Shameful

So I made the worst mistake of them all today, and I suppose I'm going to immortalize my shame over the event by sharing it here. I threw away someone's food!

He ordered a lot of sushi (and I had been told beforehand what a great customer he was) and couldn't finish it, so he told me he was done and when I asked if he wanted me to take it he said yes. I asked him if he was sure and he said yes again. I took it into the back and set it down--which is a story in itself--and when I brought their checks him and his friends asked me where it was. I told him it had been thrown out. He thought I was taking it to box it up?! We don't do that! We bring boxes to customers! He didn't ask me to box it up, he said he was done, so I assumed he meant just that. Well I felt completely awful so I tried to pay him back for at least half of it and he wouldn't let me. As it turns out, he left me a better tip than his friends did (and they ordered more sushi). He was very easy-going and our sushi chef said he would hook him up next time.

So--regarding the other half of the story--when untouched sushi is to be thrown out...staff often set it aside to eat. Well one of the owners caught someone doing this today and she went off about how if the Health Department knew about that they would be shut down. Apparently something about customers possibly being sick and then passing it on to us through their food and then us passing it on to someone else and so on and so forth. But honestly...I think the thick, hot, greasy air, cockroaches running a muck, trash bags that have been emptied but not changed for months, dirty toilets, dishes, sticky floors, and a number of other things should be more cause for concern than staff eating leftover sushi. But what do I know?

Worked with the new server again tonight. Things were already slow as Tuesdays tend to be, so there being four of us on shift only meant less money for everyone. Yay. She doesn't think she's going to work there for long, though. Being a bartender, she's used to making in a couple of days what we make in a couple of weeks and she finds the tip sharing policy appalling.

I also met a chef who used to work there and I guess is just starting back for a couple of days each week. He's cool. He asked me if I play basketball. I get that a lot--comments about looking athletic and especially like a basketball player. I was raised playing, though, so I guess it makes sense.

In other news, I'm absolutely adoring the weather today. It wasn't humid, it was sunny but not too hot, and this and last night it has actually been cool! I just want to be outside constantly! And I don't work until tomorrow evening, so hopefully the weather will stay nice and I'll get to enjoy it a bit. That's all for now. Oh! And I made $22 even in tips. Lame. Good night, everyone!

What an Odd Morning

Today's lunch was /weird/. It wasn't really slow, but it wasn't really busy either. It was like...kind of slow-steady, but more like slow and then suddenly steady. It caught us a bit off guard, but everything still went smoothly. The only thing that sucked was the fact that we kept ending up not having ample time to fill out checks until it was time for the parties they were for to go. So yeah, that sucked.

Speaking of checks--or rather--speaking of what checks are all about--money--I have a little something I want to talk about this afternoon. Today while paying a check a customer gave me money to give to the chef. I handed it to the owner, told her it was meant to go to the chef, and she went back and handed it to him. That's fine. What bothers me is the fact that on top of that, he got almost half of whatever they tipped me as well because we are required to share regardless of whether they've already been tipped or not. This happens all the time. Chefs get tipped before they leave the table, the sushi chef has his own tip jar for people to put money in, and they still get a huge cut of the tips customers generally think are meant for us.

Now I do not hold any negative feelings against the chefs because they work hard and they do not make the policy. I do think the policy needs changing, though. Tips are generally for staff that interact with customers. If something has been cooked in the kitchen, I've delivered everything, and I bus the table, why do I have to share my tip with anyone? As servers we already make the least and we still have to pay the other staff regardless of whether they do their job or we end up doing it.

That may not have sounded like much of a rant, but I guess that's what it was. And it is currently over. I work a double today, so I'm going to try to spend a few minutes not thinking about the serving of Japanese cuisine. Thanks for reading.

New Server

I've been getting really bad about updating and I think the posts are getting way too boring (or maybe they always were boring). A new server started working last night. She's nice and seems very proactive. Of course she was being trained last night so she didn't get to do much herself, but I do believe she did more than I did on my first night (which was a crazy Saturday). She asks lots of questions and wants to get things done--good qualities!

Last night--being a Monday--was fairly slow, but it seems that the one older cashier who works once a week still doesn't think I know how to do anything. She doesn't like giving me tables and at the end of the night she asked me if I was okay...if it was too many people or not. It was a Monday night--of course I was okay! I know she is just looking out for me. She wants to make sure I'm doing everything properly and am capable of doing everything properly which is good, but she's doing so from the point of view of someone who has only seen me work like four times when I've worked almost every single day since I was hired. I was hoping that the attention would be off of me since there was someone new working, but that wasn't the case and I still felt very self-conscious and uneasy last night. I think that's the one thing I don't like about Mondays.

