Guess He Was Unhappy With His Job???

Hi guys!!! I have some really big news that I will post tomorrow about my job/my life. I am too tired to post it all right now because it really is quite a lot. So for now I will leave you a story I found to be very crazy.

A flight attendant in North Dakota was apparently very angry about his work route, so angry he set a fire in the airplane bathroom, forcing an emergency landing.

The Compass Airlines flight carrying 72 passengers and four crew members landed safely in Fargo,N.D. on May 7th after smoke filled the back. No injuries were reported. The plane was flying from Minneapolis to Regina, Saskatchewan, authorities said.

Eder Rojas, 19, appeared in court today, following his arrest a day earlier in Minneapolis, and ordered held without bail, prosecutors said. The charge of setting fire aboard a civil aircraft carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Court documents said Rojas, of the Twin Cities suburb of Woodbury, told authorities he was upset at the airline for making him work the route. He is accused of taking a lighter with him through the security checkpoint, authorities said.

"Rojas further stated that he was preparing his cart to serve the passengers, he set the cart up, went back to the lavatory and reached in with his right hand and lit the paper towels with the lighter," court documents said.

Pilot Steve Peterka told authorities that an indicator light came on about 35 minutes into the flight, showing smoke in the rear bathroom.

Peterka called Rojas, who was assigned passengers in the back of the plane, and asked him to check the bathroom, documents said. Rojas, another flight attendant and a passenger were credited with quickly putting out the flames with fire extinguishers, authorities said.

Investigators later found a lighter in one of the overhead bins. Rojas confessed after authorities interviewed him, the complaint said.

Rojas has been fired, said Northwest spokesman Rob Laughlin. FBI agent Ralph Boelter said Compass Airlines officials showed "extraordinary cooperation" in the investigation.

I'm sure he did. He's trying to get out of going to prison for 20 years after he could of killed 76 people. I just don't get people like this, if your unhappy about your job, talk to someone, don't risk peoples lives by doing crazy shit.

A storm is brewing....

Today was very BLAH...It's been raining since last night. Guess i jinxed it when I said it was finally sunny. Oh well.

Needless to say work was dead, very dead. In the 8 hours I was there 1 table came in. That's right ONE. I was so bored I took my break early and of course that is when the 1 table made their appearance.

So i get back from break and head to the kitchen. One of the new guys I'm training had to take the table since I was gone, so I wanted to see if he needed help with anything.(This guy was hired as a server/busboy--but really just wants to serve) His tables food was about to come out when the supervisor we like to call "The Bitch" comes in. She starts yelling at him that our head boss wants him to go clean the cafeteria(his busboy role). He said, "Fine. When I'm done with my table I will do it". She screams, "That is not good enough, he wants it done now".

Now, we have had it drilled in our heads, not only in this restaurant but everyone one I've ever worked at, the customer comes first. So WHY would our head boss tell someone to desert his table to clean the cafeteria? No clue.

Next thing I know another employee, in the new guys defense, has gotten into the screaming bitch's face and told her how wrong it was that his table got taken away from him etc. It turns into a huge screaming match in the kitchen. The supervisor storms out. Next thing you know the employee who stuck up for the new guy is getting called into a meeting with the supervisor and our head boss. Stories got turned around as usual and the girl who defended him was in trouble while management saw nothing wrong with anything they did (VERY TYPICAL ...i know)

While this meeting was going on, the new guy has gotten so angry he is flipping out in the kitchen about how wrong all this is. I'm trying to calm him down by telling him to ignore it, he won't lose the tip-I will make sure of that. He can't take management so he puts on his coat and leaves the restaurant.

Every day at this place so much drama occurs. It seriously is like a soap opera. I don't know if I can deal with this kind of stress. Customer stress is one thing(that's the kind of stress I enjoy--makes me feel accomplished when it's all over) but this stress is on a whole new level. I know I'm probably not explaining this very well and it doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but it's what we've been dealing with for 2 months now. Nothing changes, except people quitting who can't take it and new people coming in who have no clue what is about to hit them. Oh well...tomorrow the baseball team comes in so my day should go by quick since it will be really busy.

Hanging in there....


This cartoon I found to be so appropriate for this post...especially that it had only 1 table dining and a fight breaking out in the kitchen....PERFECT!!!!

