Dating Customers

It was a typical Friday night: people coming in to pre-drink and get some food in their systems before the real fun starts. I had a pretty big section and made a good chunk of money since the more people drink, the more generous they tend to be when tipping.

By around 11, most people had left but I still had a few tables. One of them was a couple of guys that come in at least once a week and order the same thing (20 wings, all drums, naked, hot and 2 bottles of Bud Light) every time. Most of the time, they aren't one of those tables that you can sit and have a conversation, or play games with so I pretty much just stick to the basics when it comes to serving them. They stay for an hour or 2, leave a good tip and leave... Most of the time.

2 Fridays ago, the same 2 guys came in and got their wings and beer. A half hour after they sat down, 2 more guys came in and sat with them. I went to see what they wanted to drink and they got a couple pitchers of beer. One of them was pretty cute, but I didn't really take that much notice. Soon, I only had their table left so I went to sit with them and talk. They were all from out of town and are here for work for another couple of months. The cute one (Q) was really funny and I was having a lot of fun talking to that table. Finally, it was time for us to close.

As they were getting up to leave, Q asked my if it would be okay for him to give me his number. I said yes for a few reasons: First, I felt rude saying no since it's not like if I didn't want to talk to him I had the option of not calling him. Second, unlike most of the guys who come in looking for a date, he didn't try any nauseating pick-up lines and he didn't pester me for my phone number until I was forced to cave and give him a fake phone number like I would normally do. And third, he was really cute and really funny!

I got his number and debated whether or not to call him for a few days before I finally did it. We've gone out a couple of times since then for dinner and to see movies and go to tourist-y places that he hasn't been to before. I really enjoy being around him and we have a lot of fun together. He's a really positive person which is something that I really like. There's only a couple problems with it, though. He's 7 years older than me and I met him at work.

What do you think about the age difference and for all the Hooters Girls or really any servers out there, would you ever go on a date with one of your customers?

Bitchy Bitch Bitch.

Saturday night. Trying to think if I should go out or not since I'm broke. Get a call from GM F asking me to go to work since one girl couldn't find a babysitter. Hmmm... Money? or Drinks? Being a responsible adult, I chose the money.

So I get ready and head out the door. When I get to work, I find out that it's a bar shift. Oh perfect. You might remember that whoever is on bar NEVER makes good money. But I was already there so I couldn't back out.

The restaurant was really busy that night with 2 groups of about 30 people each and the rest of the tables filled up as well. The bar, on the other hand, had 1 person all night. Quite disappointing. I was glad that the restaurant was so busy and that everyone in it seemed to be drinking since that kept me from being unbearably bored.

Mother Goose was on the floor that night along with the girl that trained me, KJ, and another girl who started around the same time as me. I think it is appropriate if I call her The Bitch.

Anyways, I was kept busy during my shift pouring pitchers of beer, mixing drinks, making shooters and all that fun stuff. One table was going through Jager Bombs like crazy and were using up all the Red Bull so I had to run and grab some more out of storage. I was gone for approximately 45 seconds and I made sure nobody was waiting for drinks to be made before I ran to get some. When I returned, There was 1 drink chit up and The Bitch was standing at the bar looking very unimpressed. I looked at the chit and went to put the Red Bull on the bar so that I could free my hands to get her 2 bottles of Budweiser. Which, by the way, takes about 3 seconds to do. When I walked away from the chit, she cleared her throat really loudly, and I turned around to look at her.

The Bitch: Um, I've been waiting for, like, EVER for those drinks. Are you gonna get them or what?

Me: I was gone for a minute to get some Red Bull. I'm grabbing them right now.

The Bitch: Yeah, whatever. This is ridiculous.

I decided it wasn't worth it to start arguing with her over something so trivial. I grabbed her the beer and went to put the Red Bull away.

All the other girls were really appreciative of me coming in since they would have been in way over their heads had they not had a bar tender. I had everyone's drinks ready for them really quickly and I kept things tidy so that it would be easy for since me to close the bar when I was done. At one point, about 5 chits all came up at the same time. I laid them all down in the order they came up and started getting all the bottle first, since they take the least amount of time. Then, I started on the pints and pitchers. The girls made a few of the mixed drinks themselves since they can reach both guns from the other side of the bar and when I was done, I started making them myself.