Despite the fact that it was slow and I barely got any tables I /did/ get the Shirley Temple family, and they tip awesome, so I made almost $30. I've got to work a double today so I'd better start getting ready. I think I'm actually glad I work a double. Keeps me busy and gives me less time to think, which is exactly what I need right now.

First Sunday Brunch!

Wow. So as I mentioned last night I covered for someone this morning, giving me the opportunity to work Sunday brunch for the first time. It runs from 1100 to 1400 and is buffet style--we serve drinks and clear plates off of tables and after everyone is gone we get to help ourselves to the leftover food and clean up for dinner.

Let me say. It was really scary at first. I was a bit overwhelmed as it is completely different from the usual lunch and dinner shifts and it is extremely fast-paced, but I got into the rhythm of things and I can understand now why people like that shift. It was crazy though--we ran out of Pibb, sweet tea twice, and glasses a number of times.

I made about forty dollars and I am now exhausted! But I've got other things to do so...no rest for now. I'm trying to think of some more types of posts I can make here aside from just the general day to day updates. My thoughts on serving? tipping? employer/employee relations? work environment? More about the things I have a tendency to screw up? I'm curious to know what everyone would be the most interested in reading, but I don't expect anyone to actually comment. I would definitely appreciate it if anyone did, though!

As usual, thanks for reading!

There Goes My Day Off!

Well it's been a few days since I've updated--things have been a little crazy. Apparently everyone forgot the rules--Wednesdays are fast, Thursdays are slow. Thursday was crazy. I ended up working an unscheduled double for which only half of us showed up for. And we didn't make nearly enough money for it to be worth the trouble. I committed yet another mischarge and, for some reason, I've been really distracted at work and easily forgetting about the tables I have. That's bad.

Friday morning was a drastic improvement over Thursday and to make up for the less than great tips I've been getting...I'm working my first brunch tomorrow! So no day off, but I'm looking forward to the shift! That being said I'm going to keep it short and try to get back on track tomorrow. Thanks for reading!

Ramp It Up!

This evening tried to trick us! It started off all slow and after a while we expected it might stay that way. Then everyone decided to flood in! Nah--it wasn't too busy, but it was on the upper steady end of things. Everyone I helped was really nice and there was a birthday amongst a family that I had served before! They were so awesome--they shared their cake with me! And I shared it with the other servers, haha. I came out of the night with $35 which I used to buy stuff for my mom's birthday--Happy Birthday, Mom!--and I made like...$15ish this afternoon I think.

I broke down and ate makanai again tonight...it was fried rice. I hope I don't regret it. And the soup has smelled weird the past few days...it tastes different, too. And I wonder why I'm almost always last to finish all my chores...

I might be dining at work tomorrow and I only work dinner, so there will be at least one update!

Unusually Slow

Today was. We only used two tables! But we didn't really get to benefit by leaving earlier because a regular came in five minutes before we closed! Then I got dragged around with my mom to run errands for a bit, so I wasn't happy about that. I feel kinda blah and have to be back at work soon. Oh--speaking of my mom, a group of Japanese ladies asked me if my mother was Japanese! That's all for now. I'll try to update in a timely manner tonight!

A Smooth Night

Well tonight was a steady, slowish continuation of lunch. Nothing really interesting happened. I work a double tomorrow so I don't really feel like blogging now...I made twenty-something dollars in tips. Went through all my checks. Good night!

An Undesired Milestone

I did it! My first mischarge! I made over 21 dollars in tips today and 15.20 of that went back to the restaurant for a meal I forgot to charge someone for a few days ago. I freaked out at first because they brought three checks out to me! I thought I had messed up three times! But no, just that once. So there's yet another thing I'll be extra careful about from now on.

I was called over to the table by a woman who has been coming in a lot lately to tell the guy she was with how often she's been here the past week. She's becoming a regular, haha! Her son wasn't with her today, but he's absolutely adorable. He's afraid of the fire, so when the chefs light up the table he sits against the wall until it dies down.

Aside from being faced with my biggest screw up yet first thing, today went pretty well. It was slow, but steadily so, so I always had something to do. I had the last table, but still managed to get everything ready for dinner in a timely manner. Speaking of which, I'm covering someone tonight, so I'll be working a double today. They seemed so relieved that I could.

That's all for now! I've got a few things to take care of before I head back out, so I'll update later! Take a look at today's JapanesePod lesson--I think you'll find it appropriate for inclusion.

Where'd the Weekend Go?

Oh, that's right--mine only consists of one day off. Oh wait...I used that day to move all my stuff from my school house back home... Hence the lack of update yesterday. I'm sure you all were just /dying/ to hear about all my screw-ups for the past week, but you'll just have to go without.

