r/KitchenConfidential • u/straingenius • Aug 22 '26
Discussion We close at 9.
Yes, I shoved em all in one pan respectively.
295
u/pabbyninja Aug 22 '26
16 top, entrees were rang in at 8:45/46, meaning that if they were straight fire that table has definitely been sitting there for a few minutes and if they had apps and drinks before hand that table could have been there for a while by this time. I can understand being frustrated, but it doesn’t seem that far off.
This whole “no food a half hour before close” is something that is definitely newer to me, I don’t mind servers asking the last tables if they’re having desert as their entrees are being dropped, but never do you just shut down before close.
Edit: manager and been in service industry 30 years.
61
u/ArtoriasoftheAss Aug 22 '26
It was a decade ago now, but when I worked restaurants in New Orleans, closing time on the door was really when we stopped seating.
16
u/greenpicklewater Aug 22 '26
This seems a more graceful solution. Staff expectations are set with no surprises, and customers can walk in during business hours and be served even 10 minutes before close.
9
u/BellStriking5132 Aug 22 '26
This is how every restaurant I’ve worked in or patronized has operated all across the USA.
→ More replies (1)9
u/La_Maraviglia Aug 23 '26
Yeah this “stop taking orders 30 mins before close” is some whiny hack line dog shit lol
21
u/igotpancakemix69 15+ Years Aug 22 '26
Every restaurant I've worked in always had the same rule "doors close at 10pm. If a customer walked in at 9:59, we couldn't deny"
→ More replies (3)6
u/sweetplantveal Aug 22 '26
I think it's because the kitchen close takes a while with all the cleaning. Everywhere I've work is constantly trying to edge up the time and 'cheat' on things they can break down. It's how cooks are.
This post is frustrating though. You should know about that table from FOH and that they're ordering entrees. A lot of people saying 'that sounds good for me too' and only one easy mod so you can batch cook.
Restaurants serve food while they're open. You (hopefully) get a share of the >20% tip on this $400 check. It's the job.
1.3k
u/ginger_qc F1exican Did Chive-11 Aug 22 '26
I'm a 20 year vet of the industry, tho I don't work in restaurants anymore, and it definitely took me at least 10 years to rid myself of this mentality.
Time on the screen says 8:51, ticket time says 5:16, which means they put that order in at 8:45. If you close at 9, why are you complaining about cooking food before you're closed? If you want to close at 8:45 then don't complain when you get a ticket at 8:30, like where does it end?
I understand the frustration but also think about what your job is. Those people made a choice to come to your place, the fact that they are there means you get paid. If you serve up slop or stop serving before you close, and people stop coming, and your hours get cut, and you can't pay your bills, is that preferable?
220
u/doodleysquat Aug 22 '26
Also, with the number of same orders compared to the number of people, it looks like a party with a limited menu. Like they booked the side room and had a schedule based on a presentation or something.
231
u/ginger_qc F1exican Did Chive-11 Aug 22 '26
16 top, 8:30 reservation, ain't no way the kitchen didn't know about this order.
56
u/CapricornusSage Aug 22 '26
you’d be surprised
147
u/ginger_qc F1exican Did Chive-11 Aug 22 '26
Still, they close at 9. "But I don't wanna make food right before close"
Then go fucking work at a bank like damn
I work in operations now for a delivery company, we have a route that travels 3 hours before it hits the first stop. I had a driver complain about the route one day, "Why I gotta drive so far to hit my first stop?" Like your job is literally to drive cuz
Same thing here. Cook complains about doing his job during normal hours of operation. This is literally what you signed up for, whether the communication from FOH is there or not, which is an entirely separate issue imo
34
u/Littlewolf2225 Aug 22 '26
I mean hell, when I was in the industry we bitched up a storm when we got a last minute order. "oh fuck this guy! He wants a well done steak and ordered it literally seconds before closing!" type of shit. We still always did it, made sure it was just as good as the first plate, maybe even better. If other cooks didn't have anything on the ticket, they'd do what they could to help the ones who did either put out the food or pre close the line.
I just don't get the mentality. Does it suck? Yes. But just get it done and don't make such a big deal about it.
Edit: I'm saying I don't get the mentality of broadcasting it beyond the kitchen
38
u/No_Reveal_2455 Aug 22 '26
I am sort of confused about this. Why not close earlier if you want to leave at 9?
104
u/ginger_qc F1exican Did Chive-11 Aug 22 '26
That's all well and good, but if you close at 9 and complain about an 8:45 ticket, then changing the closing time to 8:30 is not solving the problem. The problem is the mentality that you don't want people to order right before close.
So if you close earlier, you'll just complain about the people ordering 15 minutes before close, no matter what time it is.
Change the way you think about it, instead of expecting people to respect the made up rule of not ordering after a certain time that you have in your head, that's earlier than the hour you close
→ More replies (10)12
u/No_Reveal_2455 Aug 22 '26
They could do something like: Last seating 8:00pm, closing 9pm. This would allow everyone time to order and eat before closing time (or at least close to it).
25
u/ginger_qc F1exican Did Chive-11 Aug 22 '26
I wholeheartedly agree, and we don't know the specifics of this scenario or this restaurants hours. I had to train this mentality out of myself and hundreds of other people in my time in restaurants, and I hate seeing it from supposedly dedicated industry folks in here.
I mean I try to avoid rolling up to places and ordering food right at close in my daily life, just because I know this attitude is pervasive, and I probably won't get the same experience I would if I go earlier, but that still saddens me
→ More replies (5)14
u/kelsobjammin Aug 22 '26
If I pulled up to a place that closes at 9 and isn’t seating me at 8pm I would never go there again
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (1)5
u/TerminalViscosity69 Aug 22 '26
Lol, you think closing crew leaves the minute the store closes? No. If you’ve got a good crew you might get home two hours later
135
u/deepfriedbutter Aug 22 '26
Only sane person in this thread. And people wonder why hospitality is dying, far too many others share the juvenile mentality of wanting to turn customers away. Like, this is the business you signed up for!
