Yeah, sure, we are always really excited when Tuesday - our Monday - rolls around. We begin each week wondering just what will unfold. We can predict a certain amount, but there are usually a few surprises.
And so, how did the DownRigging weekend go? Very, very busy, as I imagine every restaurant in town would agree. And for the most part it went okay. As usual, when the dining room is stressed to the gills, I am not able to get to very many tables to personally check on the dining experience, which means that I don't know how things went on a case by case basis...but I can guess. We had all the usual problems, magnified by the number of people we were trying to serve; thankfully our guests were all extremely friendly and easygoing, even when we weren't always able to do our very best by them. Friday night was slightly busier than Saturday - and with a lot more local regulars in the mix, which is always nice. Saturday was very busy early but slowed up by 8PM; 8:30 we were pretty much done. Thank goodness for small favors - an early Saturday night can be a little sweetness at the end of a busy week. The shift that was the most difficult was Saturday lunch - we were fully staffed for a regular Saturday but seriously understaffed for a super busy one, which is what this turned out to be. Things did not go well, and I was only too painfully aware of it even while "things" were happening. Case in point - the family I sat on Table 21, who worried that we would "forget about them" since they were tucked away in the corner like that. And guess what - we did. Finally the father stood up to get some attention, got his check, and calmly but pleasantly enough - although I could see he was most frustrated - listed the issues the table had suffered through, ending with the admonishment that I had promised to not forget about them, but to no avail, he should not have taken me at my word. Needless to say, the check was on me, but it was just devastating to my sense of professionalism that we had let these people down so badly. The gentleman was more than kind even as he was highly critical of our operation on Saturday; it makes matters worse when I know there were probably other tables equally unhappy but less obvious in their dismay. I'll probably read about it on Trip Adviser... We were simply overwhelmed, and not adequately staffed to meet the demand. The only hindsight I can offer is I should have stopped seating tables when the DR crew had all they could handle, which is what I frequently do at dinner service in situations when I worry that the kitchen is going to get overloaded all at once. I don't know why I didn't do that.
For the most part the back of the house crew got the food out in a timely fashion. A few tables on Saturday night got a little behind, and a few were patiently grateful for a little extra wine to ease the pain, but generally timing was good. Everyone worked very, very hard and I am sure everyone was glad when it was over. Next year, we'll be ready! The Sultana's DownRigging weekend was a real shot in the arm for us, sending October into the past with a bang. Now, as we head into the "slow" season, we will use the time to fine-tune our act and practice our skills in order to be on our game for the next big shift.
That, and hire more bus people!
And so, how did the DownRigging weekend go? Very, very busy, as I imagine every restaurant in town would agree. And for the most part it went okay. As usual, when the dining room is stressed to the gills, I am not able to get to very many tables to personally check on the dining experience, which means that I don't know how things went on a case by case basis...but I can guess. We had all the usual problems, magnified by the number of people we were trying to serve; thankfully our guests were all extremely friendly and easygoing, even when we weren't always able to do our very best by them. Friday night was slightly busier than Saturday - and with a lot more local regulars in the mix, which is always nice. Saturday was very busy early but slowed up by 8PM; 8:30 we were pretty much done. Thank goodness for small favors - an early Saturday night can be a little sweetness at the end of a busy week. The shift that was the most difficult was Saturday lunch - we were fully staffed for a regular Saturday but seriously understaffed for a super busy one, which is what this turned out to be. Things did not go well, and I was only too painfully aware of it even while "things" were happening. Case in point - the family I sat on Table 21, who worried that we would "forget about them" since they were tucked away in the corner like that. And guess what - we did. Finally the father stood up to get some attention, got his check, and calmly but pleasantly enough - although I could see he was most frustrated - listed the issues the table had suffered through, ending with the admonishment that I had promised to not forget about them, but to no avail, he should not have taken me at my word. Needless to say, the check was on me, but it was just devastating to my sense of professionalism that we had let these people down so badly. The gentleman was more than kind even as he was highly critical of our operation on Saturday; it makes matters worse when I know there were probably other tables equally unhappy but less obvious in their dismay. I'll probably read about it on Trip Adviser... We were simply overwhelmed, and not adequately staffed to meet the demand. The only hindsight I can offer is I should have stopped seating tables when the DR crew had all they could handle, which is what I frequently do at dinner service in situations when I worry that the kitchen is going to get overloaded all at once. I don't know why I didn't do that.
For the most part the back of the house crew got the food out in a timely fashion. A few tables on Saturday night got a little behind, and a few were patiently grateful for a little extra wine to ease the pain, but generally timing was good. Everyone worked very, very hard and I am sure everyone was glad when it was over. Next year, we'll be ready! The Sultana's DownRigging weekend was a real shot in the arm for us, sending October into the past with a bang. Now, as we head into the "slow" season, we will use the time to fine-tune our act and practice our skills in order to be on our game for the next big shift.
That, and hire more bus people!
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