in the past ten years, i have been moments away from walking out on that damn job SO many times- especially in the past year. i verbally told my manager that i quit friday night, and i've typed up the official letter as well. it's such a weight off my shoulders already- knowing that my days there are numbered. it's a shame- when i started in 1999, that restaurant was a wonderful place to work and when i came back from maternity leave in 2003, it was a sanctuary. in the 9 years since, it has continued it's significant downward spiral.
what i wrote: "the past ten years have been interesting to say the least; however, i feel like each shift i walk into i'm set up for failure and i've exhausted my time and energy with impossible schedules. this is my two-week notice, my last shift will be february 10th. thank you for all you've done and i wish you LOTS of luck with the new help."
what i wanted to write: go f*ck yourselves. you're lucky i even gave the notice, you don't deserve it. each manager has their own agenda, none of them are on the same page with anything. punishments and rewards are completely inconsistent, if acknowledged at all. there's a reason that restaurant has such a high turnaround rate when it comes to managers AND hourly employees. it's a trainwreck. i used to refer friends to work here, and now i don't even encourage the people i don't like.... it's ridiculous. no one is ever held accountable for anything, the blame is always passed around when it comes to management, and while i believe doing a good job IS a reward of sorts (knowing you're doing what you're supposed to) there is no incentive or positive reinforcements for any of the employees going above and beyond on their own job or displaying teamwork- which is a rare thing to occur anyway. how can anyone be inspired to do things properly and help others when they themselves are not getting the help or recognition they need or deserve?
most of the other bartenders quit in march when corporate put 'tip share' into play. before tip share we all made our hourly wages (mine was $8/hr) plus 10% of alcohol sales, after tip share we all were reduced to $5/hr and 0.75% of ALL restaurant sales. since march (with the exception of almost two months i had maggie working with me) i have been the ONLY bartender working for 9 hours on friday nights, and 13 hours on sundays. no breaks, no help behind the bar. worst case scenario, i am responsible for seven cafe tables, 14 places at the bar, the never-ending drink printer, making change for servers, cashing out to-go orders, as well as all of the sidework- cleaning, washing dishes, etc. far more work than is worth the $5/hour. one cannot give quality service to their guests if they are stretched out too thin.
the decrease in wage and hours was devestating- that's why i started the coffee shop gig. since landing that job in may, i've told my manager that i cannot close on friday nights because there's only about three hours in between jobs- and two hours of sleep is not healthy. no surprise, with the exception of maggie's few shifts, i've been closing the bar friday nights, napping two hours, then heading to the coffee shop, falling asleep while driving.... this job is not worth my life. i'm done. after another disastrous night friday, i verbally told the manager that i quit. she told me that she couldn't get anyone trained before three weeks from now. bullshit, everyone but two of us bartenders quit in march. march- almost eleven months ago! and when they fired maggie, they should have replaced her before letting her go. a few rounds of new servers have happened since then- it's their own fault for not training new bartenders. i won't stay longer, i won't come back to train any new employees, i am done. and it's such a free feeling. come on february 11th.... :)
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