So, I work at a restaurant. I was hired as a host and told I would become a server. I am currently in between these two roles, alternating shifts between them. Serving is a wonderful job; I make excellent money to have conversations, treat people with respect, and occasionally carry plates of food. Hosting is a horrific job; I am underutilized, undervalued, and underpaid.
Nonetheless, it seems that as soon as I punch in for a hosting shift, I become a mouthpiece of the restaurant. It is actually dreamlike in that third-person-viewing-oneself sort of way. The smallest things incense me, I deny people easy accommodations simply because I don’t want to go out of my way to help, and I act like anybody who doesn’t know our conventions is an idiot.
It’s this petty, corporate crap for which I slander my managers behind their backs. And as soon as I’m on the clock, it’s coming out of my mouth.
Why, then? Because it makes the job easier? Because it’s expected of me? Because of work-culture conventions? Does it matter? It’s ridiculous. I’m just intrigued by how a workplace can transform a person, and how sly this process is.
This is why salaries are dangerous, people.
April 27th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
I don’t think the salary of these two positions is the entire reason these transformations occur so obviously. I think the necessity of a waiter is realized more than that of the host. I mean, people CAN seat themselves. But they can’t get their own food. So perhaps as a waiter you feel more needed than as a host. And that’s why you feel resentment as a host?
April 27th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Yes, that is all accurate.
By salary, I meant sent monthly pay, versus a wage and/or tips. It’s easy to start identifying with the workplace (even when this presents conflicts of integrity), and with a salary (and thus a less concrete connection between time/energy and pay, since pay is constant), this identification can be even more intense.
April 27th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
You’re talking about how well aligned your actions and incentives are. As a waiter, your economic incentive is to treat people with respect and friendliness (which increases your tips). Also, you’re a good guy, so you tend to do that anyway. But with cash money on the line, even a rude guest will be deserving of your attention.
On the host side, you probably don’t get many tips. Your pay is a fixed rate per hour and probably doesn’t depend at all on your behavior or performance. Additionally, you don’t find the work challenging, so you slack off.
It all makes perfect sense to the Actuary.
Have you considered pointing out to your manager that you feel like hosting is a wasteful of your capabilities?
And if you did, would he cup your buttocks?
April 28th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Haha, your actuarial analysis is excellent.
Yes, I have done that several times, including this morning when I had a sit-down with the general manager. I love a good sit-down.
May 2nd, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Where I live, they call that a “Come To Jesus Session”