To Tip Or Not To Tip

[baygo]

I've been reviewing employment applications from very many individuals who seek employment in my dinning room. I look at previous employment as a gage but have difficulty determining the quality of service associated with other restaurants. Would the forum please share with me the names of restaurants likely to exceed expectations in regards to service, and also please share those who have a reputation for falling short.

Thanks, We're getting closer.

[Pineedles]

In a word, NO.

[Pontoon Goon]

Baygo, You lost me on this one.

[baygo]

Originally Posted by Pontoon Goon

Baygo, You lost me on this one.

When I read an employment application, I don't know if the applicant's previous restaurant experience was in an establishment with a reputation for good service or not. Especially if it's one that is no longer in business.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by baygo

When I read an employment application, I don't know if the applicant's previous restaurant experience was in an establishment with a reputation for good service or not. Especially if it's one that is no longer in business.

Why don't you just read through the restaurant reviews here for your answers. For a specific restaurant simply type it in the search feature. Just about every restaurant in the lakes region has been reviewed for both food and service.

I am not so sure I agree with basing ones ability by their previous employer. I am certain there are many excellent wait staff personnel that have worked at not so great restaurants...

Dan

[baygo]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

Why don't you just read through the restaurant reviews here for your answers. For a specific restaurant simply type it in the search feature. Just about every restaurant in the lakes region has been reviewed for both food and service.

I am not so sure I agree with basing ones ability by their previous employer. I am certain there are many excellent wait staff personnel that have worked at not so great restaurants...

Dan

Thanks Not a bad idea except my plate is getting pretty full and more demands are being made on my time. I live with dyslexia therefore often exhausted by a great deal of reading. I read the archives when I can, but I thought this would be an easier method to sort on service related concerns.

To help explain the logic; I believe that there is a difference between someone whose experience is defined as "with traditional service standards" verses those with a more lackadaisical approach. Knowing who does or does not insist on the attention to detail from there staff does mean something to a restauranteur.

I would have different expectations of a 5 year veteran from a place with a strong reputation for service, than I would of a 5 year veteran from a place that has a reputation for service related problems.

It was just a thought to ask the forum. (perhaps a bad one) maybe I'll come up with another strategy. It's something I can think about while experimenting with one of my recipes. I'm attempting to replace the imported chili sesame oil with something from the trans fat family.

[upthesaukee]

Sorry, but I see no correlation between the restaurant someone worked in and their abilities and capabilities. A great waitress can be wasted in a poor restaurant, and a poor waitress will certainly drag down a great restaurant's reputation.

When I worked for an insurance company, I had to interview many people for underwriting jobs. We could not really look at what their previous employer did as far as profitability was concerned. Our interviewing training taught us to ask questions that were unique to our company, ask the same questions to every applicant, ask questions that would show the applicant's strengths in their eyes, ask questions that would be "tell me about a time when..." relating to a positive experience and also to negative experiences, etc. By tailoring your interviewing to questions relating to how you want your employees to act, think, behave, etc, you should get a feel for how they will fit into your organization. I certainly wouldn't hold it against an applicant if they worked at a restaurant that is perceived to have bad service...maybe that is why they left!

[baygo]

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

I certainly wouldn't hold it against an applicant if they worked at a restaurant that is perceived to have bad service...maybe that is why they left!

So it took them five years to figure out the problem and left or they were the problem?

I'm filtering applications not conducting interviews.

Do you know the difference between table side service and a deli counter? I'm not insinuating that I'm looking for either but trying to help you understand the difference in skill level.

[Pepper]

Originally Posted by baygo

So it took them five years to figure out the problem and left or they were the problem?

I'm filtering applications not conducting interviews.

Do you know the difference between table side service and a deli counter? I'm not insinuating that I'm looking for either but trying to help you understand the difference in skill level.

Careful now ... many forum members can tell you it is quite possible to have extraordinary service at an establishment with a deli counter.

While I truly understand what you're driving at, I must agree with other posters - your best opportunity to examine the true character of the applicant is during the interview. Weeding through piles of applications is a daunting task, and one I'm extremely familiar with. Best wishes as you embark on the hiring process!

[baygo]

Originally Posted by Pepper

Careful now ... many forum members can tell you it is quite possible to have extraordinary service at an establishment with a deli counter.

Absolutely agreed upon and I've experienced some myself a number of times. Winning Butcher in Meredith

[phoenix]

if anyone knows about great service it is Pepper

[Overlake97]

See Subject line.

[Lakepilot]

When service is consistently good in a restaurant, it means management is good. If service is consistently bad - guess what - management is bad. Good management provides training and the proper set of expectations on the part of their employees.

