How to Approach your Manager with a Problem

Servers and bartenders are often in an unfortunate position when they are experiencing a problem in the workplace. There’s no HR department or other designated, impartial third party to turn to when something goes wrong. On top of this, restaurants and bars can be unique environments.  

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Everyone spends so much time together that the lines between staff and management can easily blur, making it that much harder to approach your uppers with an issue. Here, we’ve come up with some tips for dealing with a workplace dilemma in a professional way that gets results.

Find the Right Time 

If your issue is not an extremely pressing one, and you think it could wait a couple of days or even hours, hold off until the right time. That means no barging into the office in tears or accosting management during the dinner rush. Wait until the end of your shift to address the problem, or better yet, come in early the next day. This shows a level-headedness and calm that your boss will appreciate and it also gives you time to cool off and collect your thoughts.  

Of course, if you’re assaulted, having a physical problem, or experiencing any other urgent matter, don’t wait!

Find the Right Words

Ok, let’s say you have a set schedule and one of your days gets bumped to accommodate someone new.  This sucks and can be extremely unfair.  However, there’s still a right way and a wrong way to approach the issue.   

Don’t run down your manager with complaints of favoritism and unfairness.  Even if this is exactly what’s happening, it comes off as childish and won’t gain you any respect.

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Do ask them what you can do to improve.  Try phrasing it this way, “I’ve noticed you took me off of Saturday nights.  I was wondering if I could be doing something better and if you could address it with me first in the future so that I can correct my behavior.”  If they don’t really have a good reason for what happened, try this, “I love this job but I rely on Saturday nights as part of my income.  Can we reach a compromise?”. 

If none of this works and you keep getting shafted, it may be time to look for a new gig or move up to the person above your immediate manager.

Issues with a Fellow Staff Member 

While we believe you should always try to work things out between yourselves, sometimes one individual can create such a toxic environment that this simply isn’t possible. Take care how you approach management with interpersonal problems.  Instead of attacking the other person, cite your conflict as a whole. Try this, “I’ve found it very difficult to work with so-and-so and I was wondering what steps could be taken to mitigate this?”.  Sometimes nothing can be done. If the person hasn’t committed any fireable offenses, you may need to think about whether you want to remain at this job.

Again, if someone is harassing you or making you uncomfortable, it is a fireable offense and immediate action should be taken.  Don’t hesitate in consulting a lawyer to find out what your options are.

 

If the Situation is Delicate 

Don’t get cheated on a paycheck. Being forced to pay for walkouts, or are made to tip out cooks, do your research before talking to your boss. These things are illegal, so go into this meeting armed with all the knowledge you need to defend yourself. If they won’t listen, call a lawyer. It’s also a good idea to get the rest of the staff behind you for these tricky scenarios as everyone may be experiencing the same thing.

Have you dealt with any workplace issues recently? Tell us how you coped in the comments.

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Allison DelVecchio, Contributor

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7 Bars With Weird Names

It seems bars everywhere have clever names such as, ‘The Thirsty Turtle’ or ‘My Brother’s Bar.’ I will discuss 7 bars with weird names. It makes you think, what were they thinking when they named them? The sky seems to be the limit when it comes to naming a bar.

 

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These 7 bars maybe worth checking out for yourself.

1. Burp Castle

Burp Castle is located in New York in East Manhattan. This Belgian beer bar is quite unique. In the 1990s the bartenders use to dress up as monks. Nowadays they no longer dress like monks however, they may shush you for talking too loudly. This is bar where they encourage you talk to others but not over others, listen to your own thoughts and enjoy your beer in a very quiet way, almost as if you were meditating. What a haven for burping and drinking!

2. Ugly Tuna Saloona

I have no clue what a saloona is, but it has ugly tuna, I guess. The Ugly Tuna Saloona is a seafood restaurant and bar located in Columbus, Ohio. It’s well know for it’s seafood, fish bowl type drinks and cheap beer. A great spot to hang out while in Columbus. They regularly have bands and other entertainment.

3. Beaver’s Icehouse

It’s quite humorous to think you can hang out at a spot called Beaver’s, but you can right in Houston, Texas. At Beaver’s they focus on authentic Texan cuisines and the traditional Texan icehouse. The whole place looks like a industrial wilderness retreat with antlers and other animal motifs.

4. Bar Of The Gods

The Bar Of The Gods is located in Portland Oregon, some even call this area  Portland’s Bar-muda Triangle where approximately 11 other bars are located. What makes this bar and it’s name so unique is that the decor goes along with a Greek Mythology. There are grape cluster lights hanging above your head and pictures of Gods and Goddesses on the wall. It’s dark and mysterious and a quite the hotspot for young adults.