Today got off to a really awesome start. My first table was a mother and daughter who had never eaten before--they were both beautiful and incredibly sweet (names excluded to protect the identities of the awesome). The mother welcomed conversation--she told us about the guy who apparently decapitated that robber with a samurai sword, which prompted us finding out that one of our co-workers' old neighbors back when she was a kid overseas killed his neighbor over having an affair with his wife--and seemed very happy with the service and the experience and her daughter was an absolute cutie pie--she gave me a hug when they left! They promised to come see me again and said they're going to tell all their friends. That absolutely made my night and no matter what happened after that, nothing was going to kill my mood.

Fortunately, nothing bad happened. All my parties were at the very least polite and most of them were downright awesome. I'm pretty sure a couple were trying to slip me tips to pocket, but I was being watched like a hawk by tonight's cashier and...well...I don't want to break the rules, even if they had already tipped the chef.

And even though I said I'm going to try to stop, I ate makanai tonight! It was chicken with vegetables and it was so good! On top of that we were given raw fish! And on top of that my mom wanted me to buy sushi /and/ they gave me sushi rice with it! How I managed to not stuff myself is beyond me.

That being said, I made like...twenty-three dollars tonight, so I can't complain. Mondays are slow. I'm just happy I got to serve some awesome people and I didn't do anything to get yelled at for. I was the last server out the door tonight--since I had the last table it took me a lot longer to finish my chores. I think the exterminators came tonight, too. That was interesting--they put plastic all over everything and then sprayed everywhere. I didn't think they could do that sort of thing while people are there, but maybe that's why they came in while we were closing. They again, I just assume they were exterminators. I don't really know.

That's all for tonight! I work in the morning, so I'll update tomorrow...at some point...

Not Much to Say

So tonight was off to a slow start. Didn't have anyone come in until an hour after we opened. I went through seven checks distributed across three tables and a sushi bar couple. Today was pretty anti-climactic. Really not much to talk about--I got my check today. Worked over seventy hours and made a little more than $250 after taxes and lovely things were taken out. I'm going to keep tonight short because it was really quite eventless and I have to get up early tomorrow. My day off will be spent moving the rest of my belongings from my previous dwelling to my current one. So yeah. My head kind of hurts and my neck has been killing me, but I'm not going to blame work on that.

Ah--apparently it's a good thing I didn't work last night, though--people got yelled at. And, as it turns out, the free kid's meals are still causing problems.

No Double Today

So I guess I really am just completely incapable of posting on the same calendar day as my last shift. The schedule changed, resulting in my not working tonight this past night, so I've been off since the afternoon! Why am I just now posting? Oh, that's right--because I'm lame.

So today was pretty steady--as a Friday lunch is expected to be. Things weren't really exceptionally busy it's just that tables were assigned awkwardly, so there was lots of running around going on with the two of us! And the server that I was working with--the one that trained me and stuff--I served her family today! Her husband left me an awesome tip.

And I made like...twenty-one to twenty-three dollars or something. Better than the rest of this week's lunches...and last night's dinner...

I really felt like I pulled my weight today, too! I was able to identify and complete tasks that needed to be tended to without being told and I think that it helped the shift run smoother so I was happy about that. I felt like I contributed. I don't feel like typing anymore. Good night, all!

And the Pace Slowed to a Crawl

Wow. I cannot believe how slow tonight was. We spent the first hour and a half sitting around eating candy until a party finally showed up. I only had two or three parties the entire night. One of the servers only had one and he made like two dollars and some change in tips!

Needless to say, nothing interesting happened. We closed early. We finished closing procedures quickly. Makanai was awesome! Fried rice! A special, beef-free bowl was made for me again. Oh--I remembered that I screwed something up with one party. They wanted miso soup for the little girl and I accidentally gave them all clear soup. I didn't realize it until well after they had left. Why is it that I always feel extreme guilt in situations like that? It sucks.

Anyhow, I made like ten dollars in tips--the most anyone made was thirteen. I work in the morning, so I'm going to keep this short. Good night, all!

Another Slow Shift

Worked with two of the guys today and it was /slow/. I only made sixteen dollars. It was very relaxed. All of my parties were nice, though. There's really not anything that happened that's worth talking about. They ordered food of the menu, so makanai was only for me and it contained chicken again!

I'm considering going back in a little early later to help the server that comes in to prepare for dinner, but we'll see. I suppose that's all for now!

Tonight Kinda Sucked

Something about the atmosphere was just no good tonight. Most of my parties weren't very pleasant, which I can deal with, but there was an incident with one of my tables that really agitated me.

The rules for the free kids' meals are all weird and kind of annoying everyone because it makes getting the checks right more complicated. When the promotion was first started we were told it couldn't be combined with a share. When it was changed we were told they also had to order sushi with each adult meal to qualify. Well today not only did they decide to let someone do an appetizer instead of sushi but they told me that I had the rule about the share completely wrong. So after taking a few minutes to explain it...I still don't understand it.

