Being Blunt

Since I've been traveling, many people have described me as being blunt. I have been told that this isn't a bad thing, but I'm surprised how many times people have used this word to describe me. When I went out with some co-workers last weekend they told me that I am "blunt" and "authentic" and the many people at Ortolana like me for that reason. I wouldn't say that I'm not these things but I've met people who are more blunt than me and I find that it strange how many time this has been pointed out to me. I don't mind being this way, I would prefer this to being too passive-aggressive of inauthentic, but I also know this is something I have to watch. I do not fake things well and my emotions show very readily on my face which I need to be aware of and try to control when necessary.

Case in point, last night I had a table of guests - three men, George, Will, and Filipe - who used both "blunt" and "authentic" to describe me. They found it very refreshing and enjoyed having me as their server, I even made a $50 tip (huge for NZ), but they called me out a few times when I said things they could tell I didn't mean or had a weird expression on my face. I guess I'm not going to sit around faking niceness to people all night, I do truly enjoy people so me not faking it isn't going to mean people will get bad service, but I also need to start being a bit more conscious of what my face looks like and putting more authenticity behind some of the things I say - or change what I'm saying to be more authentic. I think that my tables tend to enjoy having me as their server, I'm friendly, outgoing, eager to make their experience exceptional, but I just need to watch myself a bit I think. Nothing bad has come of this yet, but I guess in the wrong situation it definitely could.

About last night, so I had my own section at work, a full section. I had the outside R consisting of 4 tables. I would say I did not get off to a good start. When I came to work at 3 I was happy and ready to be there but it was crazy and I'm never quite sure what to do right when I arrive. Being friday, it was rather busy and I quickly found that I was a bit flustered. I worked on a couple of tasks before taking over my section, one of these tasks being polishing wine glasses. This is not something I am good at and not something I enjoy. I do not know how to do this properly, I always seem to do a bad job, and yesterday was no exception. This really through me for a loop and I guess if I am asked to do this again I am going to ask for a lesson on how to do this properly. Anyways, when I do something I'm not good at it really gets me all in my head, thinking about how bad I am at the task, how everyone else is probably thinking about how bad I am at it, etc... I then transitioned from this task straight into my section and this transition didn't go well. I now know to ask for a proper hand-off but I kept asking tables things they'd already been asked or failing to ask them things I should. I didn't know where any of them were in their dinner process and this also made me flustered. Once I eventually got all new tables, however, things went much better. I learned each table, knew where they were in the meal process, what they were eating, what they were drinking, etc... and things went well, I believe.

I know there are many places for me to improve, however. As I've said, the expectations are high at Ortolana and I feel like I'm still training myself on what these are. They are very particular about how things are done, which provides a consistent level of quality service for all guests, which is great, but makes a bit of a steep learning curve for me. I feel like I have finally figured out how to do the pass (food running) which I did my first 5-6 shifts but now I am almost re-learning everything as a server. I forget to re-fill wine glasses, I forget to remove the salt and pepper after people are finished eating, I forget to call away their main courses after they've eaten their entrees (what we refer to as appetizers). I'm sure that after a few more serving shifts this will all come easier but yesterday I stumbled through most of it. And, I was answering most menu questions for the first time, also lots of stumbling. By the end of the night I had gotten my little menu introduction down much better, I started to figure out what regular questions people have about the menu, and I wasn't so terribly awkward with my replies. I have also learned what I need to start studying about the menu since I know what people are going to ask. This, I would say, is something I've always struggled with. It's hard for me to just memorize the menu and be ready to go. I need to have people ask me questions, and stumble through them, to realize what I really don't know and how I can best explain it to someone in a way that makes sense.

Anyways, I'm hopeful about the job and how it will go, I just need to watch my blunt-ness, be a good authentic, and keep studying the menu and learning about the food and wine!

That's all for now. Going to work in about 1.5 hours for another day. Wish me luck, send me positive thoughts, and I am sending warm thoughts home to you all.

Best!