Can steakhouse employees really not talk to kitchen staff?
Are they seriously monitored all the time?
And how do they feel about serving people after closing?
Stay tuned to find out more really weird rules!
It's common knowledge restaurants work together to make the entire experience happen.
Hosts handle reservations, chefs make the food, and servers guide the meal from start
to finish.
But instead of pocketing their keep after a shift, some workers are actually forced
to share their tips.
Staff participate in tip pooling, a system that combines all earnings into a collective
pot split equally among employees, per On the Line.
Tip pooling might make sense for casual dining spots that foster a collaborative working
environment, but this isn't exactly the case for steakhouses.
Here, employees perform specific roles in order to produce a quality dining experience.
One restaurant to implement the policy — and go to court over it — is Outback Steakhouse.
In Kilgore vs. Outback Steakhouse of Florida, servers argued to the US Court of Appeals
that the restaurant's use of the tip pool violated the Fair Labor Standards Act, as
the mandatory 3% sum regularly cut into servers' take-home pay.
The court ruled in Outback's favor.
Their reasoning?
Since employees never received anything less than the minimum wage in spite of the tip
pool, the restaurant wasn't technically withholding any of the wages they would otherwise receive.
Steakhouse employees deal with a lot of weird rules, but this one might be the weirdest:
Servers can't talk to the kitchen staff.
On TalesFromYourServer, Reddit users testified to the divide separating line cooks and waitstaff
at fancier establishments.
One person who worked at a casual fine dining spot revealed servers were not to disturb
the chefs for any reason, saying:
"The place I'm at now is pretty relaxed, but I've worked in kitchens where you can't even
look at/talk to the chefs/cooks."
Another person referred to this phenomenon as "the cone of silence," despite the cooks
in question gladly spending time with them off the clock.
There's no doubt the stereotype of the snooty, standoff-ish chef pervades pop culture; but
there may be more to it than just being about ego.
"I can think of three real good reasons why you shouldn't do something like that George."
One commenter explained that the hectic atmosphere of a professional kitchen can be disorienting
for those working in it.
Line cooks don't have the mental bandwidth to grill porterhouses to perfection while
also assisting the server with a picky customer.
It's better to save those questions for the manager.
For anybody who's waited tables in their time, venting about customers is a normal, even
healthy, part of the job.
However, steakhouse employees have to be extra careful about how they air their grievances
to the world, especially digitally.
In 2018, an Outback employee in Florida was fired from their role after posting about
a customer interaction online.
As Inc. reported, the employee took to social media after the guest, a megachurch volunteer,
placed a takeout order for over $700 worth of food without leaving a tip.
The frustration fueling their Facebook post ended up circling back to the customer, who
tried following up with the restaurant to correct the matter.
The result?
Not only did Outback refund the customer's order, but they dismissed the employee on
the grounds that they actually violated a company-wide policy.
According to the chain, talking about customers online is off-limits, and doing so could have
negative consequences, like losing your job.
The incident also revealed the lengths a steakhouse will go in preserving its image, even if it
comes at the expense of its employees.
Was the employee's complaint justified?
Absolutely.
But perhaps a social media status update might not be the best way to go about it.
From refilling glasses to wiping down tables, multitasking is crucial in any dining establishment.
But steakhouse employees are forced to follow a rigid schedule to keep business flowing.
"Good evening, good evening."
At Outback Steakhouse, for example, waiters are expected to work at a timed pace for each
table they serve.
A training manual from 2014 outlines each task in chronological order, as well as how
long the server should take to complete them.
For a "total dining experience," servers should greet customers for 30 to 45 seconds, and
the table should receive their drinks and honey wheat Bushman bread within three minutes.
To see whether the guest's Victoria's Filet Mignon is up to snuff, the "two bite check
back" is listed shortly after the entrée is served.
Overall, the entire process takes 12 steps and clocks in at 48 to 50 minutes, give or
take.
Outback is a single chain with these rules, but steakhouses tend to run a tight ship in
the name of exceptional customer service, and time management is one part of that.
Of course, providing timely service is a necessity at any restaurant, but Outback's emphasis
on "urgency and skill" takes the chain eatery to a totally different level.
When a restaurant closes for the night, most assume they immediately kick everyone out
and lock the doors so they can prepare for the next day, right?
Not the case at steakhouses, apparently.
According to Reddit's TalesFromYourServer, it's normal for steakhouse employees to serve
customers after hours, as long as they're still dining on the premises.
One person said:
"You have to have your butt in a seat by closing (9 p.m. in my case), but we will continue
to serve until everyone is finished eating."
The caveat that walk-ins after that would not be admitted.
Another person recounted a touristy steakhouse that allowed them to reserve a table at their
10 p.m. closing time, since the restaurant considered that the cut-off for service.
Workers are well aware of the fact that restaurants monitor their behavior.
Case in point, an Outback Steakhouse in Oregon considered implementing a strict method of
workplace surveillance in 2019 called PrestoVision.
"Seems we're about to hear, we might as well share resources."
"Guess I don't have a choice, please sit down."
"Oh, I'm staying."
According to Wired, PrestoVision would screen factors for overall worker engagement and
timeliness via machine-learning techniques at a single restaurant location.
Managers would then sift through the collected data to pinpoint areas that needed improvement.
While the restaurant's reason seemed reasonable on the surface the Orwellian idea immediately
sparked controversy.
Many people condemned the restaurant for not respecting employees' and customers' privacy,
calling it, quote, "slimy" and "overreach[ing] on the part of employers."
Ultimately, it inspired enough backlash to make the franchise shelve the plans for good.
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