Thanksgiving and the Homeless Guy …
Since my career was Food and Beverage management, I read with interest the protests by Whole Foods employees that the grocery chain should close on Thanksgiving. No, they should not close just due to protest. They are a grocery store. Thanksgiving is all about food, last minute grocery needs, and making the day a little better for those in need of groceries! If the store management decides to close, cool. But anyone involved in the food and hospitality industry knows that holidays are the days you don't get off.
And, since Thanksgiving is tomorrow, here's a true story of the T-day from hell and it's conclusion.
Thanksgiving at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach. The hotel was maybe one quarter booked; there was one convention of chess players; the entire upper management decided to take a 4-day holiday and leave me (the F&B manger) and the Executive Chef in charge of everything. The only major event was the Thanksgiving day buffet from 11 AM - 6 PM. And there was the first problem. My staff booked the reservations, allowing a 20% over booking, a usual practice to compensate for no-shows. But I directed staff to call 2 days before to confirm the reservations. I had researched and found that we were one of only about 4 high end eating out choices and was concerned. The confirmations resulted in what would end up being less than 5% no-shows.
The hotel GM, when I confronted him and said we would need more staff? Laughed it off.
Then Thanksgiving day arrived. I had no one to assist me so I deputized the senior hostess as my assistant. Things were fine for the first hour, as expected. Then, the wait staff and bus staff got sick. Not all, but enough. Then, as the peak dining time arrived … we were screwed. Families decked out in their best clothes with the grandparents and kids. And we backed up, to the point that everyone was complaining (with complete justification!). For me, the worst was knowing that what should be a warm, delicious family holiday was turning into a nightmare for them.
I comped meals all over the place because, hey, who wants to pay for a meal they had reservations for and weren't seated until an hour later?
Then, the worst happened. In most hotels, the "front of the house" (me) and the "kitchen" don't get along (workplace politics, usually). Except, I did get along with the kitchen. So well, that the chef and sous chefs even invited me to make a gingerbread house when they were all into making the Gingerbread Village that was a highlight in the hotel lobby every year (competition was intense!). And Hans, the Exec. Chef was always calm, humorous, and easy going -- a rarity among chefs!
The kitchen started to run out of food! The hotel GM had not told the Chef anything about my concerns and he had ordered according to what the capacity should have been able to eat (plus some). The Chef was, for the first time in my knowledge, distraught. As I was gulping a glass of OJ in the kitchen at about 5 PM he grabbed me demanding to know how many more people needed to be seated. He came through, defrosting turkey breasts and concocting side dishes. But it seemed like a war zone, now.
Finally, at 9 PM, most diners had left, the remaining wait staff and the superlative Hostess/Assistant were having a glass of champagne as they cleaned. The Chef, my good friend and head sous chef ("Manny") and me were sitting at a table relaxing.
A homeless man (downtown Long Beach had a large homeless community) came in and began helping himself to what was left of the buffet. Chef, sous chef, and I looked at each other (none of us had eaten all day). We smiled at each other and I asked if we had some to-go boxes (we usually made foil birds or baskets as doggy bags) and he found some. I handed the boxes to the homeless man and told him to be sure he got enough to see him through.
A week later, the GM was smart enough to realize he'd blown it. Based on my recommendations and Chef's back up, the hotel never lost money on the Thanksgiving buffet again. The chess convention had a great time (after I had deputized the front desk clerk to take over). In the future, I never had a problem with holidays. We booked 10% over; called to confirm; any who did not confirm but show up anyway were put at the top of the waiting list. And every time, customers were served well, the company made a healthy profit, and I scheduled more staff than was necessary. It's easy to send staff home. It's not at all easy to conjure staff out of thin air.
I do wish hospitality people today understood the bottom line. :-)
*****
"I went to a restaurant that serves 'breakfast at any time'. So I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance." - Steven Wright
And, since Thanksgiving is tomorrow, here's a true story of the T-day from hell and it's conclusion.
Thanksgiving at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach. The hotel was maybe one quarter booked; there was one convention of chess players; the entire upper management decided to take a 4-day holiday and leave me (the F&B manger) and the Executive Chef in charge of everything. The only major event was the Thanksgiving day buffet from 11 AM - 6 PM. And there was the first problem. My staff booked the reservations, allowing a 20% over booking, a usual practice to compensate for no-shows. But I directed staff to call 2 days before to confirm the reservations. I had researched and found that we were one of only about 4 high end eating out choices and was concerned. The confirmations resulted in what would end up being less than 5% no-shows.
The hotel GM, when I confronted him and said we would need more staff? Laughed it off.
Then Thanksgiving day arrived. I had no one to assist me so I deputized the senior hostess as my assistant. Things were fine for the first hour, as expected. Then, the wait staff and bus staff got sick. Not all, but enough. Then, as the peak dining time arrived … we were screwed. Families decked out in their best clothes with the grandparents and kids. And we backed up, to the point that everyone was complaining (with complete justification!). For me, the worst was knowing that what should be a warm, delicious family holiday was turning into a nightmare for them.
I comped meals all over the place because, hey, who wants to pay for a meal they had reservations for and weren't seated until an hour later?
Then, the worst happened. In most hotels, the "front of the house" (me) and the "kitchen" don't get along (workplace politics, usually). Except, I did get along with the kitchen. So well, that the chef and sous chefs even invited me to make a gingerbread house when they were all into making the Gingerbread Village that was a highlight in the hotel lobby every year (competition was intense!). And Hans, the Exec. Chef was always calm, humorous, and easy going -- a rarity among chefs!
The kitchen started to run out of food! The hotel GM had not told the Chef anything about my concerns and he had ordered according to what the capacity should have been able to eat (plus some). The Chef was, for the first time in my knowledge, distraught. As I was gulping a glass of OJ in the kitchen at about 5 PM he grabbed me demanding to know how many more people needed to be seated. He came through, defrosting turkey breasts and concocting side dishes. But it seemed like a war zone, now.
Finally, at 9 PM, most diners had left, the remaining wait staff and the superlative Hostess/Assistant were having a glass of champagne as they cleaned. The Chef, my good friend and head sous chef ("Manny") and me were sitting at a table relaxing.
A homeless man (downtown Long Beach had a large homeless community) came in and began helping himself to what was left of the buffet. Chef, sous chef, and I looked at each other (none of us had eaten all day). We smiled at each other and I asked if we had some to-go boxes (we usually made foil birds or baskets as doggy bags) and he found some. I handed the boxes to the homeless man and told him to be sure he got enough to see him through.
A week later, the GM was smart enough to realize he'd blown it. Based on my recommendations and Chef's back up, the hotel never lost money on the Thanksgiving buffet again. The chess convention had a great time (after I had deputized the front desk clerk to take over). In the future, I never had a problem with holidays. We booked 10% over; called to confirm; any who did not confirm but show up anyway were put at the top of the waiting list. And every time, customers were served well, the company made a healthy profit, and I scheduled more staff than was necessary. It's easy to send staff home. It's not at all easy to conjure staff out of thin air.
I do wish hospitality people today understood the bottom line. :-)
*****
"I went to a restaurant that serves 'breakfast at any time'. So I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance." - Steven Wright