Detroit's Finest?

So let's talk about my job for a minute. Or maybe a few minutes. For those who don't know, I am currently employed at a Brazilian steakhouse in downtown Detroit. For the sake of my career I have decided to not name any names of anyone at the restaurant as well as refrain from keeping the name of the restaurant off of this blog.

However, this will not stop me from talking about some of the intricacies and sometimes consistent frustrations of being a server in Detroit. Here's the thing. For those of you actively seeking employment I offer one small piece of advice: If you need the approval of others, don't become a server! You will come across so many inconsistencies and scenarios that you could never write them all down.

Imagine if this blog were entirely dedicated to me talking about every single customer I had every night. You would not want to read this. Of course there are customers that are rare exceptions, (Mr. Drooly Man, so named for having drooled on the floor of the salad area while I got him some salad dressing. A.k.a. "That weird guy" by my manager.) But the sheer number of inconsistencies is absolutely remarkable.

Here's how it works and then why frustration begins to develop. Essentially based off of how the table looks, dresses, acts, interacts with you, and speaks, you can pretty much make an accurate estimation of how much they are going to tip you. Mind you, this restaurant has as it's starting price for dinner $39.99 so  20% of a bill of two dinners that's $84.78 with tax is about $16. Of that $16, I get 50% if it's a credit card tip, and about 85% if it's cash. So just off of 2 dinners I can get about ten bucks. Say I get 30 dinners in one night, I could make upwards of over $150. Not bad for a server. Particularly one who has never served in a restaurant before.

However, there are always going to be cases where people stiff you and leave you nothing, or almost next to nothing. It's awful to say, but sometimes when a party walks in, you pray to God that they get sat in someone else's section so that you can get the other table that hopefully won't stiff you because they look "normal."

But even these stereotypes fail as well. Judging a book by its cover has never been 100% accurate. Nor will it ever be. Of course there are some factors that will indicate that they probably won't tip you very well. Some people consider the restaurant to be like a really high end All-You-Can-Eat-Buffet and think, "I don't tip at the buffet. Why would I tip here?" Other people are just jerks. And still others are Germans who don't know that servers only make $2.65 an hour here in the USA.

In Germany, if you give anywhere from 5-10% in a tip, it's considered generous. Extra spending cash that goes straight into their pocket. Not the case here in the US. We need our tips. So when my two Germans tonight end up with a bill of $144 between the two of them and then leave me $150 total. It can get irritating.

Here's why. You do your absolute best to not only offer exceptional service, but to stick out in their mind as an amazing server who has done their best to try and impress you so that you recognize the work that your server is doing and give them a little bit extra on the side.

We are referred to as "The Best Servers in Detroit" Or as I like to think of it, "Detroit's Finest!" Within these two subtle words lies a double entendre, one of my favorite things in the entire world. In the restaurant industry, to walk into a restaurant and say, "Give me Chicago's Finest, New York's Finest, or Detroit's Finest," is a really fancy way of saying, "I'll just have tap water."

Sometimes I feel like we are just tap water though. We do our best to be that bottle of Saratoga Natural Spring or Sparkling Water that costs $5.25 a bottle. But in reality, we are just tap water. Detroit's Finest.

Somehow though, it always seems to even itself out. It's really amazing how one table that should have given you $15 and left you $5 instead will be instantly be followed by a table that should only leave you $8 and give you $18 instead thus the two cancel each other out. Interestingly enough as well, so far I haven't had a night where it hasn't evened out, at least almost fully. I haven't had a night where everyone just screwed me over, or everyone really tipped me very well. It's always about an 18% average. And at a place like this, that's really not that bad.

With one small stipulation. You have to have covers! Covers = Customers. At the end of the night we each ask each other, "How many covers did you have?" Essentially we want to know, did you have more than me, are you going to make more money than me, and if so, when am I going to get my shot at making that much money?

Of course there are going to be those tables that walk in, absolutely love you, and leave you $120 on an $80 check. Those are the outliers though that throw off the whole system. Tuesday this past week was an outlier night. It was really amazing to see every single server walk out at the end of the night knowing they were going to be seeing over $100 on their paycheck the following Friday from that night. That never happens. Lucky tables and having a lot of people walk-in, helps with making this a reality. But yet again, this is the outlier.

