server
Establishment: Gustavs rhinelander
Location: portland
I am currently employed at Gustav’s and AM in a position to comment on the treatment of employees.
I’ll begin by saying the the resturant managment team is not the source of the disenchantment experienced by most employees I know. It is the polices in place created by the company execs.
I have worked in the restaurant buisness for around ten years, and have worked for many different types of establishments in that time. And Gustav’s is the one and only that forces employees to pay for the cheapest food items such as rolls and soup. Even the bottom of the scale slop houses offer their staff with whatever is available in the mass produced low-food-cost department. And it is an even greater sin to require staff to purchase soft drinks and coffee. These nominal allowances are all part of keeping staff happy and healthy during a stressful and exhausting shift. And the in-house management teams are responsible for enforcing these policies so they circle the floor like vultures trying to catch some one abusing the 4 cent cost item. I mean come on. Really. Literally EVERYONE I have ever talked to has never worked in another resturant with these conditions. Many others, in fact, treat their staff with FREE shift meal. I know that is blasphemy in the Suzanne Maeger handbook. But it really does happen. And I’ll just say one more thing — employees are required to pony up between $2 to $3 dollars every shift ( $40 a month) for taxes from the credit companies for the privilege of using the credit card machines. What!!! I shouldn’t be charged so the company can operate in the current modern credit system. So Hannah, unfortunately, I’m afraid Wren18 may actually be right.
So I checked to see if anyone in Human Resources would be obliged to comment on this post, unfortunatly it was blocked from being viewed so I guess only positive feedback is allowed to be viewed, Wren 18’s feedback seems to be blocked as well. Hmmm? It seems thou dost protest too much. This is my 3rd post, I will keep posting this until they STOP REMOVING IT
Comments
I absolutely agree. Although the soda and coffee rule is never actually enforced by the management, who actually have souls, the fact that it’s even in place is a slap in the face to the people who are worked to the bone at that restaurant. And yeah the fact that servers have to pay the credit card fee is extremely shady and cheap.
When the recession was in full swing, there were all sorts of memos about how profits have dropped and we all need to work even harder. Suzanne should have thanked her fucking lucky stars that she was still making a profit at all!
Pretty dirty to make employees pay for the visa/credit card fees. I work in a mom and pop restaurant that is going through real hard times right now… and they don’t even sink that low to make the employees pay fees like that.
Suzeanne if your reading this, I’ve known you since you were a teen which makes it difficult to say this to you personally but most of these things people are saying about you here all pretty close to the truth. These opinions are not just of your employees but have become those of your professional colleagues as well. It really is a shame to be so disliked by the majority of the people that work for you.
It doesn’t matter who reads this or how “high up” they are, the company will do nothing about our plights, nor care about our suffering. At least here I can state my opinions without fear of repercussions. Now let’s just get to the bottom line.
In the very beginning of 2009, Suzeanne held a meeting with us, her staff. She sounded very convincing in her explanation to us that the company had to “survive” in dire times. She then explained to us that the company would have to remove many of our “perks” and “privileges” in order to keep the restaurant open and our jobs “secure”. Now, a year and a half later, it has become a known fact that the company has accrued a huge profit. None of our “perks” and “privileges” have been restored, yet the company now is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars remodeling the kitchen making it obvious to her employees that the company is no longer hurting as they had previously described to us many months before.
A list of some things they have taken away, without giving us anything in return; 1) first it was the 50% meal discount gone, 2) no employee appreciation party, 3) 8 or more gratuities not allowed *something I did NOT know when hired*, 4) not allowing us coffee/or soda/eat low cost items (like rolls), 5)having everyone stay all night, moving every heavy item in the restaurant because of the re-model without so much as a pizza to show their appreciation or to give us the extra energy to accomplish this unexpected imposition was simply icing on the cake. 6)MOST IMPORTANTLY, in closing the restaurant (indefinably) for renovation they didn’t offer any guidance or information what-so-ever for their employees to get un-employment benefits.
What you wrote is just the tip of the iceberg.
Bad ownership, bad food, good beer, good co-workers. That sums it up.