The family left really pissed, apparently (I'll bet anything it was just the mom--she was the only rude one all night, going on about nothing good happening on her apparent birthday and nothing being free), and were caught before leaving to be given a gift certificate for my supposed mistake. Keep in mind that I had my check looked over twice by one of the owners before delivering it. So they need to get their rules straight.

That aside, it was a steady to busy night. Wednesday's tend to be like that and then things slow back down on Thursday. I'm convinced it's the "hump day" effect. I had birthdays at my tables for the first time (only one of which was actually mentioned to me) and that table was actually really awesome. Though dinner wasn't insanely busy, lunch was, so we actually ran out of soup during dinner! They had to make more!

Shortly after we opened one of the cooks had made this sweet soup with corn and what look like tiny bobas in it. It was really hot--in temperature--and super sweet. I could only handle one bowl, but I brought some home. Makanai was leftover lunch vegetables and chicken! Chicken, finally! The silly cook tried to tell me it was "Japanese beef!" He's always lying to me. Closing went pretty smoothly. I used six checks I think, and I brought home $34.34 out of the $70+ I made in tips. Best I've done all week. I've used too much spending money this week, so I'm going to be more strict with what I make for the rest of the week!

That's all for now. I work doubles for the next two days, so I should get some sleep!

Is It Betrayal?!

My mom went to eat at the restaurant with her friend without me and during a shift that I'm not working! Is that right?!

Barely Better Than Monday Night

So as I'm sure has been hard /not/ to notice for anyone who actually reads this regularly...I've gotten into a bad habit of not posting about a shift until the next calendar day--usually this means just not getting around to it until after midnight, but as you can see...I'm just now getting around to writing about yesterday's lunch! Bad me.

Anyhow, yesterday started out /really/ slow, but it steadied out a little. It was still on the slow side but I did end up making more than I had the night before, which was good--made nineteen dollars and some change.

It was a fairly relaxed shift--nothing big really happened. Makanai was good--leftover dinner and lunch veggies for me. I'm glad everyone realizes that I don't eat beef and shrimp, haha. I've eaten a lot of Japanese food this week...ate at my restaurant twice and at another last night after seeing Battle Royale at UNF. I work dinner tonight so...I'll probably update at some point during tomorrow technically. And I keep saying I'm going to Utter while I'm out and never do!

A Slow Monday

Tonight was so insanely slow and boring. Since I got bumped down to somewhere around the middle of the list and I was working with two servers who were above me I was, of course, last in line. That and the cashier that's working had only ever seen me before on my first day and thinks I'm sickly and can't do anything (thanks to the anemia incident and...um being new). So she didn't want to give me any tables. She thought I couldn't handle /anything/. But she didn't have to correct me once tonight.

Everyone was really focused on football at the restaurant and that might actually have been why it was so slow--everyone watching the game at home. That...and...well...it's a Monday. So I ended up only making like seventeen dollars and some change in tips. Whoop-dee-doo.

Makanai today was leftover tempura fried sushi from yesterday's brunch along with a little leftover raw fish from the sushi bar today. Since things were so slow we got around to closing procedures early and were able to get out just after ten.

After work the three of us servers that were on shift talked outside for a while, which was nice--it's the first time I've done that. I work tomorrow's lunch shift, though, so it's time that I got some rest since I have to get up in like...less than seven hours. Good night, all!

Frequent Eff Ups

Well it's Sunday! I was off, so that means it's time for me to list the things I constantly messed up on this week! I actually went to eat at the restaurant with my friends for the first time since I started working there, so that was cool. And I did get an employee discount, though I used the
money saved to give our server a good tip.

I noticed that this week I didn't so much mess up repeatedly on the same things over and over again, rather messed up on more of a range of things because I experienced more hectic situations. I had my first time waiting really large tables and dealing with parties coming in at different times. There were several times where I was unable to bid my party good evening because I was running around so much. I think I am using my trips more efficiently now, though. It just seems that there's always either dead time or a rush--rarely a happy medium. So here's for the list:

• Straws and chopsticks: I still forget to offer these a lot, though not as much as last week.
• Clearing tables: I really didn't forget to do this much this week--mainly just when I was really running in several directions.
• Giving pens with checks: Apparently I think the bill comes with a built-in pen to sign receipts with or something. And I've finally managed to lose most of my pens.
• Drinks: This is actually new from last week. No, this didn't even happen remotely frequently but a few times (when I had ten-eleven person tables with the party entering at various points) I'd think I had gotten all the drinks and I hadn't done so. I also ordered the wrong drink from the bar twice but caught myself before I actually took it...it had been opened though.
• Forgetting salads: This happened once.
• Forgetting steamed rice: Because I'm supposed to bring it when the chef comes out. Hard to remember when I don't have it written down (it's on the chef's ticket but not usually mine) and it's busy.

