Hit 200 covers in a single hour last Saturday and nearly walked out

I've been on the line for 9 years and never seen a rush like that. We had a 50-top walk in 15 minutes before close plus two birthday parties. 200 plates went out in 60 minutes flat. My station hit 160 degrees and I burned my forearm on the reach-in. Had to step in the walk-in for 2 minutes to cool down. Has anyone else had a service that made them question their whole career choice?

2 comments

2 Comments

hayden14417d ago

Did you actually tell your manager you were ready to walk, or did you just go cool off and come back out without saying anything? I find that moment when you step into the walk-in and the cold air hits you, you either snap out of it or you start planning your exit strategy. 200 covers in an hour is brutal enough without a surprise 50-top right before close. What made you stay when that shift was over?

the_mila17d ago

And honestly the thing that kept me from walking was knowing that if I bailed, the whole crew would be drowning even worse without me. We have this unwritten rule in our kitchen that you don't abandon the line, no matter how bad it gets. The 50-top was insulting and the manager can kick rocks, but the dishwashers and the line cooks didn't do anything wrong, so I stayed for them lol.