Enjoying my day off

I work 6 days a week and every week have off on Sundays. Since today was also Mother's Day, I didn't get anything really accomplished this weekend. I feel I didn't really have a lot of time to devote to my blog, which is actually OK since I didn't really have much of anything to write about.

I hope everyone, whether you are a mom yourself, celebrated with your mom, or enjoyed the day with someone who is "like a mom" to you, had a great day. Here in New Jersey it was finally sunny, it has been raining for what seems like days. I did some shopping with my mom and finished our day off with dinner.

Most people who have been a servers usually are huge critics when it comes to dining out. I fall into that category. We ended up at a large chain restaurant, who I am usually happy with. Today was not really the case.

The server was very nice, he was a little "too nice", as in wouldn't shut up and leave us alone. That drives me crazy. I ordered a water that tasted as if it came from a sewer. We told him originally that we just wanted some appetizers, yet he kept trying to force us into their promotion, which was a huge dinner. We ordered our stuff and very quickly it came out(probably the only good thing that happened). The girl who delivered them, almost dropped the meal onto my lap. Awesome!!

I unwrapped my silverware, to find it looking really nasty and dirty. Luckily, it was mostly finger food because I couldn't find my server to complain. He performed one of many of his vanishing acts he did today. The food was just OK. One of the appetizers was loaded cheese fries, that I had ordered many times before. I guess they had recently changed their fries to McDonald's fries. Besides being overcooked, they are not the kind that should have cheese, sour cream and ranch dressing on them. It was gross.

Not once while eating did the server come back to check on us. I had finished my drink and attempted to wave him down while he was at another table but apparently he didn't see me. Finally after we had finished and placed all of our plates on the edge of the table, he stops by to ask us how everything went, I said, "Fine. Can I please have the check"? He took my water glass at that time, refilled it and delivered the check.

Thanks for the water, now that I'm done eating. I did leave an excellent tip, more than should of been left, but I am a server and I strongly believe in karma. Needless to say, we won't be going back to that restaurant EVER!!! Other than that, had a great day today and I hope all of you did as well.

This week I should have lots of posts, we have a minor league baseball team staying at the hotel as well as some time-share selling banquets that I will be working. Should be a great week. Hope everyone else has one as well.

A very talkative woman....

I once had a group of people(about 5-7) sit in my section. All but one of them was great. The one in question was a stuck-up, snobby old woman.

While delivering the food to the table before hers even reached her she began to complain about the temperature of her food. Now how can she complain without even trying it? I have no clue. So i asked her,"Would you like me to take this back". "No, that takes to long, and I want to eat with everyone else". OK. She then said, "If it was made correctly the first time, I wouldn't be complaining". I said, "It really isn't too much trouble and won't be long at all, I'll be right back with it". She still hasn't even tried it.

She went on to explain how she likes to talk a lot while she eats. (OK lady so shut up and eat your damn food already). She told me that when she gets to the last bite, her food is usually cold. I asked her again, "What can I do to help this problem"? She said, "Just stay near so when I need you to heat it, you can do it quickly".

Right, because I don't have 6 other tables to take care of their needs as well. 1 hour later, she is flagging me down. I immediately go over. She barks at me, "Make it hot and do it fast, I don't have time to wait".

She is the only person left eating at the table at this point, everyones dishes have been cleared. I go to the kitchen with her plate and tell the chef to make sure it's so hot it burns her mouth.

Anyway, after all my trouble, the lady calls me over again and says to me, "you really need to tell the chef's to prepare the meals in a way that makes them stay hotter longer." I said, "Listen, not everyone is like you, people want there food to be hot when it comes out and usually eat it all at once, not take a hour to eat a very small entree".

Needless to say, I didn't get much of a tip, but no matter what I did I probably wasn't going to get much of one anyone. Not even if I had a microwave at her table for her to personally heat it up as she chose to.

One Of the Worst Tables I Ever had

So today while bored at work, my coworkers and I were discussing the worst tables we ever had. I would like to share one of them with you.

I was working at an Italian restaurant, that also served brick-oven pizza. A table of 4 (2 girls, 2 guys) mid-twenties had just been sat. Immediately I went over and took their drink order. Within 2 minutes I brought back their drinks and they placed an order for an appetizer as well as a pizza. This restaurant was very busy and used food-runners to bring out our food while we were busy helping other guests.

