Work Fun

[weswilson]

I have been being slowly disempowered for the last six months.

It starts with small things. The wine reps get schmoozed by two of the waiters till they assume those guys are the ones doing the orders. The owner begins listening to the people working during her shift more than the manager working opposite her. Small conflicts are created to make me look like I don't know what I'm talking about.

I warned them. Just like at Chef Greens, I let them know the problems that were coming up. And just like at Chef Greens, nobody listens to me. Soon waiters are chaning the floorplan behind Aunia's back, the wine list is getting steamrolled with wines that nobody but two waiters know anything about, and things start getting rearranged that create chaos. The order that these chaotic Peter Pans need has been disembled.

I quit doing inventory. I quit even bothering with the wine reps when they come in. When people ask me about wines I have to truthfully tell them that I have no idea what half the wine on the wine list is. I had the coolers arranged for ease of use, now things are just shoved in all over the place.

So now I have two options. I can either fight to regain the authority that has been bled off me, or I can just let it go. I can start doing paperwork and organizing all this crap that everyone is just throwing about willy-nilly, or I can let them rot in their own mess. It seems anathema for me to just let go of things, but I'm tired of doing the gruntwork while other get to reap leadership benefits they aren't working for.

I'm about to be going to all nights. I could just go back to being a waiter three nights a week to make as much money as I'm making now. I could let go of all the responsibilities I have, and let others pick up the mantle. I'm tired of feeling unappreciated.

Comments

[brodycatsmouth.livejournal.com]

You could seriously sit down with the owner and say, "Here's my laundry list. Shall I cast my pearls before swine?" Not in those words, of course. :P

[blackfeatherdjr.livejournal.com]

Those fucking cockbites. Of all the shit to pull... I'm sorry, man.

[ohmyhead.livejournal.com]

Been there, experienced that. Shitty and humiliating. I had to leave. Had to.

[weswilson]

I've tried. She's not doing it on purpose, so she gets defensive when I try to talk to her about it. She can't understand how I can take being disempowered personally. I can't understand how anyone couldn't.

[weswilson]

It's ok. I'm a "lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way" kind of guy. I've seen what's been happening, but since certain things were getting done, I didn't bitch much. Now it's gone too far, but my complaints seem to fall on deaf ears.

[weswilson]

Yeah... I'm thinking perhaps I should just change to waiting tables. I'd get out of here early, I'd make more money, and I'd feel more accomplished.

[ohmyhead.livejournal.com]

Personally, I prefer being an Indian over being a Chief.

[gadget-girl.livejournal.com]

certainly sounds like the more sane thing to do, as in, to save your sanity.

[ravyn001.livejournal.com]

As someone who's done the whole leadership route, I can tell you this.
Leadership is like a fine bottle of wine. Its delicate, takes time to learn, and is only truly appreciated by those with refined tastes. And once you hit someone over the head with it, you'll get them to follow.

If your leading, you've got to make the choices and keep control. You listen to those around you for feedback and can turn over tasks, but your responsible and therefor make the final decisions.

If you want the responsibility to maintain the wine list, then take control of it. Ask for others input, but make the final decisions. If you don't want to, then you can make that choice.

[http://users.livejournal.com/kaizersoze124_/]

I feel you man.

[weswilson]

As a middle manager, everything that I do is at the discretion of the owners. They didn't hire me to be a "General Manager", so I don't feel comfortable taking charge of too much. But, with that in mind, every time I did set a rule, I let them know what problem arose, why I made the rule, and what the rule was. Keeping them on the same page as me has always been important.

I do not feel that has been reciprocated. I feel constantly out of the loop, I feel like any rule I set is going to be recinded the moment I walk out the door, and I feel like really all the owners want to do is micromanage. I no longer feel empowered, so I am essentially a bean counter and a shell of a manager. I cant' answer questions with any authority, because I don't know the actual answers.

I'm just tired of it all. I'd think my bosses would want to empower me, to give me the authority to make their restaurant an orderly and positive environment, but I'm not convinced that's the case any more.

[weswilson]

It feels like a world of suck.

[dawsongirl70.livejournal.com]

I love you. Duncan loves you too.

Typing with one hand is not easy. :)

[ex-debgirl0.livejournal.com]

If you went back to waiting 3 nights a week you would:

1. make the same amount of money
2. lose a lot of stress
3. spend more time with your wife and newborn child

.....

[(Anonymous)]

That’s the life of middle management. You get the responsibility, but not the authority. It’s especially true when you have owners/executives that aren’t good managers (and they are a majority). Then there is always the politics. I’ve learned to enjoy the small successes that have made a positive impact, until that progress is undone by others that mismanage.