Tonight was a much better example of a typical night. Where we have 11 servers on the books and the fact is, in splitting 200 covers between all of you, you are probably going to end up with somewhere around 20 and its just luck of the draw, (Or perhaps how the hostesses are feeling) for how much those covers decide to spend, and then in turn give you as a tip.

But the fact is. You never know. It's always inconsistent. You wanna know how every server story begins, "So one time I had this table..." Every table is their own story and has their own shtick. (Yay Yiddish!) I have hundreds of stories I could tell and I have only been working there for three months. I could tell you about the experience of each of my tables tonight. Tables I thought I gave awful service to, who gave me great tips, and tables I thought absolutely loved me and I did everything perfectly, and they leave me 10%.

It's totally inconsistent. "So Ben, how do you deal with all of this inconsistency without going insane?" Well Reader, thank you for asking. In fact sometimes I feel as if my sanity is totally on the brink of explosion. However, I have been trying to train myself to incorporate my mother's advice into this area of my life. "In all things, have an attitude of gratitude." When a table spends $96 and leaves $100 total. Be grateful that they paid the bill and even left you something. Of course, when you get that triple figure tip, it throws off that whole system and you start to think to yourself, "Wow! Every table is going to be like this!" Even though you know as you are thinking it that will never be the case.

It's entirely up and down. You win some and you lose some. I often think to myself. Would I prefer a salaried position where my pay wasn't determined by my performance with each customer? I honestly don't know. Somehow I think that Office Space sort of living might drive me more insane. However, I also think that the security aspect of it would be awesome. I might make $1,000 in a week. I might make $300 in a week. you just never know. But honestly, that's life. You never know. It has its ups and downs. You win some and you lose some. Here's what I have been learning though.

Some people at this point might say, "It's not about how many you win or lose, it's about the game" Or perhaps they would talk about "the journey" that makes the whole thing worth it. Allow me to say right now, that all of that is false. It's not about how many you win or lose. It's not about the game, or the journey, or whatever you want to call it. It's about knowing that you live for something bigger than the game.

You exist in an arena larger than just the game itself. You were designed by God to play His game and play it His way. It's not about your game or your perception of what the game is. It's His game, and it's going to be played exactly how He wants it to be played. So stop measuring your wins and losses, and start looking at the big picture of glorifying God in every action, thought, word, and deed.

As I drive to work every day, I find this task more and more daunting. Trying to step outside of the realm of the game, while still being a part of the game. (I know the game metaphor has been going on for a while, I'll stop soon.) It's not easy. It's constantly put right in front of you. You just have to be aware that there is more. That God intended us for more. He intended us for perfect glory with Him. And the more we focus on being conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. The more and more we will step out of our own worlds, (games) and begin to live for the Kingdom of God.

I highly recommend (one "C" two "M's") the book A Quest For More by Paul David Tripp. It is these themes exactly of learning to get out of living for our own personal kingdoms and start learning how to live for Christ's Kingdom and His alone, that make this book so invaluable to Christians everywhere. Often we masquerade our own personal selfish kingdoms with Christian talk that makes it appear as if we are living for Christ and are wholly surrendered to Him, when in reality, Christ is but a shallow veil over our otherwise selfish lives and our perception of our needs and desires.

This book has been teaching me a lot and has really opened my mind to see how much more there really is out there in the world that God has intended us for. We were not designed to lead insignificant lives as statistics that go to work from 9-5 every day for 60 years and then die. We are meant for so much more. Surrender to Christ, and begin to see the surpassing fullness of His grace in your life and in the lives of those around you.

I hope and pray Christ blesses you this evening and always. I am going to bed! Ciao!

Why, Thursday? Why?

So it's Thursday. Normally Thursday is a decent night at the restaurant. There have actually been nights where we have had 300 covers on a Thursday. P.S. Covers = Customers in the restaurant biz. Tonight however, was not one of those nights. Rather I had 4 tables and a total of 16 customers. To be fair, considering I only had 4 tables, I did pretty well for the night. But last Thursday I thought someone was going to die at the restaurant, and tonight I was doing ok and then something set in and I felt absolutely miserable.

My boss always says, "If you don't wanna be here. That's fine. We don't want your negative attitude to affect our customers anyway." Well fortunately I was able to get through the whole night without too much of a problem. But the fact that I only had 4 tables definitely helped.  I got out of work at about 10:20, 50 minutes after we "close" to the public.

