sarcastic comments, ya can just hear the managers blood boiling. hahahah

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Anonymous said...

I think you scared them with your experience. If you have to have another interview elsewhere, pretend you don't know jack shit and they'll probably hire you on the spot.

Jenny said...

who do they think they are.

Hostess' Dish said...

I feel your pain when it comes to having to go into yet another interview. To get my current job, as a hostess, I had to interview not three but four times. Since you'll actually be waiting on the clients, I can't imagine the hoops this place may make you jump through, good luck.

Pademelon said...

My first serving job was at Applebee's and they required 3 interviews too. First with the manager on during breakfast and lunch and then the manager on during dinner and then the general manager. The interviews were spaced out as well so it took 2 and a half weeks. I also had to take a rather long multiple choice test about what I would do in various situations, i.e. "You've noticed Server A is taking a few slices of garlic bread home each night without paying for it. How would you handle that? A) Tell the manager. That's stealing! B) Say nothing. It's not hurting anyone. C) Confront the server and tell them if they continue, you'll have to turn them in." It was totally ridiculous and all the questions were like that.

Pademelon said...

Posted too fast. I meant to include a "good luck on the job hunt!" Seriously, I hope you can find a server job that earns you enough tips to make the corporate (or non-corporate) bullshit worth it. It's a tough gig, dealing with food for the inept.

pharmacy said...

well maybe the salary is not the most great in stocke market, but you are gonna meet a lot of people, and I know this because I worked in a bar some years ago.

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Anonymous said...

Haha it sounds like Hillstone....probably is. I work at one of their restaurants now.

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