Cooks vs. Servers (the responses...page 4)

The responses on this page were submitted directly to Dinersoft.com...

It is absolutely no wonder we have a terrible time promoting teamwork in the restaurant industry with idiotic questions like "what's more important a server or a cook?" Cooks work like dogs in the heat of the kitchen, then it's back to the freezer, then the walk-in. It's a miracle there are any cooks left that are not dead from pneumonia. They have servers being rude to them for mistakes that they, themselves made. Management expects them to stay on the line during peak periods when anyone else would collapse from a heat stroke. Now, having said that, Servers put up with the heat and frustration also. Female servers are forced to wear pantyhose in the heat of the summer and wear makeup to look pretty and acceptable even though it won't last through the mid morning before it becomes a nasty stream of goo down her face. They get treated like servants rather than servers, and all the while catching hell from all directions just like the cooks do. Now having said that, the one thing that I love more than anything is to go to work and see a smile on a coworkers face and know that we are a team... together we can handle anything the "guests" throw at us today...and today's the thing... Please support your American Lung Association! Please do not smoke around children! Ella L. King 6/10/00

Oh man what a can of worms!! Here's my two cents. Service and Food are equally important, any chef who says otherwise is just feeding his own ego. Do servers work as hard as cooks? Generally, no. Is that a problem? No. Why the hell would anyone put up with the crap that a server does other than the fact that it's a reasonably easy job considering the amount of money you can make in a shift. Is it easier to train a server than a cook? No. The only great servers I've worked with have been doing it for 10+ years. They know everything from etiquette to how to time there tables to how to placate every customer, no matter how cantankerous. By the way, if someone has the knack, I can train them to be a great line cook in less than five years.

As far as bartenders, the bartenders at my restaurant are the only FOH personnel that work every bit as hard as the kitchen. They bust ass on setup, bust ass to restock, empty their own bottles, get there own ice if they have time, clean constantly, and yes, they tip out their bar backs every night, and they're both breaking down and cleaning up. They're also both 20+ year veteran bartenders who appreciate that they're working at a great place and making more money than God.

By the way, I'm so sick and tired of having to break servers who have worked corporate of all the stupid bullshit service practices that have been drilled into them. You corporate people wouldn't know what a good server was if they bit you in the ass. Who the hell wants to be served by someone who is squatting tableside, especially when they're only 5'4" to begin with? Are you a server or a chimpanzee? Anyway, the bottom line is that I don't want to make that choice, but if I had to, I'd take the server. I can baby-sit a lousy cook, but the server has to go to their table alone.

Owen S. 6/18/00

Reply

Owen, As the perpetrator of this thread, I feel obligated to follow-up on your post.

1. Veteran servers of 10+ had better know how to do their job nearly perfect.
2. You must work in a deep labor-pool market. Here in So Cal, good cooks are worth their weight in gold - and they know it.
3. Baby-sitting cooks in my environment will not work. Our companies standards, as well as the reputation we've built for quick, efficient service does not allow for baby-sitting. A ticket of longer than 15 minutes is cause for HUGE concern.
4. Servers in our segment (upper-casual) are of a certain age-group (20-28) and have other career goals. I feel fortunate if they work all their originally scheduled shifts. They need a structured service sequence in order for them to accomplish what our company desires (salesmanship, consistency). Left to their own devices, I can just imagine what they would say.  "Uh, you ready to order?"
5. Upper-casual is just that - casual. No buttoned collars, no bow-ties, cummerbunds, etc. The staff is in polo shirts (or even t-shirts). Our clientele is mainly families, mid-level business people, shoppers and movie-goers. So if the servers squat, it's because they feel comfortable enough in our environment, which is obviously not the same as yours, and with our guests, who are also probably not the same as yours.
6. As for bartenders, well...I'll save that for another thread. Count yourself as one of lucky ones for having a solid (and hopefully honest) crew.

I stand by my original statement from December - cooks are more valuable than servers.  They work harder for less money.  They do not complain about their conditions as much as the servers complain about theirs. They rarely switch shifts. They produce the product which allows the servers to sell and then consequently earn their "commission". When I lose a server, I feel I can fill that position pretty quickly.  When I lose a cook, I am quasi-panicked about the coverage and the training time.  Servers reap the benefits of being able to hear and see, first hand, the pleased-guests that leave happy.  They also, of course, get to deal with the grouchy ones, but, how often does that really happen?  I mean, what percent of guests really get that bad?  Out of 1000 guests, would you say 15? 20? I'm talking the rude, chip-on-the- shoulder,  not-happy-unless-they-pick-on-a-helpless-server-and-will- probably-die-grouchy types. Other instances, I think, are forgotten by a server pretty quickly. Cooks are, to the guests, nameless and faceless, no fanfare.

To put it in other words, management is the brains, the servers are the face, the bussers are the arms & legs, the hosts are the hands, the bar is the adrenaline, the food is the blood, but the cooks are the heart.

Mark in Ca. 6/23/00

WOW! You made it to the end. That means you are probably a newsgroup junkie, or susceptible to newsgroup addiction. For further entertainment of this sort, visit alt.restaurants.professionals or rec.food.restaurants. If you don't have a newsgroup reader, try Remarq.com, a great place to start, if you've never been to a newsgroup before.  Or, leave your post on the Dinersoft Message Board

By the way, Owen, I was a "Corporate Person" once and I have always hated kneeling servers, too. -Todd

And P.S. to Mark in Ca. -- You are wrong about the squatting--it IS irritating! - Todd

Cooks vs. Servers Page 2

Cooks vs Servers Page 3

Return to Cooks Main Page