What kind of people have we raised?

Sleepy wrote: Eichb1, I agree with you that it comes down to the owner, and who they hire, and how they train... Restaurants however are a different animal. Even in high end, turn over is very high, though, perhaps, not as high as lower end. Waitstaff usually consists of local young residents. Sure you'll have a few seasoned waitstaff out looking for work, and you might be lucky one or two walk in your door. Otherwise the base you have to choose from isn't the most impassioned or mature. After hiring from the pool available to you, of course, I'm with you, 100%, it does comes down to training the work force you have and enforcing some sort of standard. If the owner doesn't know much about restaurants, particularly the front end, they won't train very well. IMO, restaurant's front ends are going down the tubes... We are slowly losing the proper way to handle the front end. Even some of our better and best restaurants begin clearing plates before ALL diners have finished a course. Waitstaff also walk over and begin speaking while diners are having a conversation. There are ways to handle that, rather than abruptly speaking 'over' the table to end the table's conversation. When front end service is poor on a consistent basis, it's down to the owners lack of knowledge, care, or enforcement. Then again.... keep in mind the pool of employees available to local restaurants, the turn over and the constant need to look back into that undesirable pool. Add into it... restaurant work pays terribly and is harder than many new employees envision... especially being on the end which hears all the complaints about the kitchen. I'm now seeming to favor the employees, but I'm not really. It IS a tough business, and there aren't many people, young or old, who truly enjoy it. HOWEVER, as I was brought up, you should do your best wherever you are, if your boss has trained you, and I don't see 'doing your best' being done very much today. Not only by the young, but also by restaurant/shop owners. Batteries, Plucky?

Restaurants are big money for young people that want to work hard. But eventually it becomes impossible to keep up employee quality if you have an idiot doing the shift scheduling. For instance....if there are four different shifts available for waitstaff, why in the world would you schedule someone to close (keeping them there till 3AM) and then the very next day to open (and set up ) at 7AM!!! What human who is not in it for his career is able to do that time and time again! What is wrong with the former night's closer not being scheduled until noon??? I get really sick of owners complaining about lazy young workers when, in fact, they are often not the best or the most reasonable bosses.

Eichb1, I agree with you that it comes down to the owner, and who they hire, and how they train...

Restaurants however are a different animal. Even in high end, turn over is very high, though, perhaps, not as high as lower end. Waitstaff usually consists of local young residents. Sure you'll have a few seasoned waitstaff out looking for work, and you might be lucky one or two walk in your door. Otherwise the base you have to choose from isn't the most impassioned or mature. After hiring from the pool available to you, of course, I'm with you, 100%, it does comes down to training the work force you have and enforcing some sort of standard. If the owner doesn't know much about restaurants, particularly the front end, they won't train very well.

IMO, restaurant's front ends are going down the tubes... We are slowly losing the proper way to handle the front end. Even some of our better and best restaurants begin clearing plates before ALL diners have finished a course. Waitstaff also walk over and begin speaking while diners are having a conversation. There are ways to handle that, rather than abruptly speaking 'over' the table to end the table's conversation. When front end service is poor on a consistent basis, it's down to the owners lack of knowledge, care, or enforcement. Then again.... keep in mind the pool of employees available to local restaurants, the turn over and the constant need to look back into that undesirable pool. Add into it... restaurant work pays terribly and is harder than many new employees envision... especially being on the end which hears all the complaints about the kitchen.

I'm now seeming to favor the employees, but I'm not really. It IS a tough business, and there aren't many people, young or old, who truly enjoy it. HOWEVER, as I was brought up, you should do your best wherever you are, if your boss has trained you, and I don't see 'doing your best' being done very much today. Not only by the young, but also by restaurant/shop owners.

Batteries, Plucky?

Edited by Sleepy - August/07/12 at 7:04am

Here's a topic we've ventured into a few times. It all comes down to one word.....PARENTING. Not all kids are like the kids the lead story was about. As a business owner that employees kids, I can tell you theres a difference and the owner has to be very selective about who he hires. Many of our employees are children or customers. If Dad is a PITA, Junior will be to. If Dad is great, usually the kids are good. So many times people have asked us where we get our employees because they are so nice and friendly (almost makes you feel like your not on LI).

It is also that owners responsibility to train those employees as to the right things to do and things not to do. Obviously in this case, the owner hasn't. It could be because he/she is burn't out, is an absentee owner, etc. Something I learned a long time ago and have always run by busines by.....Lead by example and don't ask an employee to do something you won't or haven't already done yourself.

I think with todays economic times, you will see America shifting back to a more conservative lifestyle and hopefully the adjustment will help get kids pointed back in the right direction.

My understanding is these are LOCAL restaurants, which Karen was kind enough to leave nameless.

Wherever and however this careless trend was established, it doesn't say much for the treatment of patrons in our town's eating (and perhaps other business) establishments..

I don't think it's endemic to the entire generation, and it's certainly not what WE raised but that particular persons parents.
Nothing like taking him/her on the side and having a word or two, or leaving a 1 cent tip to get their attention.
You were just too polite,cause thats how you were raised.

This reminds me of the entitled teenagers crying that they didn't get an iPhone/iPad/Car for Christmas 2011. (full picture: http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2011/12/5dba69456d6bfa8e613bd24430ac8b1a.png)


Most of the teens (13-18) these days are very entitled. They put themselves first over the other person. Of course there are people who do not act this way and I praise teens who are caring/compassionate/nice heavily. You can pretty much just go into sayville if you are stuck on this question. There are the BMX riders at Chase who don't care about anyone else but themselves. There are also store employees and other teens who are very kind and helpful (holding the door, etc).