😂 So, we just went into a small restaurant that only has about eight tables. Something seemed a bit off. The host came up to us and said they had a momentary power outage, and even though the power had come back on, the Wifi didn't, which means their ordering/payment system was off line, so they couldn't seat anyone.
I said, "What if I paid in cash?"
"We can't open the cash drawer."
"What if I paid the exact amount?"
"We still can't place orders. We can't communicate with the kitchen."
1/2
Folks, I was *looking at the people in the kitchen* as they said this. They were 12' away, and the door was open. 😐
The wait staff didn't know how to take an order on a paper check and give it to the kitchen. There was no manager on site that could tell them to just run a cash business for the evening. The place ground to a halt without Wifi.
By this point, there were three parties they were turning away. They essentially closed for the night.
We are doomed. 😩
2/2
That's crazy. Hopefully it's a learning experience for them. Without knowing them though, I'm not optimistic.
@ColesStreetPothole @lxskllr even without a manager on site, how did phone calls not go out? If this was a real small restaurant and I owned it...
Server : hey boss, we had a power outage and now the wifi is down. We need to close for the night.
Owner: why are you closing? Write a paper order and accept cash.
Server : we don't know how to do that....
Owner: I'll be there in 30 minutes and in mean time let everyone know there is mandatory training tomorrow at 2pm on how to do this.
@HollieK72 @ColesStreetPothole @lxskllr to a point true. There should of been a order of control previously set up. Now I've been on situations where the manager calls out sick for whatever reason and the other staff just operate hoping nothing goes wrong but in most cases there either an implicit or explicit second in command.
The owner fucked up by not having a contingency plan. The staff fucked up by not knowing how to operate without wifi. This is a disaster on all levels.
@HollieK72 @ColesStreetPothole @lxskllr 1. I said conversation, I didn't firing or suspension. Yes they messed up and they should know that. Being told you made the wrong choice happens, learn to make a better one going forward.
2. As I said owner/manager messed up too. They should have a plan to run without internet. Just like you have a flashlight at home if your power goes out or a fire extinguisher.
3. I would bet resetting the modem would fix all the issues,this time.
@vrek @ColesStreetPothole @lxskllr
Firing or suspension would be an overreaction in this case. Yes, they got things wrong, but to learn from their mistakes, the manager needs to provide a safe environment where people are able to think for themselves, not just be scared that they'll be shouted at for getting it wrong - that's likely to cause thought paralysis, which might have happened in this case.
@HollieK72 @ColesStreetPothole @lxskllr yes and I didn't say scream or shout. It's more ensuring they know they made a mistake and what to do in the future. It's uncomfortable because people don't like being told they messed up and I don't like telling people they messed up.
Big fan of idea: don't fire some for making a mistake, you already paid the cost of training them not to do that, ensure they learned and take advantage of their new knowledge going forward.
@ColesStreetPothole @vrek @lxskllr
I once walked into a little box of a pizza joint with an empty water bottle and asked to fill it. "I'm sorry, we don't have a water fountain." Three people there and it's not even that I couldn't convince them to fill it at the sink, I couldn't convince them that sink water was the same as fountain water. Total communication breakdown. I'd have had better luck getting one to piss in it.
Yes, but that wasn't the problem. It was three teenagers in the only structure on a rural road for miles and I was walking in serious heat. It was a low-budget area. People there wouldn't even know about that kind of rule, or enforce it if they did.
@Uair ah, gotcha. Probably not the case, but having some experience with a hospitality business in a rural area with well water, maybe the sink water really is different from a hypothetical fountain? We chlorinate and test daily the water for the guests, but our own water (from the same well) is not chlorinated. If for whatever reason we needed to serve a guest water from "our side", we'd need to boil it first or the health department would cite us.
Could they at least sell you a bottled water?
They could have if I had some money, which I think was the sticking point. It might've been well water, but I doubt it. Less than five miles from a 20k pop town in the mountains. I know little about well drilling, but I bet it's harder through a mountain.
They really came off like doofuses, tho.
Coles Street Pothole
lxskllr
vrek
HollieK
Poloniousmonk
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