Seeing the theme here? Forgetting little things here and there. Some other things have gone wrong as well, but not everything that happens in the restaurant is under my control. So that's all for now. I go back in for work during tomorrow's dinner shift, so I'll update again then!

Tonight Rocked!

So last night sucked, but tonight /totally/ made up for it. And not just because of the tips I made (though that was certainly a factor). It was my first day dealing with really big tables (like ten, eleven people) and I didn't screw it up completely! I only had four tables but I went through all my checks and had to borrow another one. I kept busy for mostly the entire night and we managed to close the restaurant by just after 2200.

I learned a bit more about where everyone is fun and love the amount of diversity amongst the staff. It has been decided that I'm too skinny because I don't eat enough meat and the fact that I don't eat much seems to be of constant interest. Then later I was called muscular--much preferred. Not as true as I'd like it to be, but much preferred. I am frequently being challenged on the Rubik's Cube, but I only had the time to solve it once or twice at work today.

Regarding diversity, seems quite a few people assumed I wasn't American. No shocker. I get that all the time and considering that I'm not terribly fond of my own country and its ways I don't mind it at all. What else...oh! I got knocked back down the list. Not to the bottom, but like...three spots down or so. I'm totally fine with that because I shouldn't have been so close to the top to begin with! I'm new for crying out loud! Keep the more experienced servers ahead of me! Supposedly the owners do like me, though.

There also seemed to be kind of a queer motif at table 7 tonight. That amused me. So now I've been working for two weeks. I'm on my second timecard so I guess I'll get a paycheck next Friday. I made forty-three dollars in tips tonight--twice as much as last night. And I treated myself to ice cream after work! Now I'm lazing around and spending some quality time off my feet! I'm off tomorrow, so keep an eye out for me to review my most common mistakes from the past week! Good night, all!

Tonight Sucked

It just didn't flow well at all for me. I only used five checks and only made fifty cents more than I did at lunch. That was a good ten dollars less than everyone else. Then again, I did get all the quirky, cheap tables--nobody spent more than about fifty dollars so...no surprise that I made so little. Everyone was nice, but they just weren't spending enough for me to make decent money tonight. That and I didn't perform as well as I would have liked today. Hopefully tomorrow night will go better. I got a really great piece of advice today--a good server never wastes a trip. I think I've heard something like that before.

My hand still burns like crazy and I've got two more tiny cuts on it from who knows what. Makanai tonight was fried rice! I think the cooks realize now that I don't eat beef, and I've told them I don't eat shrimp either, but I don't mind picking it out. We're starting a new promotion--free kid's teppan dinner with each adult teppan dinner--and have a new sushi menu.

What else...my mom picked the van up from work so she had to come get me afterwards, but she was already there when I got off at like 2230. My feet hurt, my hands are dry, and they smell like bleach. I'm tired, so that's all for tonight.

MY HAND!!!

I cut it on saran wrap yesterday. This morning was CRAZY! I went through like ten checks! It was just me and one other server and there were points when I had multiple teppan, dining, and sushi parties all at one time...all in different parts of the restaurant. Everyone was nice, relaxed, and understanding fortunately, so I didn't really have any problems. We also had one table come in minutes before close, so we ended up not getting out until about 1500.

I ended up making 21.10 in tips after payout, so that was good. That's all my hand can take for right now. I'll update tonight!

Interesting Conversation

I was supposed to blog after my first shift. I didn't. I almost forgot to do this one, too. I worked with one other server this morning. Things were fairly steady. I waited on some awesome people and met more regulars. Someone told me I looked sporty and asked me if I played basketball, which I did used to. Not so much anymore. I found that interesting, because I actually make an effort to look and seem less "sporty" when I'm at work. Make about twenty or twenty-one dollars at lunch.

During dinner there were four of us working. The busboy was late, but things were pretty dead. I had four tables, I think...two sushi and two teppan. I met more regulars and made another twenty-four dollars or so.

Took the Rubik's cube to work during dinner and managed to solve it a few times. I need to get faster. Things were slow, so there was a good deal of conversation at work. I got to know people a little bit better and shared a few laughs. I like my co-workers. Everyone worked together well tonight and we got out of the restaurant at ten!

Tomorrow's another double, so it's time for some sleep!

Finished "Early"

Actually got off work /at/ close today, which is 2130. It was a fairly steady dinner today. Four servers and each of us generally always had a table at a time. I used five checks. I made about twenty-one dollars. I don't feel like saying anything more than that tonight. Sorry.