I believe employees want to provide good service, but in some restaurants that isn't possible.

[Overlake97]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned calling previous employers. If you get the same story (good or bad) from more than one person, that should tell you something.

[tis]

Originally Posted by Overlake97

I'm surprised no one has mentioned calling previous employers. If you get the same story (good or bad) from more than one person, that should tell you something.

Previous employers are EXTREMELY reluctant to say anything about a former employee. In today's world you have to be very careful. If you get anything, you have to read between the lines.

[BroadHopper]

For consistently good service, go no further than the folks that works for the Common Man family. Alec is very fussy about who works for him and the formula work. Many of the employees are seasoned workers, not seasonal. It is nice to see the host/hostess and buspersons, work with the waitstaff in bringing you fine dining. Teamwork is the key. Everyone is busy.
If you should see an application with a short tenure at a Common Man, chances are great, he/she did not fit in. I will be surprised if you see an applicant that's been there for years. They don't usually leave.
Same is true at Patrick's Pub. I see the same employees, year after year.

If you should snag someone from these fine establishnment, I will surely use tham as models for the rest of the hires to follow.

[angela4design]

IMHO... Luring great quality servers for a startup establishment would be tricky. I think you might have to start with an assured base pay, like catering does. I mean this to ensure that the position can pay the server's bills in order to get them on board. Server minimum wage is under $4 an hour, and that's just not going to make ends meet. Especially if tips are pooled; that only makes for worse service IMO. Quality people will need some financial assurances, especially if they're coming from an establishment like Common Man.

[Overlake97]

Originally Posted by tis

Previous employers are EXTREMELY reluctant to say anything about a former employee. In today's world you have to be very careful.

This applies, mostly, to written comments/references. On the phone, if they can verify that you are who you say you are, they'll provide info - good or bad. Also, if they DON'T give a glowing reference, that would tell you something.

I check references (not for restaurant workers), occasionally, on the phone whenever I see less than glowing written comments (or even sometimes when they ARE glowing). People will be honest more often than you'd expect, despite the not completely unjustified fear of legal action.

[tis]

I do not have much luck over the phone either, Overlake. People are just very reluctant to say much as there is so much fear of getting sued today. Now if I know someone they are willing to say more.

And speaking of phones references, I can't figure out why people insist on faxed credit references instead of phone replies. It always seemed to me it would be much harder to prove that you gave a "bad" reference over the phone than a written one. Of course for the faxed (or emailed) ones there is most always a form so the facts are all that are there. I prefer to talk to someone to make a judgement. Tone can tell so much more.

[Argie's Wife]

Sorry but I don't think that previous establishments of employment are a good measurement for why someone is leaving or has left OR if they will be a good fit for you.

I worked in retail management for many, many years. I hired some duds. I also hired some stars. After a while I learned when to trust my instincts and what personality-types would be the best fit. I could also tell when someone was just "filling a slot" - looking for a job, not a career. Ditto with the restaurant industry - you know what will work and what won't... you'll probably make mistakes hiring some people and there will be others you'll wanna clone because they're awesome.

People change jobs for many reasons. My generation is probably the worst for that because we're of the Dot Com age - Generation X. We'll change jobs just because there's no casual Friday. Fer Sur.


PS
I base my tips off the trans-fat on a menu.

[baygo]

Originally Posted by Argie's Wife

PS
I base my tips off the trans-fat on a menu.

You inspire me

[ApS]

Originally Posted by baygo

"...Would the forum please share with me the names of restaurants likely to exceed expectations in regards to service..."

Anyone who's work-staffed at the the Wolfeborough Diner—even for a few weeks—would be an excellent find.

http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/...8&postcount=14

[Rattlesnake Guy]

Must be the academy awards...

I nominate this this thread title for the most misleading in the Restaurant Category.

"To Tip Or Not To Tip"

The actual question has nothing to do with either tipping or not tipping.
Brilliant use of the misdirection by this future restaurateur.
I can't wait to try his daily special... Is it fish or is it chicken?

[baygo]

Originally Posted by Rattlesnake Guy

Must be the academy awards...

I nominate this this thread title for the most misleading in the Restaurant Category.

"To Tip Or Not To Tip"

The actual question has nothing to do with either tipping or not tipping.
Brilliant use of the misdirection by this future restaurateur.
I can't wait to try his daily special... Is it fish or is it chicken?

"To Tip Or Not To Tip" is a question that each and every indiviual who visits my establishment will ask themselves. I'd rather the decision to do so is based on the service opposed to the tradition.

