Roles and Disparities in Restaurants

This is a thought experiment that dissects tired restaurant operation models. It is meant to be mind-exploring and perspective-bending. Burning food for thought, so to speak. Perhaps we can all look at ways we can re-imagine and re-open post-pandemic in more equitable and creative ways.

What does your restaurant look like when the dishwasher, on the busiest day of the year, decides to pull a no-show? A No-show, becomes a shit show, in a hurry. The chef is losing his shit, the owner already lost theirs, and quickly, your restaurant looks like it!  The conductor of your train to Successland just derailed the fucker into Failureville. That conductor is you, whoever you are; the team, the owner, whoever dictated how this business is supposed to operate. Within an hour, the kitchen floor hasn’t been swept, the dish room is trashed, the restrooms have no TP, and the prep cooks are in the weeds because there isn’t one clean pot to piss in, let alone cook with. Within twenty more minutes, one of the most expensive employees in the restaurant, most likely the chef, sous chef, or owner, is attempting to do not only their job but a half-assed job of being the dishwasher simultaneously!  So please explain to me why the dishwasher is the lowest-paid position in the restaurant. Really? Do you know how hard this job is? Do you know what it’s like to mop up someone else’s vomit, clean dirty toilets with some god-knows-what shite on it, and have servers throw soiled dishes and splash water glasses at you full of stranger backwash? It fucking sucks, and everyone knows it.

The disparity in pay between cooks and servers, seriously, we all know this equation but do nothing about it. Why? The servers, for the most part, come in for the shift they are working. They work an average of 5 or 6 hours per shift. Perhaps on certain days, they pull a “double” and work 8 to 10 hours. They walk out the door with serious cash for those shifts, as they should! They are the salespeople that make the restaurant money. The cooks, on the other hand, are usually working 10 + hours per day, usually for two services, sometimes 6 days a week, for a measly 12 bucks an hour if they are lucky! These are trained professionals that are expected to work hard, fast, and focused in hot and stressful environments, usually without a designated break. No one would eat without them, and they usually cook a meal for the servers! What!? Where is the equity? Why and how do we allow this to happen? 

Let’s take a look at who we may think is one of the most, or perhaps the most valuable employees in the restaurant, the chef. That person was most likely raised knowing that they were capable of being successful at whatever they do for a living. They were probably fortunate enough to attend a culinary training program somewhere. Nice for them! They probably worked with some talented people and were mentored to understand the drive you need to be able to succeed as a chef. They utilized those tools, worked hard, took out some loans, got an education, and here they are...doing the dishes today! That is the role they chose. Please explain to me why the chef makes four times the amount of money that the dishwasher makes. Again, we all choose our roles. Did they choose to be a chef to become rich? If they did, they made a mistake. People choose to be a chef because they love to cook and please people.

How about the owner of the restaurant? They probably succeeded in another business realm and decided to open a restaurant. Nice for them! Perhaps they have some business acumen, maybe they were a server when they were 15, or maybe they have some disposable income. Ok, so if it's the middle of service and the dishwasher quits because their job sucks, the owner is probably doing the dishes. Why is that? Because the chef and sous chef are busy cooking, and because it is one of the most important jobs in the restaurant!  Now, please name one role in the restaurant that isn’t important ... (insert crickets chirping here).

Why the pay disparity? I have heard the spiels, more to lose, more responsibilities, they deserve (that word drives me nuts) more. Yeah yeah yeah, can you run a restaurant without someone doing the dishes? You cannot. Can you run it without people serving? Nope. Bartending? No. Will you have food without cooks? You will not. But, and here is the interesting part, can you run the restaurant without the chef? Actually, you most likely can. The sous chef can usually do the chef’s job, sometimes better, and that person is usually less arrogant and easier to work with! Can you run the restaurant without the owner? Most every day you can and do, yes. Would the restaurant exist without the owner...no! That person has that role to play. Every single person that works in the restaurant has a fucking role to play! A big role. You cannot and should not, run the restaurant without any one of them. If you do, your restaurant will most likely not look like a restaurant.

How do we accept statements like, "I am smarter and had better opportunities than you so I deserve more than you," or, "I have more money than you so I deserve better than you," or "I can cook and you can't, so I deserve more than you," or "I am articulate and you are not, so I deserve more than you” or, “I’m more attractive than you and have a suit on, so I am better than you.” How are these variations different from skin color? Isn’t this biased? Isn’t this prejudiced? You bet your ass it is. The American Declaration of Independence states: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all (people) are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Oh really?

Think about what would happen if everyone in the restaurant made the same wage. Would the chef or the owner become the dishwasher because it is an easier job? Fuck no! They'd never give up their creativity, prestige, or power. The owner and chef positions are better jobs! Honestly, the people scrubbing the toilets should be paid the most! Tell me why every single person should not make the exact same pay for every role in the restaurant! Yes, the owner is taking a bigger financial risk. That is the role! Does he work harder than the dishwasher? Fuck no! Does he have more responsibility? Not really, they have different responsibilities, none more important than any others! The dishwasher mops up puke and cleans toilets and does every other job that no one else wants to do. Is that important? Is that imperative? You bet your ass it is! That dishwasher role is a hard fucking role! We all know it.

Let’s talk about the person that took the dishwasher position. Did this person have the same opportunities that the executive chef or the owner has had? Almost guaranteed that is a big fuck no. Has that person been brought up to believe that he could be the owner of a restaurant or an executive chef? Doubtful at best. Now let me ask you, would this dishwasher pull a no-show if he made a good wage? Would the dishwasher be there today if he knew his job was an integral part of the success of the restaurant, and was looked upon with respect, dignity, and knew he or she was truly appreciated for what they do? Let’s talk about what might happen if that dishwasher was making 22 bucks an hour, would that be the person pulling the no-show today? I think that person would be crawling to work if they could! 

An idea arises in a more equitable scenario. The person that you hire to become the “dishwasher”, is the first person you hire when you conceive of opening a restaurant. That person becomes the most important person you hire. That person will know every single detail of that restaurant from the bottom up! They will know how that oven got hooked up, how the alarm system works, how the POS system gets set up, who we are hiring for the trash pick-up, and who the contact people are...it goes on and on. Now tell me how important that person becomes! They know more than the Chef and the owner! They can fix anything that breaks! They can eventually work any position in the restaurant! Perhaps they can grow a garden, set up the sanitation schedules, change the light bulbs, call the repair people...and do the dishes! Now tell me why that person makes less than the Chef and the owner if that person knows more about the restaurant, and how it functions than anyone else.

I was speaking to my neighbor the other day about his corporate job at a large insurance firm. It seems in this time of craziness and viral pandemic, that the beasts have shown their ugly heads. He noticed this middle management group that adds this bizarre unneeded layer of….I don’t know what. Lots of education but not in the trenches and not the guys steering and making the big decisions. They are just kinda there, not really doing anything! The people that get things done are still getting things done. Are these jobs just people holding other people accountable? Is that a job description? Is that worth more than actually producing something viable or adding wealth? I don’t believe it is.

This is a thought experiment, but it has merit. Every single person that works in any business should be in a position that is not only important but adds to the success equation. If not, that position and/or person should be eliminated. If every single person delivers worth to the bottom line, why should they not share in the profits and prosperity of that business? The argument, “That’s just how business works!” is imbecilic. Show me the restaurant where the general manager, executive chef, and owner, run the restaurant by themselves. Perhaps they think they can. Good luck, and have fun when the toilets overflow Saturday night.