5. Donny Dirk’s Zombie Den

Another wacky named bar that is themed around zombies. Donny Dirk’s Zombie Den is an intimate bar located in Minneapolis, MN. It hold just over 50 people. This quaint little bar is decked out as if there was some zombie apocalypse going on. It’s unique cocktails and fun atmosphere is what keeps bringing the customers in.

6. Skinny Dick’s

I don’t even know what to say about this bar name. It’s not something you want to shout out near Grandma. Can you imagine, ‘Hey Grandma, I’m heading to Skinny Dick’s!’ This bar in Fairbanks, Alaska is one based on adult humor and novelty items. Definitely not a place to bring the kiddos, but if you are looking for some adult humor, good burgers and a drink this is a great place to stop.

7. Snake and Jake’s Christmas Club Lounge

This is truly dive bar located in New Orleans. There is something quaint, rustic and beautiful about this beat up old place. Snake and Jake’s has a lot of regular that come here but on occasion many people from out of state show up just to see what the fuss is about. If you are looking for an upscale bar to go to this definitely is not one of them. However, if you want to go to one of the best dive bars in New Orlean’s with one of the most unique names, this is it.

 

10 U.S Bars to Check Out

Billie Raucci, Contributor

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Get Over Tipping

Ok, let me preface this by saying that I know tipping is an odd thing. It’s a strange cultural quirk that can be difficult to understand and easily lends itself to criticism. It’s not a perfect system.

  

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Instead, it’s a tradition with problematic roots that we have crafted minimum wage laws around and are now somewhat bound to.  However, in this article I am hoping to make the argument that tipping is good for the consumer. Gasp! I know right? Here goes!

Disclaimer: I know not all servers are good servers and there are some pretty bad bartenders.  I also know that tipping can be an inherently unfair system that should be replaced by one that works better.  But, until then, you should just do it.

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You know how you can go into a restaurant at 11:59 and still get dinner even though the kitchen closes in literally one minute? That’s great and we all love the ability to grab a late meal or drink. However, these things are all possible because of tipping. You know who isn’t going to stay late and serve you?  Someone who’s not being tipped.  

Part of tipping culture is that it creates an expectation of friendliness and congeniality from the server to the patron because the employee knows that they’re money isn’t a guarantee. Without this, there’s really no reason for staying late as their hourly wage presumably wouldn’t make it worth it.  

Although research has shown that there is no real correlation between tip amount and quality of service (meaning people generally tip the same regardless of their experience), the expectation of the tip creates a culture of good service that the United States is known for. On a similar note:

Tipping = Longer Hours and Better Food

Through tipping, some of the restaurant owner’s costs are passed on to you (more on this later, don’t panic), so they can keep employees there longer, keep the bar open later, and keep serving food past 9 PM when most other businesses are closed.  This also means they can afford better, higher quality ingredients for your food without charging exorbitant menu prices; something we’ve come to expect in this age of eating out five nights a week.  If servers weren’t compensated with tips, the owners would have to absorb the cost of their labor and believe me, they’re not just going to eat that money.  They’re going to shorten hours, reduce quality, and:

Raise Menu Prices!

Of all the reasons why tipping is good for the consumer, this is perhaps the most compelling: even if the world tilted on its axis and hundreds of years of culturally ingrained habit went out the window tomorrow, YOU WOULD STILL HAVE TO PAY THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY FOR YOUR MEAL.  Yes, that’s right.  For those of you who are fond of the arguments “why should I pay you for doing a good job?” or “I don’t get tips, why should you?” I say this: if tipping were actually abolished, menu prices would simply be raised.  

I’m not guessing on this one. Recently, several prominent restaurant groups have gotten rid of tipping with the goal of wrangling in the pay gap between staff members and creating a fairer system that rewards skill and seniority. Addressing these real problems within the industry is a worthy goal, however to accomplish said goal, they raised menu prices.  As a consequence, many establishments experienced a high turnover of staff and had to reign in their new policies.  

So, wouldn’t you rather just give that money directly to your server or bartender to ensure good, friendly service since you have to pay it either way?

And Finally,

There are those who say that serving and bartending is unskilled.  Firstly, the concept of skilled and unskilled is an incredibly outdated and classist way to view the job market.  Sure, I obviously know there are differences between my bartending job and the daily life of a neurosurgeon.  However, I would argue that not just anyone can handle the complexities of working in a restaurant and it is something that must be learned through time and experience.

Secondly, bartending and serving are considered ‘semi-skilled’ work by the Social Security Office and are sometimes referred to as ‘trades’.  So until there is a balance struck between wage laws and restaurant costs, it is in the consumer’s best interest to continue leaving that 20%.

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Allison DelVecchio, Contributor

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