Anyway I'm busy doing something in the kitchen for another table and I see the appetizer up in the window. A food runner grabs it and out it goes to my table. I waited enough time for them to have gotten to try it and went out to ask how everything was going. As I got to the table I realized the table directly behind them was eating my tables appetizer. Oh shit, I thought. So i ran in the kitchen, screamed, "Appetizer sampler on the fly yesterday". 2 minutes later my food is ready and I deliver it to them.

As I am delivering it, they asked if that was their sampler at the other table. I say "I'm not really sure, it's not my table". They say, "Well we overheard them talking about how they didn't even order it, and ours took really long." So I apologize and say it might have happened, since we use runners. They were very unhappy, despite the fact they were now eating and everything else was fine.

They finished their appetizer and I deliver their pizza without any problems. Halfway through their pizza, they ask to speak to a manager. I bring one over, and they say that it wasn't fair this table was eating a free sampler that was theirs and they have to pay etc. So my manager says, "Don't worry about it, your whole meal is on the house(free)".

They finish and I go over basically to say goodbye to them, sorry for the problem and have a nice night. I ask them if there is anything else I can do for them. They said, "well yea we would all like dessert and coffee". No problem, I do it without complaining that it wasn't really included in the free, but hey whatever. They eventually leave, I head over to the table to clean it and what is waiting for me NO TIP....that's right NOTHING, not even a penny. So these cheap people, got their whole meal for free for something that wasn't even really a problem and couldn't even spare a couple bucks. It really upset me. It just shows how ignorant and rude people really are, oh yea and cheap!!!!

Anxiety Attack Day

The hotel where I work serves a free lunch for its employees during a 2 hour time period. So basically I get to work, grab my free lunch and eat quickly in the kitchen. I do this so I don't waste my 30 minute break within my first hour of work. Anyways, today I get to my work at my normal time, gossip with people about what happened so far that day and then go get my lunch. I'm standing in the kitchen eating when another waitress walks in and tells me a table has just been sat. So i swallow quickly and rush out to the dining room.

Who is at this table? Oh that's right, the owner/general manager of the whole hotel and another equally important person he is meeting with. I'm very confident so I walk over, greet them and ask what they would like to drink. He interrupts me and asks what kind of soup we have (I have literally been here 30 mins, 15 of which was spent getting lunch. I told him I think we have none, which after confirming with the kitchen was correct. (Yes 1 point for me). They order drinks and place there food orders with no problems. Well unless you count her ordering iced-coffee when we don't serve that(We're not Dunkin Donuts). But no problems I can make that happen. All my rushing around to make this drink and I forget to give her a saucer for the mug(which I didn't see as a huge problem since she wasn't going to be drinking out the mug anyway). So the manager yells at me basically making me feel like the dumbest person to exist in front of 5 other co-workers. (Minus 100 points for me)

Everything else goes OK, except for the fact I can't stop sweating and my heart is beating a mile a minute since my job is on the line. They finish their meal and leave the restaurant. A couple hours later during our meeting, I overhear employees talking about how we are no longer using saucers for the coffee cups. So to save myself from getting yelled at after the head manager and my manager have their meeting, I tell him how I get yelled at for following procedure. Little did I even know this was now a proper procedure. So he says he will speak to the owner for yelling at me like that. YESSS Don't need to worry about getting fired today.

Seriously it seems like a silly reason to get fired, but that is how this corporation is. They are a very well know hotel chain and do not take tiny mistakes.

Overall, it was a decent day.

Great Service= No Tip!!!

So today a man walks in and asks for a table where he can spread out because he is about to have a meeting. This is not uncommon at my workplace since we do get lots of business people. Anyway, I seat him and hand him a lunch menu and place one down for the person he is waiting for. I ask him if he wants anything to drink. He asks for a water and a coffee.

The lady arrives that he is waiting for. I immediately go to the table and ask her what she will be drinking. A water as well. So i bring out her drink and ask if there ready to order....

The woman says " I already ate lunch before I came" and the man says "I think I'll skip it as well". Yes my restaurant can be used for meetings, but you HAVE to eat something. We are not Barnes and Noble or a library.

So whatever I pay attention to their table and bring them multiple refills. In my head I was already planning on giving him the coffee on the house (for free). But before I even have the chance to tell him this, they have already left and did not leave me anything. Now I don't know where he comes from, but at my restaurant coffee is not free, it's actually $2.50. So not only did he rip us off for $2.50, but the cheap bastard didn't even leave me a tip. Ughhhhh