Truth in Specials labeling; We are rigging our kitchen with an online observation system. You will be able to watch the production of our/your food at will via the web. Please notify me immediately should you see the use of fish when chicken is implied.

[Seeker]

So are you saying we bring our laptops or other wifi device and watch our dishes being prepared?

[baygo]

Originally Posted by Seeker

So are you saying we bring our laptops or other wifi device and watch our dishes being prepared?

You can watch on your cellphone or other portable web capable device if you like, or you can watch from home as we make the food for others. We will have monitors visible from some tables.

[chipj29]

This is an interesting subject. Years ago when I was in the restaurant biz, we opened a restaurant (franchise) in Derry. Built it from the ground up. Us managers set up shop in a construction trailer on-site and hired the entire staff right out of that trailer. I am not sure the exact number of applications we got, but we filled a plastic milk crate. I would estimate 1,000+ applications came in. When the applications were dropped off, one of the managers would have a brief conversation with every single applicant. This gave us a very general idea of the person behind the application.
We looked at every single application dozens of times. We set up three bins, good, bad and otherwise and filed the applications accordingly. Our goal was to hire over 125 employees, so it was a lot of work. We set up official interviews with all of the people in the "good" bin. When it got closer to the opening date, we interviewed some of the people whose applications were not in the "good" bin.

What I learned was that I wish it was possible to interview every single applicant, as there were some (not very many) whose application did not make it in to the "good" bin, that we ended up hiring.
I also learned that while you could glean a lot of info from someones paper application, you could not always get the true picture of that person.

I can also tell you that there were no applicants that we did not hire based on who their previous employer was.

[SIKSUKR]

I only have one recommendation. Former employees of Waldo Peppers that Pepper gave thumbs up.

[Happy Gourmand]

Don't hire people thinking you can train them to be nice....almost impossible.
Instead, hire nice people. You can't tell nice people from from not so nice people by reading their resume. Resumes are mostly fluff and almost useless when hiring service personnel. One exception is somebody who has worked at the same establishment for many years...even then you need to find out why they want to make a change.
Hireing people....whew...I don't miss that!!

[SAMIAM]

OK.....I'll share an insider secret.....only known to Samiam and a few others.
When you are interviewing a new employee.........walk outside and look into their car. If it is dirty, McD'd wrappers and coffee cups on the floor and junk everywhere.....they don't get hired. A persons car shows their personality......it has never failed. If they are neat and tidy in their own life, they will do the same on the job.

[phoenix]

agree Samiam

[Heaven]

What a sneaky trick, almost better than my trick of looking at the condition of the inside of someone's microwave ; )

[jrc]

Originally Posted by SAMIAM

OK.....I'll share an insider secret.....only known to Samiam and a few others.
When you are interviewing a new employee.........walk outside and look into their car. If it is dirty, McD'd wrappers and coffee cups on the floor and junk everywhere.....they don't get hired. A persons car shows their personality......it has never failed. If they are neat and tidy in their own life, they will do the same on the job.

I hire a lot of engineers, few would pass your test!

[jniff101]

Unfortuantely for me being a mother of young children my car never seems to be clean anymore. So I do have the occasional happymeal boxes or half eaten apples from the night before. And usually moms will pick up a few night shift waitressing jobs to make ends meet so I think I'll have to respectfully disagree with samiam.

[RI Swamp Yankee]

Originally Posted by jrc

I hire a lot of engineers, few would pass your test!

With engineers it is just the opposite. Never trust an engineer with a clean desk.

[SAMIAM]

Fair enough jnif101.........been guilty myself a time or too. Didn't mean to imply that a few wrappers on the floor were cause not to hire.....I mean down and out DIRTY......1/2 inch of sand on all the floors, windows you can't see out of, bottles, cans, papers, dog hair and junk everywhere.

[CrawfordCentury]

Originally Posted by SAMIAM

Fair enough jnif101.........been guilty myself a time or too. Didn't mean to imply that a few wrappers on the floor were cause not to hire.....I mean down and out DIRTY......1/2 inch of sand on all the floors, windows you can't see out of, bottles, cans, papers, dog hair and junk everywhere.

You'd get a kick outta my truck. There's a permalayer of loose bark, woodchips, and other biomass from hauling firewood.

Also too, bar and chain oil does NOT come out of the upholstery easily at all.

That, and I'm physically incapable of driving past a free pile of stuff kicked out to the curb. On any given day there might be in the back of the truck a bucket half full of nails, a spool of copper wire that'll get scrapped out, or any manner of things. One day en route to a fancy reception for work, I came upon a mounted deer's head that was atop the rubbish buckets awaiting the trashman. Bunch of folks recognized it as my vehicle parked there. Good for laughs.