A Shocking Rush

So today started out fairly slow...as expected. Schools are back in session, it's a Tuesday--things are just not expected to speed up. Well did we ever get a shock. At some point we both just kept getting party after party--we'd have three tables at a time and then as soon as one was getting ready to leave another would come to take it's place. In the end we only ended up using eight checks each but it ended up seeming like a lot considering that we were only open for a couple of hours and had a slow start.

I had my first time helping a regular for the second time and he happens to be one that makes a special order. I'm working hard to remember it. I met another regular and had some interesting custom meal requests today, so I was kept on my toes.

Needless to say I didn't really get to touch the cube today, haha. Well after getting off work I went to see the second showing of the Japanese film showings with one of my best friends at one of the nearby universities. It was amusing, but I'm really looking forward to next week--Battle Royale on the big screen!

All in all I made about twenty-three dollars in tips today after payout. I asked some questions regarding taxes and paychecks, but it slipped both of our minds and we never got around to it. I think I'm done now. Until tomorrow!

Labor Day Dinner

Tonight was insanely slow! Four parties is all I had! Four! Only two servers were on shift tonight and we most certainly did not need any more. All my parties were pretty nice, though I think I kind of annoyed one lady. I meant to call in an Utter after work but I completely forgot. Today was pretty boring for everyone and once it got to closing time things just got annoying for reasons I won't mention.

I finally bought a Rubik's Cube and took it to work with me. My notes must be messed up because I got really close to solving and then messed up multiple times. So yeah. I need to work on that so I'll have something to do during down time. Well...super down time. I have no clue who is working tomorrow. I only work lunch, so I have to be there in the morning. That being said, I should probably get to bed. I wish I could just knock myself up and wake up at work tomorrow. Like seriously.

Made just over twenty dollars in tips after payout today. Pretty alright for having had so few parties. Three of them had big checks though, which explains it.

Frequent Eff Ups

So today is Sunday. Well...it's technically Monday now, but let's pretend it's still Sunday. That means it was my day off. And it also means it's time to list my Frequent Eff Ups--the things I've screwed up on several times during the past week.

• Checks: I've crossed and whited things out on at least one or two checks every single day. Fortunately--knock on wood--I haven't delivered any checks with mistakes on them.
• Forgetting to pick up menus: You'd think this one would be a no-brainer, but I can't tell you how many times I've left the menus with the customers.
• Chopsticks and straws: I have straws and chopsticks on my person at all times, yet constantly forget to offer them. I even consciously think about it as I'm getting drinks and /still/ forget once I get back to the table.
• Clearing/Closing tables: Once salads are delivered I'm supposed to close the table by clearing plates so that another party isn't sat there (because the chef ticket will already be out of my hands by this point). I'm getting better at remembering this but still forget sometimes.
• Delivering steamed rice: When someone orders steamed rice instead of fried, I bring it from the rice cooker in back. This is another thing I'm getting better at remembering. At the beginning of the week the chefs had to tell me every time. Then again, nobody had told me I was supposed to do it in the first place.

• Providing pens with the check: Self-explanatory. What the heck do I expect them to sign with, shrimp sauce? Then again, as much as some of them love that stuff they probably wouldn't mind.

I'm sure there are more, but that's all I can think of at the moment. I'm always so concerned with making sure their drinks are full and they're not looking for me because they need something that these other things that have yet to become second nature slip my mind. I'm sure it will all come more naturally with time, though.

On the topic of income, I've made probably around $150 in tips alone this week. I work dinner tomorrow--er...today, rather--and with it still technically being part of the holiday weekend there's no telling how it will go--things have been slow for the entire past week, though. But that's all I'm going to say for now so good night!

I Survived Week One!

Wow...I don't know if today really was as slow as it felt or if I'm just getting used to things. But one thing is for sure--we have been so over-staffed for this weekend. Again I only got like four or five tables, and I only had six checks. I met some awesome people, though, which always makes it worthwhile.

Slow shifts are bearable during lunch hours, but they drag on and on at dinner since it lasts so much longer. And things got off to a slow start, but it was a decent night. Oh! I forgot to mention last night that there were three birthdays! And there was one tonight! And there was one earlier this week. We sing the normal happy birthday song. I'm not sure if that's legal or not...

I guess I don't have a ton to say about tonight...I think I made fifty max in tips, so I must have only brought home around twenty. I didn't even count it to be honest. I was ready to get out of there. Just as I was excited last night to not have to get up early today (though I did anyhow), I'm excited about being off tomorrow! I enjoy the job, but my feet aren't used to this yet...they need some recovery time!

Alright. Bedtime. I've dragged this post out long enough!