The Bitch and Mother Goose were standing a little off to the side and I heard The Bitch complaining about how I was taking so long to get her drinks. Mother Goose just ignored her.

After I finished making all the drinks, The Bitch moved all the dirty glasses from where they dirty glasses go on to where we're supposed to put the drinks that are for the girls on the floor.

Me: What are you doing? Those don't go there and they're going to be in my way.

The Bitch: Well you need to put them through the dish washer. Now.

Me: I'll do them when I get a second. Put them back where they go or I won't have room to put your drinks up, or anyone else's.

The Bitch: Well if you wash them they'll be out of the way.

I just walked away. I'm not really a confrontational person but this girl was really pushing it. I didn't want to flip out at her since I don't think that would be okay to do at work. Mother Goose came around the back of the bar and told me that she saw what happened and that if I wanted her to she would talk to Doughnut about it. I told her I didn't really want to make a big deal about it and I would talk to him myself, but thanks.

I don't even understand what this girl's problem is. I've never done anything to her, or even worked with her at all. Everyone else is so nice and even if I was slow, they would have offered to come help me out instead of bitching about how I'm putting them in the weeds. Maybe she was just having a rough day but even so, I don't think it was fair for her to take it out on me.

Shaking Hands and Kissing Babies

My first floor shift alone was intimidating at first but once I realized that there's only one of me and that I can only do the best I can do, I relaxed and everything seemed to go fairly smoothly. I was working with just one other girl. And now that I think about it she's quite a bit older than the other girls... So how about I call her Mother Goose? Anywhoooo... Mother Goose and I were quite discouraged by the lack of people coming in that day. A couple hours in to our shift, we had only had 2 tables each. GM F told Mother Goose that if she wanted to leave, she was welcome to do so since it looked like it would be pretty dead all day. So, naturally, Mother Goose changed and headed out the door.

About 5 minutes after she left, a birthday party with about 15 people came in. Right behind them was another 6 tables. All for me. I panicked for a bit but GM F went to take drink orders from a couple of the tables while I got them from others. The birthday party was really demanding. The kid was turning 13 and had a couple friends but mostly it was just his family with him. There were a few smaller children who were very whiny and seemed to not comprehend the idea of their food staying on their plates and not being smeared across the table. And for all of you who don't know, cleaning wing sauce off tables after it's been sitting there for a couple hours is a challenge, to say the least. Stupid fucking kids.

Obviously, this kids mom wanted me to take about a million pictures with her son. And since I only had the entire restaurant to myself, I had plenty of time to sit around and wait for her to think of creative poses for us. I think my favorite was when she had me pick her son up. And this kid was pretty hefty, okay? He was no string bean. I'm 5'1" and 110lbs. Picking up chunky boys who have food and shit all over their NASCAR t-shirt isn't my idea of a good time. I tried to tell her that I had pulled some muscles in my back (total bullshit) so I shouldn't be picking anything up, never mind a human being. She wasn't buying it. So I ended up grunting and lifting and re-adjusting so that I could get this fat ass 13 year old cradled in my arms like a baby. His mom thought it was the most hysterically funny thing she'd ever seen in her life. She took way too many pictures of us like this and I'm pretty sure my face was probably purple and I was about to pass out. Bitch.

I tried to avoid going to their table but that was nearly impossible since they seemed to be guzzling their Pepsi and Rootbeer at breakneck speed. Everyone needed refills every 5 seconds. I was happy when they asked for their check. I printed it off and slapped it down on their table and right as I turned around to go check on my other, rather neglected tables, The Mom asked me if I could do one more thing for them. I sure could!

She asked me to pick up her 3 year old and kiss him on the cheek while she took a picture. Fuck. My. Life.

I picked him up and was promptly smacked in the face with a Hot Wheels car covered in something gooey. I didn't want to know. I looked at this boys' face and saw that he had honey garlic wing sauce everywhere. The Mom commented on how messy he was and chuckled. I looked at her, expecting her to offer to clean his crusty, slimy face. Nothing. She lifted the camera, ready for me to give her lovely little boy a smooch. I lifted him up higher and puckered up, keeping my lips an inch or so away from his face. But of course, that wouldn't do. She insisted I give him a real kiss on the cheek. Jesus. At that point, I just wanted to get it over with so I did it, she took the picture and I put the kid back on the floor.

All that and do you know what she gave me? On a $250 bill, I got $10. Fucking bitch.

And you get... $5.56.

