At my hotel we find that the wealth of a guest is generally inversely correlated to their generosity with staff. It’s not 100% by any means but there does seem to be a correlation.
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Don’t ever come work at my hotel then. We don’t ever say no. It’s so bad there used to be a website devoted to how to get free stuff from my hotel. It’s insane and makes the job so much more difficult.
I’ve actually had to go off the line in the middle of service on a Saturday night to make vegan dishes for a 4 top that came in for dinner. We’re a steakhouse! Why the hell are you here?! Instead of saying no the manager told them we can figure something out.
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Too bad you’re in a different time zone. Sounds like we’d have plenty to bitch to each other about over a beer.
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I’d wager we’d both be struggling to walk out of the bar with the amount of stories we both have lol
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Yep. One thing I’ve been struggling with in terms of society is this disconnect caused by a lack of shared experience between brick and mortar workers and stay at home workers. Most of my guests really don’t understand how hard my staff has been grinding for 26 months against some trying circumstances to achieve the standards that our guests are accustomed to.
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Same here. My resort had 130 cooks before the pandemic. We’ve been back at 100% business for the past year plus and there are 30 of us. Our banquets department was 2 people for 8 months and they were doing 20 million a month in business.
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Awesome, brother! Love that you guys are back to full capacity.
Yeah. The hospitality boom is a gift and a curse. Good for the businesses but staffs are getting worked into the ground.
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This sounds bizarre but I’m kind of rooting for a (hopefully minor) recession. Everything needs a reset. Labor market in particular.
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It’s slowly getting better but we’ve been doing record numbers at 30% staffing. We’re all tired man. Our resort is huge too. Our main restaurant has been doing 650 covers a night with a 4 man crew. That’s just for dinner. Doesn’t include breakfast or lunch.
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One thing I’m proud of is that my staff has seen substantial real money wage gains. Whereas with the average worker nationally their earnings have shrunk 3% when factoring in inflation. Though the staffs in the industry was woefully underpaid prior to this period. 
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Damn. That’s busy. What cut of tips gets back t the kitchen?
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We don’t get anything.
Brutal. I hate that sh!t. At least 10% needs to go to the back of the house IMO. Time to go on strike 
I’m looking into getting out of this profession altogether. It just isn’t worth the price you have to pay anymore.
Totally understand. We closed the restaurant when my son was born (though we still serve breakfast for the inn guests). I’ve been much happier since. Less profit but worth it to have some sanity. The hours required to do both were not sustainable anyhow.
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That sounds insanely busy. Can you bring back more staff?
We’ve been trying. It’s gotten better but nobody wants to do this job anymore. The pay is too low and the job is brutal. You have to really have a passion for it. We’ve been getting by with a temp agency.
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Holy ■■■■. Is there a way to still do it right, with fewer ppl, and possibly incentivize with wages? Sounds rough.
It’s a difficult balancing act for restaurants. You want to pay more but your margin for profit is so small. Especially with the cost soaring as much as it is.
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