First Friday: Part 2

So...obviously I didn't update last night. Why? Because I didn't feel like it. My feet hurt and I was too excited about not having to get up before nine am today...which I ended up doing anyhow (I guess my body is getting used to it after all).

Last night actually wasn't scary at all--it was actually pretty slow. I only had four tables and since they were all families, I only had four checks. All my parties were absolutely /awesome/! Amazing people, and I had an amazing conversation with the first family I served. Everyone was polite and nice and I had a great time helping them out.

There were five or six of us working last night--I met the last servers and busboy that I had yet to meet and I got to know everyone just a little bit better. We ended up not getting out of work until like 2230, though, because a couple of tables just sat and sat and sat after coming in /right/ before close.

Yesterday was payday apparently, but I don't know how all that works yet. I did pretty well on tips last night for having had only four parties--totaled out at over sixty dollars and kept about twenty-six (give or take) of that.

Even though it was slow last night it was lively with all of us working. I go in for dinner tonight at four and then I'm off tomorrow. To make today even better, my brother suddenly appeared out of nowhere, so I'll get to hang out with him for a couple of days before he goes back to school.

Well...it's time for me to start getting ready. Longest night of the week coming up!

First Friday: Part 1

My feet hurt. I'm tired. And today was a pretty good day. I made over seventeen dollars in tips and was only working with one other server--the one that trained me. She's super-awesome.

Hm...I don't know if I have much to say about today, really. It didn't get very busy at all but it wasn't exactly dead, either. I had a few points where I had nothing to do and then points where I had three tables at once. How many did I have total? One, two...four? And five parties? I think? Something like that.

I've decided to /always/ double check my...checks...bills...whatever you want to call them because I've messed a ton up. Fortunately I've always caught it before taking them out. So if I just double check then I won't have to worry about it and it will put my mind at ease.

I've also noticed that I've been eating terribly since working here! If I'm only working dinner then I'll eat alright at home before I leave...cereal, my mom might make some oatmeal and eggs and stuff...but aside from that I've practically been living off of steamed rice and soup! And ice cream bars... So I'm making fish now to give myself some nourishment! It needs to hurry up, though...I go back to work in like half an hour...

Well...with that said then I'll be done for now! Got to fill my MP3 player up with some SoaD to listen to while waiting for the van to warm up tonight when it's time to come home. Sayonara!

First Double: Part 2

Well I feel like absolute crap. A migraine started building between my shifts and developed while I was working dinner. Work itself was fine, I guess. Super slow. Apparently I've made myself well-liked quite quickly because I'm "fourth" and knocked one of the top servers down toward the bottom of the list (but apparently they're mad at him). I worked two teppan tables and two sushi sections today...totaling out to four checks. They were all families though and they tipped quite nicely. And they were all /really/ nice and polite, so it was awesome. There was one family with three small boys and I swear...half the meal ended up on the floor. The busboy had run out, so it took me a while to clean up after them. Ah--I met the other busboy today. He's so young! I feel so old compared to most of the other servers...

I don't remember anything terribly interesting happening...I was given the schedule for the rest of the showings of the Japanese films, so hopefully I'll keep doing that each Tuesday. And all was well at work until it got time to close. One of the other servers seemed impatient with me because I was...you know...making sure things were actually done. Ugh. I really don't feel well, so I don't feel like going into too much more detail. Um...I think I made a total of over $50 in tips, so I came out with around $25 after payout. That's all for now. Another "double" tomorrow.

First Double: Part 1

Well today is my first "double." Now, by "double" I really just mean it's my first time working both lunch and dinner. At only around nine or ten hours, it's far from being an actual double. Obviously, I've only worked lunch today so far (ended up being from 1030 to 1430 today) and I go back in for dinner at 1700. It was also my first time not working with the lady that's primarily been training me, but today went well nonetheless.

I had two teppan tables and my first dining table today, totaling out to five checks. Customers, owners, and fellow staff have all been quite nice to me thus far and I'm slowly getting into the rhythm of things. I took on more tasks today and forgot fewer things. My one big mistake was completely screwing up one check but I fixed it before it was taking to the table. I met a regular family with a one month old baby, served a couple and their friend, and served a table of friends (two of whom were Japanese) in dining. It was my first time handling sushi and kitchen orders on my own and I didn't completely screw it up! One thing we did screw up at was leaving some of the used tables unset for closing too early so we had to set them back up, but nobody else ended up coming in.

During closing I found myself kind of doing everything alone at one point...the family member that was there yelled at the other two servers upon realizing that...I was hoping they'd come back from wherever they were so she wouldn't notice. But even though I was left to my own a bit more today it helped me get the hang of things better, so I didn't mind. I also tend to like doing things myself because then I know it's been done.

