I am all about  helping people out. I have a very giving soul, and will bend over backwards to help people that deserve helping. When someone tries to take advantage of that, it makes me want to smack them in the face.

We just put a new training class through at Charley’s, they tested well and are now taking tables, two at a time, until they get the hang of it. This is typical at most restaurants. We don’t hire bartenders, we promote from within, and the bar is where every Charley’s server wants to end up (if not every server, then definitely most).

One of the new guys asks me how much money I make – another rule, bartenders at Charley’s don’t talk about money. It creates friction between departments, and it gets ugly. He says he’s been bartending all of his life and he wants to be a bartender. He seems cool enough – fairly outgoing, maybe a little arrogant, but I humor him. I give him some pointers (express your interest to the managers, bust your ass as a server, do everything right, and make sure you are on top of your game) and he takes them to heart. 

We’re at the local watering hole, where smokers have to go outside. He lights up. I tell him, assuming because he’s new and may not have been there before, that you can’t smoke inside. He continues to smoke, and actually shows me how he’s doing it.

“First, I do this” ::takes a drag:: “then, I do this” ::blows it in my face::

Will I be this guy’s advocate for getting him behind the bar? No. Because he thinks the rules don’t apply to him. Hell, it’s not even a rule, it’s a law. You can’t smoke inside. Period. But he has the audacity not only to continue, but also to blow it in my face. As a non-smoker, I seek places where you can’t smoke inside because I hate going home smelling like an ashtray. Don’t blow your smoke in my face.

If he believes the rules (or laws) don’t apply to him, I can just see how things would go down if he was a bartender. He wouldn’t make it behind that bar. The last thing we need is someone who thinks that he can do whatever he wants and that he doesn’t have to abide by the laws of the Charley’s bar that have been in place since the doors opened 11 years ago.

And the thing of it is, I don’t think most people would see the correlation there. At least I know he wouldn’t.

How do you deal with the people that think they are above the rules? I know they eventually get weeded out and it’s only a matter of time, but in order to run a business effectively, how do you avoid people like this?

So many people interview well and then once they get in the door they suck. Really suck. It blows my mind how many people can portray themselves to be so amazing and then not have anything to back it up with. This is something I’m taking into careful consideration as I build my brand. I know how to sell myself in an interview – but the difference here is, I’m not going to sell it and not deliver.

Have you ever hired someone who was an all-star at the interview and then couldn’t bring much to the table once they got started?

So the two areas of work I’ll ever blog about are bartending (to pay for school) or my internships (to make school worth it).

Today: Bartending

I’m new to the full-time bartender scene, but I’ve been with my current restaurant for over two years. I can honestly say that I love my job. Saying it’s work is not fair – because it isn’t. I have so much fun back there, I’m allowed to be myself, instead of all formal and uptight like I was on the floor.

In case you don’t know me personally, I work at a swanky, high-end steakhouse, so let me set the mood. Champagne, fine wine and scotches, not body shots. Just to clear the air.

Respect in the workplace. I’m earning it. There is a bartender that’s been there for 11 years. She created the clientèle we have today from scratch and that place is her baby. Monday through Thursday, she has people lining up to sit on her side of the bar (it’s a big bar). For them to promote me to full time bartender is them taking a huge chance that I could royally screw up whatever she has going on in those four walls.

I think I’m doing well. So do my managers. And so does she. Last night, and for the past couple nights, she’s been very vocal about how well I’m adjusting to the new role. Who doesn’t love a compliment? She’s very consistent, however. She’ll be the first one to compliment you and the first one to point out an error. And she always manages to do both in a way that make you feel good about yourself. I think that shows qualities of a true leader (ooh, a new blog idea).

I can’t wait until I’m able to write something similar about someone that I work with in PR. It will be then that I know that I’ve finally reached a place where my hours and hours and hours of working hard to get this degree is worth it.

I’m off to Orlando to see the doctor, then straight back to work! Love those 18-hour days!

Ooh, and Happy Halloween!
xoxo Sydney