My fourth training shift was more of the same and nothing too eventful happened. I was told that I didn't need to do the usual 5th training shift so I would be all alone the next time I went in. I checked the schedule so see when my next shift was. Thursday 4:45BAR. I was nervous about being on bar alone since I had only had 1 training shift on there but I figured I could handle it. 

On Thursday I went in and R3 was the manager that night. He's probably the least laid-back of all the managers but he's still really cool and fun. I knew if I needed help or got too busy he would be more that willing to help me out.

Thursday was not busy. 2 people sat at the bar during my ENTIRE shift. And each of their bills were only about $15. For the most part, I got more familiar with where everything was and I cleaned. The kitchen guys taught me how to make the Steak Sandwich since I looked so bored. I ordered some food and ate in the back and kept an eye on the bar so that if I had to get a drink for one of the girls or if someone decided to sit down at the bar I would know. I'm a very slow eater. It took me about an hour to eat my fried pickles and celery with ranch. No drink orders came up and nobody sat at the bar during that time.

When I did have to pour beer, I did much better that I had done during my training. There was less foam and less spilling, something that I am very proud of. Tink helped me to remember everything I had to do to close the bar when I was done. I cashed out and took my money to the office in the back for R3 to count.

I was short a couple dollars and realized that it was because I forgot to put the money for my food in the till. As I pulled out my tips from that night, R3 stared. 

R3: Jesus. You didn't make anything!

Me: Well there was like 2 people that sat down at the bar all night... I couldn't really do much about it.

R3: Oh really? Well don't worry you'll make so much more on the floor.

He counted out the money I owed and put it in the till.

R3: So... you get $5.56 tonight!

He laughed and told me that girls hate working on the bar because nobody ever makes very much money doing it. My next shift was Saturday during the day and I would be on the floor. Makin' money!

My Interview with the Mayor!

Recently, the Mayor of Wingville asked me to do an interview for his blog. Obviously, I had to say yes! Check it out here!

Jager Bombs!

My third training shift was a little while ago but I've been really busy with papers and reading and all the other school-ish type things that need to be done but I'm neglecting my schoolwork for a little bit so I can tell you how it went!

After having my bar shift with Tink, I was back on the floor with KJ for my third night of training. The night started off pretty slow, with only a couple small groups coming in and a few lone rangers sitting at the bar. At about 6:30, I had a table with 2 middle-aged guys who were very friendly (not in a creepy way!) and lots of fun to serve. They told me they would only be sticking around for an hour or so and just have a couple drinks since they were going to meet their baseball team at a bar later on.

By 9:00, they were still sitting at the same table and about 15 of their teammates had decided that Hooters was the place to be and came to join them. KJ came over to take half of the tables drink orders while I got the other half theirs. There was an empty stool at one end of the table that had a wallet sitting on top of it and KJ asked what that guy would be drinking. Just as she said it, he came up behind her and let her know he wanted a bottle of Corona. As he was saying this, KJ looked at was trying to see what was written on his shirt, prompting the guy to say "Um, excuse me. My eyes are up here (indicating his eyes), not down there (and now his chest)." The whole table burst into laughter and KJ said "Yeah, I should know better by now!"

All of the guys were really funny and I could tell they were enjoying themselves. Since we didn't have many other tables, we were able to hang out with them and talk and have a good time. They did countless rounds of Jager Bombs and tequila shots and used beer as their chaser. If they hadn't had a bus waiting outside for them, we would have had to cut them off pretty quickly. We made sure they ordered some food to absorb some of the alcohol and KJ had a huge grin when she saw how much their bill came to (over $1200). 

After they had all paid, I was slightly put out by the fact that I had done just as much work as KJ but didn't get any of the tips. I completely understand why I don't get to keep any of the them, but it still sucks! Obviously KJ is an awesome trainer and without her I wouldn't have learned as much as I did as fast as I did so she deserves the tips! And when she has to tip out to the kitchen and the bar at the end of the night, she shouldn't have to pay them out of her own pocket.

The guys got a few free shirts that all the girls signed and they headed out the door. I knew they would have a rough time playing baseball in the morning.

After that shift, I felt completely confident about working on the floor. I'm excited to start making my own money and having my own tables. I think it'll be a lot of fun and that I will be good at it.

I also did my liquor test and my ticket times test that night and passed with flying colors!!! I got 100% on both!