It wasn't too busy today, but it wasn't as terribly slow as it can apparently get. Oh! Before we officially opened we tried some funnel cake fries today! They were freaking awesome! And they had caramel drizzled over them! Mm...I want some more now that I'm thinking about it, but no! I shall settle with my onion soup and just eat some ice cream!

I experienced the difficult of having multiple tables at one time. So far I think I'd only really dealt with having multiple parties at the /same/ table. That's easy. Remembering to go back and forth and keeping track of which table needs what is challenging, but it definitely beats standing around eyeing your table to see if they need refills.

Hm...did anything else interesting happen today? I was asked if I'd gone to see Totoro and if I'd seen Ponyo yet, so that was a nice little discussion (always have love for the anime, especially when it's Miyazaki). So I guess that's really it. I've got to remember to clock out /before/ tipping out, and I made a lovely six dollars and some change after tipping out the chefs. Whoohoo. So I think that was...what...twelve or thirteen dollars total? Something like that.

So far I think I can honestly say that I like the job! But maybe that will change when I'm flooded with evil tables on a Friday night. Let's hope that doesn't happen! That's all for now!

My First Lunch Shift

Well I clocked out around three today, ending what was my first lunch on the job. My trainer and one other server were in today and, as I've learned, busboys don't work the lunch shift. Because of this we keep 60% of our tips and pay the remaining 40% to the cooks. And sushi is always split %50/%50 between the chef and servers who work the sushi bar. I'm very relieved to know that the cut it going to the other staff, as today is the first time someone actually broke it down to me. I brought in somewhere around $20 in tips I think, so after payout I was left with about $8 for myself.

Today's lunch was slow. I only went through three checks, but I got to meet one of the regulars and I did the sushi bar for the first time, so that was cool. I'm still being shown how to do things more efficiently and when it comes to lunch the pace really is quicker.

I feel like I got to know people a bit better today. One of the owners told me about an event happening at the university nearby that she thought would interest me because she knows I'm an animation major. The sushi chef talked to me about the animation business in Japan and one of the other chefs told me that his daughter goes to the same university I just graduated from. I haven't told anyone that I plan on applying for the JET Programme next month, but when it comes time for recommendations I'll hopefully still be in everyone's good graces.

Everyone has been pretty nice to me so far and I'm getting the hang of things. I still have a lot of things that I forget to do and I don't know all the routines by heart or anything, but the more I do it the better I'll get. And I'll be doing it plenty working six days a week with doubles on two of those days. I think the schedule changes every couple of weeks though, so we'll see.

I was mistaken for someone's daughter today. People often seem to think I'm either someone I'm not or related to someone I'm not. Probably because my ethnicity is so ambiguous looking that I've become generic. : /

Anyhow, I don't want to let this post drag on for too long. I've got to make myself some lunch! I would work tomorrow but I got off because I'm supposed to be doing something else, so I guess my next post will be Thursday after the first half of my first double!

My First Official Night

Since this is my first post I suppose an introduction of some sort would be appropriate, but I haven't really got the time. To keep things short, I just graduated from college, am trying to escape the country and continue my education, I freelance, and--on a whim--I just got a job as a server. Aside from working my college's equipment cage and one day at Hot Topic I've only worked as a freelancer (mostly telecommuting), so I thought I would chronicle the experience. It may not be terribly interesting, but this is the age of the blog--might as well!

Last night was my first time officially working dinner at the Japanese restaurant I was hired at. Technically my first night was Saturday, but that was pretty much all training (and boy did it get scary). I and the other new server followed one of the top servers--the one who had been training us--one last time before being sent out on our own. We both made plenty of mistakes, but nothing too bad. One of the owning family members tried to take my table away as soon as she realized I was copying orders from the chef's ticket onto mine in the back...which is what I've seen almost everyone doing. So I started writing everything down at the table and she was very happy with the way the night turned out. Figuring out how to write things down in a timely manner, getting familiar with exactly what is offered (especially regarding alcohol and other things I've never ordered there), and knowing exactly the best way to approach all the customers is going to be the most challenging thing for me. My first really busy night "officially" working is going to be frightening, but hopefully I'll be ready for it. I've learned how to open for dinner and how to close both outside and kitchen, so I guess I've just got bathrooms and lunch opening/closing left to learn. That and a heck of a lot of practice. They feed us at the end of the shift (though I don't eat the beefy meal, opting for just soup and rice so far) and we tip out at the end of our shift, as well.

From what everyone has said the job is pretty easy once you get accustomed to everything and that the family (the owners) are the hardest part to deal with. At dinner they take 55% of our tips from us. That seems like a lot, but I know it's so the other staff can be tipped (chefs, busboys), so I'm fine with it. I came out with only about $15 last night. I know that this practice varies from place to place, That said, it's time to get ready to go to work, so I'll be posting about lunch after I get back.