It's strange how these nights exist at the restaurant. Sometimes you are totally on your A-Game, and other nights you are totally off. For example, I know I am not supposed to eat anything that goes on the Salad Area portion of the restaurant, and tonight, directly in front of the chef, I just put something in my mouth. The sad part is, I don't even know what it was. I tasted it and it was awful. And then the residual flavor stayed in my mouth even past drinking some delicious Arizona iced tea. Not only was it in front of the chef. But it was in front of my manager as well. I just zoned out and then when my manager asked me why I did what I did, I gave the worst answer ever...."I don't know."

And it was true. I really didn't know. Somehow, the thing that I put in my mouth appeared to me to be a scallop. Do we have scallops at the restaurant? No. Have we ever had scallops? No. So why would it be a scallop? Because I wasn't thinking about the logical circumstances that were surrounding me. Rather I wasn't thinking at all and almost ruined everyone's evening because the chef has the capability of saying whether or not the employees get food at the end of the night, and things like that will make him say no.

Anywho. I was in such a frustrated mood tonight that I came home and made a really strong batch of Sangria with Merlot, Peach Schnopps, Captain Morgan Black, and Vernors. It honestly is quite nice, with the exception of the fact that it's very strong...

Here's the thing. (Normally, for those who know me quite well they know that when I say Here's the thing, a long explanation is required. I will refrain this time for the sake of your sanity and eyesight.) I am not even upset at anyone in particular, besides myself. I have been reading this amazing book called A Quest For More, by Paul David Tripp, one of the men I hope to study with at Westminster, and it's talking about how our entire lives we live believing that we are living only for ourselves and our purpose here on this Earth. When in reality, God is using each and every one of us to fulfill His kingdom purposes and when we act as if we run our own mini kingdoms, which we all do, we forget that God has designed us for something better.

Sin gets in the way.

While I was at work I was thinking heavily about this book and asking myself the question, "Am I living for my kingdom, or for God's? And naturally, because God is a loving, just, and kind God, He decided to test me. I realized that in my actions at work I was gossiping. Promoting more autonomous behavior amongst my coworkers, and having an attitude that reflected a bitterness towards not making more money, and more importantly, not finding contentment in God alone.

This of course just frustrated me further and caused me to become even more self-conscious of how much I needed to fix my attitude and why I wanted so desperately to leave work.

God's word, and those who preach it well, is tremendously challenging. Sometimes I don't feel qualified for the challenges that God puts before me. I feel totally overwhelmed and unqualified. And the fact is, I am unqualified. However, by God's grace, I know that He only allows me to go through trials that I am equipped to go through. I know that if it were too much for me to bear, I wouldn't go through the trial at all. Praise be to the loving God, who so tenderly cares for us that all of our trials are hand picked by Him according to His will, in order that we might be more and more conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. I thank God for giving me the trials that I have already gone through because I know they have made me that much more dependent on Him, and His decrees. May I ever and only cling to the Author and Perfector of my faith, Jesus Christ.

I hope that you all are encouraged by my words and know that if you have ever doubted God's personal love for you, know that He has arranged every little detail of your life. You simply need to choose to recognize Him as the provider of those details. He knows you better than you know yourself and all of your needs.

I hope this post encourages you and turns you towards prayer and Christ. Have a wonderful night. Ciao!

Showtime!

Good evening ladies and gentlemen and thank you for joining me here on this lovely August evening for the first of many posts on my new blog entitled, VinesofLight.

It took a while for me to come up with a name for a new blog because in some respects I believe that the title of the blog in some ways determines part of its character. It’s always in the author’s mind as part of the foundation that he/she has developed. My last blog, Longtimetraveller was started as a means to document the 6 months I spent living in Europe, primarily living and studying in the countries of Germany and France.

Since then, trying to find inspiration to start another blog has been difficult but restraining myself from writing has also been difficult to manage as well. I simply couldn’t find the right thing to write about. Notes on Facebook always get ignored. Emails are way to personal for something this abstract. Yet finally after a lovely visit with two very good friends who both actively blog on a regular basis, I have found inspiration to start writing again.

Some things will be consistent on this blog. I will consistently write about food, wine, music, opera, books, my restaurant job, and my faith as a Christian.