I will fess up that I have a lotta sand. And I got no excuse seeing as though I don't drive a Toyota - can't cop out by saying that the mat's stuck to the gas pedal.

[SAMIAM]

Crawford.......tou're FIRED

[CrawfordCentury]

Originally Posted by SAMIAM

Crawford.......tou're FIRED

tou're sooooo mean.

Bummer. On the bright side, I understand that there's a restaurant specializing in Tappas that's hiring.

[Argie's Wife]

Originally Posted by SAMIAM

OK.....I'll share an insider secret.....only known to Samiam and a few others.
When you are interviewing a new employee.........walk outside and look into their car. If it is dirty, McD'd wrappers and coffee cups on the floor and junk everywhere.....they don't get hired. A persons car shows their personality......it has never failed. If they are neat and tidy in their own life, they will do the same on the job.

Minivans don't count, right?

What if you clean your car every week but have little mud trackers and yuck makers that ride in your car?

[PennyPenny]

Originally Posted by SAMIAM

OK.....I'll share an insider secret.....only known to Samiam and a few others.
When you are interviewing a new employee.........walk outside and look into their car. If it is dirty, McD'd wrappers and coffee cups on the floor and junk everywhere.....they don't get hired. A persons car shows their personality......it has never failed. If they are neat and tidy in their own life, they will do the same on the job.

SAMIAM Thank Goodness my local employer never looked in my car! I have worked in the same restaurant for 6 years. Is my car messy? Yup. Am I, No. I am the employee who always says, order medium gloves, I added bleach to the water, the floor is slippery etc. There are a few of us who are the exception. AC

[PennyPenny]

Originally Posted by baygo

"To Tip Or Not To Tip" is a question that each and every indiviual who visits my establishment will ask themselves. I'd rather the decision to do so is based on the service opposed to the tradition.

Truth in Specials labeling; We are rigging our kitchen with an online observation system. You will be able to watch the production of our/your food at will via the web. Please notify me immediately should you see the use of fish when chicken is implied.

WOW. You are opening yourself up to a can of worms there. What if the State of NH/Health inspector comes in and monitors the kitchen via the web? They probably have to identify themself but you don't get a warning that they are there and watching. Is this your first time in the restaurant business?

[baygo]

Originally Posted by PennyPenny

WOW. You are opening yourself up to a can of worms there. What if the State of NH/Health inspector comes in and monitors the kitchen via the web? They probably have to identify themself but you don't get a warning that they are there and watching. Is this your first time in the restaurant business?

This is my third restaurant. I have a track record of success. I also have so much confidence in the way my staff handles food that I am happy to open up to anyone. Bring it on. Want to make sure we're clean? Log in. Want to learn how to make a dish? Log in. Don't want to cook. Come in

[PennyPenny]

Originally Posted by baygo

This is my third restaurant. I have a track record of success. I also have so much confidence in the way my staff handles food that I am happy to open up to anyone. Bring it on. Want to make sure we're clean? Log in. Want to learn how to make a dish? Log in. Don't want to cook. Come in

Glad you have had success in the restaurant business and hope you have continued success. Geez.

[RI Swamp Yankee]

Originally Posted by baygo

... Would the forum please share with me the names of restaurants likely to exceed expectations in regards to service, and also please share those who have a reputation for falling short. ....

There is certainly NO shortage of opinions (and closed threads) here about the good the bad and the ugly. Seems like this would open up a real can of worms (served with sautéed onions and salsa on the side).

The forums have a real nice search feature so putting in the name of an establishment would return an abundance of results .... and some unbiased opinions.

Good Luck.

[jetskier]

Hi all,

I was just wondering how things were progressing. As I recall, the test marketing was envisioned to be occuring during February. I have not seen much activity in passing the building (there is a sign about a store, I believe) and was wondering what the time frame and plan for the restaurant is.

Jetskier

[baygo]

Originally Posted by jetskier

Hi all,

I was just wondering how things were progressing. As I recall, the test marketing was envisioned to be occuring during February. I have not seen much activity in passing the building (there is a sign about a store, I believe) and was wondering what the time frame and plan for the restaurant is.

Jetskier

Things are moving along well in-spite of missing our February target date. We've gone through a bulk of the prep training with our kitchen staff (a great collection of talent), and as mentioned above, we are in the process of putting together our dinning room/bar team. Things are going well.

So far there are just over 200 people on our list. We should be emailing out the invites soon.