FUCKING CHEFS!!!
yea caps lock - feel the rage!!
I'd just like to point out that I'm nto a fighter, I let people yell and scream and swear at me, because its easier for them to get it out of their system and well, I can never think of any clever quips and basically I'm weak. I'm not a fighter, I like the idea that everyone is treated with respect and that no-one should be yelled at unless they've been bad etc, do you get what I'm saying?
When I was at school I was bullied and I didn't do anything about it because i thought oh well if its happening to me then at least its not happening to someone else, however when I found out my little sis was being bullied I took care of it, because she was my baby sis and I had to protect her! Anyway that wasn't for a sympathy vote, it was to explain that i have poor self worth that I don't stick up for myself, but I do stick up for other people if I feel like they are the victim.
Anyway on with the story - its very long you've been warned!!:
SPOILERS! (Click to view)
So last night I'm working in the restaurant and we have a tour of like 20 people in which is going well and then all these other guests come in who haven't booked. Now normally if we have tours that are bigger than say 30 people we ask the other guests to come back later - 15mins/30mins etc, however because the tour was so tiny and the other guests couldn't see them because they were tucked round a corner I couldn't tell them to come back later because they would've looked at the empty room and thought I was taking the mick. So after about 1/2 an hour I have approx 10 people that I'm looking after. I'm keeping the chefs informed everytime we get an unexpected walk in and after it happens a couple of times they start muttering "yea bring them all in when the tours in, fantastic customer service".
This annoys me a bit, because they aren't rushed of their feet and my other guests can see me in the room looking after everyone, so they don't mind as much if their meal is a little bit slow coming out because they can see that I'm working my arse off.
So come about 7.30pmish the tour are almost done and a few of my other guests have finished and left and our business group of 5 have turned up. Anyway I go into the kitchen to pick up some food and the head chef says "how many more bookings have we got Jen?"
me- "um I don't know I'll have to check for you"
HC - "god em isn't an answer all I want to know is how many fucking bookings I've got"
me - "I didn't say em I said I'd check" (thinking that he hadn't heard me)
HC - (talking over me) "em em em, I thought you were supposed to be a fucking supervisor"
me - " I am, but I don't know off the top of my head because I haven't looked at the booking sheet"
The head chef starts talking over me as soon as I try to explain why I don't know.
I'd just like to point out that we do have a lot of walk ins because we're a hotel restaurant and reception add people to the booking sheet throughout the night so unless I was constantly at the podium with the booking sheet there is no way I'd know.
HC - still swearing and muttering at me "fucking useless"
Other chef "He's so demanding isn't he hahahah!"
Me - "yes and he's also VERY RUDE" (said very loudly just incase he couldn't hear me)
HC - "what the FUCK did you just say about me?"
Mid sentace I've turn around and walked out and I notice that all my waiting staff have left the kitchen as well because the Head Chef has kinda exploded! He is super pissed.
I knew that one day I would tell him how I feel about how he talks to people and I knew that it would blow up in my face, but I thought well I've done it now, all I have to do it ride it out.
Anyway i find out how many other bookings we have and I say to my guys who are looking a bit anxious, "I need just one of you to come in the kitchen to be a witness just incase!" i've learnt from my office show down its always best to have witnesses. So in we go agian for round 2.
Me - in a calm voice I tell him whats been booked, I'm not going to show how much I hate been yelled at because I'm at work and I need to be civil and co-operative
HC - "well that wasn't too hard now was it, why didn't you do that in the first place" add about 4 fucks in there
Me - "i did [HC - starts talking over me as soon as I open my mouth - more swearing and basically repeating everything thats been said about how I'm supposed to me a super etc] try to tell you that I didn't know off the top of my head"
Me - "look I could've given you one of 2 answers [again the head chef is talking over me but I continue just louder], I could've made up an answer which would've been no good OR I could've checked and given you a correct answer"
By this point I am so fed up, I hate him, I hate the way he talks to me, I hate the fact that alll the chefs are laughing at our argument and one of them jokingly says Jen are you ok and I say bluntly no. Anyway I can't do it any more, he's not listening to me and he won't hear me out and he's still being aggressive and mean, so I burst into tears (not little ones, heart wrenched sobs), I tell the waiter whose there with me to send the food to table 15 and I leave the kitchen and go and tell the receptionist lady whats happened.
So when I cry I swell up abit and my face goes red - not pretty. Also I've scared the crap out of all my staff because I never cry, I am the happiest waitress the land has ever seen!
I go back to the kitchen because as much as I want to go home I can't leave my guys.
In the kitchen the HC says "oh I supposed I've upset you, well I'm sorry, theres my apology take it or leave it" in my head I'm thinking I'll leave it attitude boy, but I don't say anything I just ignore him and continue working. He says "hey I just apologised to you"
me - "oh yea well done"
HC "what?!"
me - "oh I'm sorry, I mean thank you!" - again I walk out and think fuck you and your bullshit apology.
About 1/2 an hour later he comes out and says "Jen come over here"
me - "no I don't want to talk to you"
so he comes to me and aplogises again properly, telling me that he's a shit and was out of order etc etc and he tries to give me a bunch of coriander - yup nice touch and it did make me smile, but only because I thought man your so mean to people and you think that apologising for you shitty behaviour is enough. Well he's never going to change which is a shame, but he will alway be and arsehole.
So I kinda have to forgive him then, well outwardly i do, inwardly I'm thinking of a million horrible things to do. So I carry on working like a trooper and I'm not my super happy self, and I'm just civil to the chefs I'm not mean I'm just polite because I need them to know that I think their attitudes suck.
Later after the HC leaves one of the other chefs comes up and asks me if I'm ok, I sa yea I'm just pissed because he never lets me explain and he talks over me and he swears at me etc etc, the chef says yea I know what you mean, but don't worry I'll stick up for you. So I think he's the one who made the HC apologise properly to me. It would've been nice if all the chefs hadn't taken the piss out of me and had stood up for me, but the HC is their boss so I guess they've had their side picked for them. Also the HC went around telling everyone that I was an emotional wreck which is why I was crying - which isn't true, well not when I'm at work anyway, I'm very calm and do everything properly.
The rest of the night goes smoothly and the egomaniac that is the GCM, whose normally a complete wanker is actually really nice to me and says hes looking forward to working me with on Friday - hmm should i be worried!
So there we go, I still have a tension headache from last night, but my boss knows what went on I now have a night porter who wants to beat the chef up, yay!
wow that head chef sounds like a right twat. ive got a head ache just thinking about it!