But enough introduction. Tonight there is wine being drunk, music being heard, and observations to be shared. As I write this, I am drinking a glass of River Crest Chardonnay 2010. I received this wine from WineInsiders.com when I found a $75 gift certificate for $15 on Groupon. And then put it towards a case of 12 bottles for a total of $50 including shipping. I figured at less than $5 a bottle it would be worth it.  As it turns out, the majority of the wines haven’t really been that great. But I guess you get what you pay for eh? I really enjoyed the red Zinfandel they gave me. But other than that one gem, the rest have just been ok.

The Chardonnay I am drinking tonight is one of the just ok wines. Although the nose gives off notes of green apple, the actual flavor profile reflects more peach in the wine than green apple. The wine is crisp and refreshing but very light and not complex enough for my liking. Although, this is often the case with white wines. Although not the greatest wine I have ever had, this River Crest Chardonnay 2010 would get a solid 6 of 10 in my book. Not something I would offer to impress guests, but something I would definitely enjoy by myself while writing after work like I am doing tonight.

Last summer while I was in Germany I had a very good opportunity to learn a lot about white wine while I was living in Wurzburg, Germany. Located at the northern part of Bavaria in southern Germany, the region is very “bekannt” for its white wines. Every day in the city I would look outside the city limits and see hundreds of trees filled with delicious green grapes that would become some of the best wines Germany has produced reflecting its tradition of hundreds of years of wine making in the region.

Wines like Bacchus, Silvaner, Gewurztraminer, and Riesling come from this region of Germany and are wonderfully refreshing on hot summer days with an entrée of chicken breast and mushrooms. The contrast between the heavier mushrooms and the lightness of these white wines was truly spectacular and part of the reason why I find that this River Crest Chardonnay doesn’t quite measure up. These German white wines, although relatively simple in terms of flavor, have a quality about them that enables them to compete with the stronger flavor profiles of heavier entrees.

Musically I discovered a really nice piece on the radio on my way home. Allow me to take this opportunity to share how disappointed I am with the quality of American music this summer and in general. Everything not only sounds exactly the same, but people aren’t even trying to sing anymore. They just allow everyone to autotune their voices so they sound better.

Meanwhile, in Canada, many different strands of originality in music are finding their way onto CBC2 which, because I live in southeastern Michigan we get on the radio at 89.9. Every early afternoon before I have to go to work I love listening to Peter Tonye on Tempo and then I listen to the Signal on my way home after work at about 11pm and discover some great stuff that would normally never find its way onto the mainstream radio. Tonight I found a very nice treat in the form of a piece called Lotus Eaters by Sarah Kirkland Snider, ft. Shara Worden and Signal. I’ll include a link so you can listen to it and enjoy its minimalist quality that makes late night driving such a blessing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi9R0ig3TTE

I love the sound of her voice. There is something abstract and almost transcendent in the quality of it. I look forward to falling asleep to it for many nights to come. J

This evening at work something truly hysterical occurred that is entirely unprecedented in my life. The result of which also resulted in something unprecedented in my life.

While going about the usual hustle and bustle of the restaurant trying to meet every customers demands as quickly as possible I happened to notice along my path one of our hostesses was talking with our general manager getting a question answered about how to handle a situation at the hostess stand. I arrived just as the conversation ended and she turned around and didn’t see me at all and we ended up chest bumping like two bros after they beat two other bros in a mid-Saturday morning basketball game. It was entirely unintentional, and entirely awkward, but the stunned look on her face when she realized what had just occurred will probably stay with me forever as she appeared to have just woken up from some drug enduced state and the first thing she said was, “Oh, I’ve left the water on…” The moment was indeed an amusing one with the only problem being that the first thing it made me think of was the movie Friends with Benefits where Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis chest bump one another. No, I haven’t seen the movie. It was in the preview. And thus, for the first time in my life, I felt like I couple identify with Justin Timberlake. A goal I had never aspired to.

In case you didn’t know, there are real reasons why guys don’t bro hug or chest bump with girls. It’s weird. Just weird. Don’t do it. Just don’t.

And on that terribly beneficial and awkward piece of advice, I bid you adieu for the evening. I hope you enjoyed this first post. There will be many more to come, I assure you. Ciao!