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2007-03-05 05:54:06′, ‘As Fast As Our Company Does! You read that right.There is, contrary to popular

Leadership

belief, a substantial number of hospitality industry employees that take pride in their work, excel at service and believe that they serve the best damn fajitas this side of de Nile. Some do it because they have a righteous work ethic, some because of their innate sense of competition with each other, and still others, of a desire to just make other people happy.

Those that exemplify the highest ideals, elevate their performance because they have to. It’’s simply how they pay the bills, maintain friends and customers- and keep their job. BUT, as often happens in the corporate world, the economy takes a turn for the worse, some bad deals are done, prices skyrocket, leadership changes, competition gets tougher or the Vice President of Operation’’s french fry kickback check bounces. For whatever reason, companies decide to, or are put into a position to, run the prices up/cut corners, and raise additional funds from one area, in order to funnel into another. When this happens, it usually comes from the biggest operations costs: utilities, food and beverages, and the payroll. These areas affect us – the operations people.

Why mess with our world? Small increases in price or pocket change saved here or there, multiplied times many customers, and again by many units, result in piles of money. Did you really think that the corporate gang was going to give up their spa memberships? Stock options? Butt wipe-saving bidets in the Executive Washroom? Tee times at the times you need them most? Ha! A good sign that you”re in this “savings vortex” is a company-wide, new-found awareness of utility waste. The temperature is warmer/cooler than it used to be, managers are bugging everybody about lighting and equipment “turn on” times. Not to worry. These symptoms only last about a month or two at tops.

You may notice menu or portion resizing, garnishes no longer being necessary, changes to linens, glassware, paper products, cleaning and armored car services – even doing away with those mints at the front desk that you swore that you”d swear off of. A big labor crunch, cutting service levels to the bone and pushing heart-of-the-house crews to the limit, mean there’’s not much imagination behind this drive for the dollars. Shortcuts in cleaning regimen or training standards show that morals aren’t such a bargain anymore, and the leadership is willing to sacrifice the future for quick results. All of these measures lead to a lowering of standards once preached by the very same entities that now fear for their own personal money and continued employment. If they visit your locale, be very afraid. They”re dangerous when it’’s their own ass in the line of fire.

[ MEAN TRICK HINT: if a worried- looking corporate so-and-so is in your building, tape a drawing of a target on the back of their coat. It makes them finish the entire bottle of antacids on the way home!]

So, when your guests start to complain, a cook, dishwasher or bartender walks out because of the increased workload, the climate control is whacked out and the boss has eaten all of the good painkillers from the first aid kit, (pain-aid loaded with caffeine) you are suffering withdrawal symptoms due to an absence of standards. The company’’s current crisis is deemed more important than it’’s ideals.  a healthy company, the path of least resistance causes the operations employees to bend, break or reinterpret the rules gradually, over a long period of time – the way it’’s supposed to break down. The company’’s money crunch is much more rapid, and therefore, much more noticeable.

You read that right, have covered this subject with prospective employees as early as their first interview and orientations. I believe that the most clever and intelligent crew members realize this, as well as people that have something to hide. You may want to take notes on this if you are about to change companies, or if you are a “job-hopper”. Think about it. Assuming that nobody at your new job knows you, you have the power to be a completely different person than who you really are. You can be the silent-but-strong type, speaking infrequently on what is considered an important topic, the outgoing life-of-the-party animal, always in on the crew’’s after work life, or the mysterious, spooky type, that seems immune to even the most vicious gossips and naysayers. Be the person you to be, want to be or really are. Your coworkers only know what you let them know (unless, of course, it’’s in the local police blotter!). I have seen this countless times in women with a horrible life mate, kids with overbearing parents and loners that don”t have any social life to speak of outside of work. Unhappiness at home causes much of this. Most of them practice this unconciously and out of necessity – socially gasping for air, trying to preserve what self identity they still have. Have you ever heard of another employee suddenly being escorted out of the building, in handcuffs, by Sherrif Andy and Barney? You had no clue that they were “wanted”. Same thing. I”ve also witnessed this “life-out-of-life” behavior in very intelligent, contriving people, almost as if they were trying to amuse themselves, while escaping the childish ongoings that are often unchecked in some workplaces, and preventing what seemed to be the dull and the petty. Some individuals can construct quite elaborate “realities”. I remember one bartender who claimed he was a painter/sculptor from Greenwich Village, and who went so far as to claim that the dirt on his civilian clothing was modeling clay, as he hurriedly would redress into his uniform in the men’’s room. It turned out that he really worked a construction gig for his dad during the daytime. It probably got him laid more than he would”ve been. It doesn”t take much to shape a stranger’’s image of who you claim to be. Spend a few minutes thinking about who you are, and who you want to be before your next “first day at school”.

