What a weekend........

Between Friday and Saturday I worked a total of 24 hours. There was the dream shifts, and there was the shift from hell.


I was enjoying a leisurely Friday morning….relaxing with a pot of coffee…..getting my day in order…..and then the phone rang. It was the owner asking me if the server who was scheduled for Friday morning said anything the night before, about not coming in. No, she didn’t say anything to anyone. Well, she didn’t show, and she didn’t call. Ten minutes later I got another call asking if I could come in. So much for my relaxing morning…..now it was hop to, in double time….hit the shower….did a hair spray sculpture and I was off and running…..pulled into the parking lot, quite a few cars, and I knew as soon as I hit the door it was show time.

The owner was waiting on two tables, and a table of 10 was starting to trickle in….then a few more tables, then a few more. I was the only server there, the owner switched over to playing busboy. But it all worked out, went smooth, and before I knew it was 4:00 p.m. time for a break.

I grabbed another cup or coffee and went and sat on the patio……ten minutes later…”You’ve got another table!” Oh shit. I got their drink order…and then the first member of the evening crew showed up, so I turned it over to him. But now, I had to set up the bar for the night…..So much for a break.

The one who neglected to show up for the lunch shift was also missing in action for the night shift. Okay, we’re down one server…..another, who was supposed to work the wedding reception that was taking place that evening, called off. Now we’re down two. Welcome to the evening from hell. It was the 2nd day for the new guy, we threw him to the wolves, but he’s an old professional and handled it all in stride. The new girl was thrown on the wedding reception, had no real experience and was pretty much useless.

I asked who was working the lounge, where the bar and the singer and ten tables are located and they said “You are.” WTF!?!?! So of course this is the night we get extremely busy. The owner, his girlfriend and the manager were scrambling around helping out any way they could. We were stretched beyond the max. We all powered through it....not every cusotmer was happy, the numbers were against us.  But when the dust settled, we all knew we did the best we could.

As for the one who called off on purpose, supposedly to prove a point…..call yourself anything you want, but don’t ever call yourself a professional.