…They”re Just the Lid on the Septic Tank.You read that right. Those of you that are unlucky enough to work for a larger company that operates a Human Resources Department, might be curious about the headline. I” m here to enlighten you to another perspective regarding the “Nazis of political correctness” in your HR office. It’’s the view from way above the icky, dirty world called -gasp!-…..operations! That would be you and me. We”re considered to be a bunch of moron local yokels, sloth-like in our reactions to their needs, incompetent at our jobs, uneducated, and all of us either fighting or sleeping with each other. The only good thing coming out of this cesspool is the customer’’s money. I”m sure that most of you were led to believe that the HR Dept. exists as an actual resource for the employees and managers, that their main functions were being the “keepers of the training standards”, the policy definitions experts, the benefits administrators and paperwork shufflers. Some of us even think that they are there as a means to ensure that they are treated fairly by their managers – a kind of “principal’’s office” for the adult-mentality-impaired. In fact, most Human Resource employees often believe this too. Morons. Some of them even have college degrees that convince them that they are specialists at this. Fools. They do not, and cannot “make a difference”, as most of them give us as a reason for them choosing this field. They are merely a buffer zone to keep the issues of the septic tank from stinking up the Country Club. Vice Presidents, Board Chairpersons, Owners and Stockholders don”t want to even come close to dealing with our problems, concerns or ideas. We seem to have been looking at these do-gooders from the wrong direction. Do you really think that the corporate bigwigs ( that term had to come out of the middle ages ) and boardroom stockholder types care if you are eligible for medical insurance yet? Or are taking your vacation before the deadline? Or believe that your manager spoke to you in an inappropriate manner? Right.  BTW, how many HR people could get through a day without using the word “inappropriate”? Few, I would venture to guess. Not by chance, it’’s also the most often used term of those who presume to dictate what is politically correct, or not. I despise anything that’’s PC. The department serves to keep us drones from being a problem that the folks upstairs will hear about, to be a DMZ from the wretches that they must employ to scrape trash cans, clean toilets, clear tables and sling hash. “Our most valuable asset is our people!” they exclaim. What a load of crap. The most valuable assets are, well, the assets, the property. Property is easily controlled and insured. You and me are not. They should really be called the “Lawsuit Prevention Department”. Why do you think they have the company attorneys on speed dial? Whatever it takes to keep us away from potential stock purchasers, analysts and other investors is what they are there for. Whatever it takes to keep a lid on it. TIP for dealing with the HR Dept.: The first person to advise them of a “situation”, wins. It’’s just that simple. Whoever tells them their side of the story before the other party involved, is presumed righteous. This rule applies, ohhhhh, I”d say 80% of the time – right or wrong. The reason? They all view us as redheaded stepchildren (maybe so, in a lot of cases…) that just cannot play well with each other. They view themselves as a cross between educated, parent-like problem-solving King Solomon, and S.W.A.T. team hostage negotiators. The outcome of any conflict can be foretold by which side’’s story holds the least chance of a lawsuit against the company. If you tell mommy first, it is presumed that you believe that you are right, and therefore, principled and correct. Whoever doesn’t tell mommy first, doesn’t recognize their supreme authority to settle disputes, and, consequently, must presumed ignorant of who has the power in this company, and just have to be hiding something.\n