38
u/llagathaa Aug 22 '26
Service minded people are a dying breed. But, I think that’s happened as pay rates have slid and basically kitchens and FOH are a bunch of teenagers at the end of the day.
24
7
u/SleepWorth3354 Aug 22 '26
“People who will slave away for me for basic services are a dying breed! I liked it when people had to humiliate themselves for a sniff of a dollar”
→ More replies (1)3
u/East-Win7450 Aug 22 '26
exactly its crazy. Now I will admit ive pretty much only worked at popular spots in NYC so we are cranking well past close time 7 days a week. But ive seen ownership sit people at 10:15 when we close at 10 cause there is a wait everyday. Like if demand is there let's do it, the longer I work the more I get paid.
5
50
u/BigFloppyDonkyDick69 20+ Years Aug 22 '26 edited Aug 22 '26
People coming into a restaurant 30 minutes before closing is a tale as old as time. It blows my mind when people get pissed at paying customers for coming in during business hours. They keep all our lights on and if I walked in with 15 other people an hour before close and heard that the staff were upset, I'd take my 16-top and fuck right off to a restaurant that wanted it. That's a lot of revenue for the business that keeps them employed and for people to actively wish that the business they work in has less revenue is so backwards to me.
Timestamp in the top left corner is 8:51 and the order is just over 5 minutes old so it was rung in at 8:46. It probably took the server 5 minutes to take the order at the table and 3-4 minutes to ring it in which brings it back to just after 8:35 when they were ready to order.
16 people at an Italian restaurant are most likely drinking, possibly had some apps and took some time to order, so my best guess is that they had a 7:45 or 8:00 reservation which is not unreasonable at all.
As I mentioned in another comment in this thread, nobody celebrates funding cuts so why the hell are people complaining about revenue coming in?
13
u/ginger_qc F1exican Did Chive-11 Aug 22 '26
Could easily be a 4 figure ticket with drinks, apps, and desert. I'm saying I understand the mentality because I used to bitch and moan myself. Once I really committed to working in a restaurant it changed my thought process about it
15
u/Funny-ish-_-Scholar Bartender Aug 22 '26
Exactly. I had to have a sit down with another bartender because while we had tickets in the kitchen and people at the bar, they refused to pour a beer for a walk in. I had already accepted and told him “I’ll have to ask the kitchen if we are still serving food but let me get you something to drink. When I came back they said they had already pulled the drawer (with people at the bar) and in front of the guest said “we’re done.”
I comped his drink, apologized and told him my hours to come back and see me.
That bartender is no longer there.
You gotta take care of the house to pay your bills, and the house takes care of people. It’s not just food n bev, it’s hospitality. You have no idea who is walking through that door or what their life is. Just be kind. It’s not hard.
Plus, if you’re a bartender, you basically signed up for late nights
6
u/LoganToTheMainframe Aug 22 '26
Your timeline is probably conservative. A 16 top is not going to be ready to order as soon as they sit down, and you're definitely ringing in drinks first so that's going to add another 10-15 minutes to the clock right there. If you work in a restaurant and they don't do last call for kitchen or last call for drinks that means you're making food/drinks until that moment. I worked in places where we did close the kitchen 30 minutes before the bar and the cooks just started getting mad when people put in orders right before last call. It's just complaints from people who want to go home early, and there's no winning with those types.
7
u/BigFloppyDonkyDick69 20+ Years Aug 22 '26
Realistically they could have had a 7:30 reso and took their time. Saying he threw it all in one pan is disrespectful to the guests and everyone working there because that's 16 people who are likely not coming back because they got shitty food because some asshole wanted to gey home a few minutes earlier. I'm not preaching from some altruistic soapbox, I've been there and I've been that person but after 20 years, I've learned that you take care of everyone the same whether they're in mid service or at the end. That's one major way how I grew my own restaurant's revenue by 15% each year. Everyone was making great money because I was making great money and didn't flinch at raises for my staff because I could afford it. I had many people working with me for 20 years before I got out of the business and they knew if they cooked subpar food for someone 10 minutes to close, they were remaking it.
16
u/Daf2ck Aug 22 '26
My problem with the whole you close at ‘X’pm why are you mad at a ticket that came on at ‘X-10min’pm is that if you switch that to an office scenario people will immediately get it. Someone coming in 10 minutes until end of day asking for something that will take 20-30 min is an obviously ridiculous request in an office setting, but shift it to hospitality setting and you’ve got an outraged guest absolutely bewildered they didn’t get stellar service 15 minutes from close.
My go-to thought is posted hours are hours of business.. so conduct your
business within the posted hours. If you pull up for a sit-down meal 15 minutes to close then you have to be aware that you will be there well after the establishment’s posted hours of business. Some business will be ok with that, and some (because sure.. congrats you sauntered in before I locked the door) will serve you with a stank face.After people work a full shift they want to home! I don’t understand why people act like this is a crazy concept, when if they put themselves in the worker’s position they’d feel exactly the same.
→ More replies (3)8
u/ginger_qc F1exican Did Chive-11 Aug 22 '26
This is where the disconnect is for me. Again as someone who used to think the same way, and worked in the industry over 20 years. If the restaurant wants to lock the doors at the time on the door/website/whatever, and have no customers in there, then they need to stop taking tables and stop cooking at two completely different times.
But if you say "the kitchen is open until 9" and get mad about someone ordering before 9, then you don't actually take it seriously, you just want to go home earlier.
The whole problem with the argument "no tickets 15 minutes before the kitchen closes" is that you should just say "kitchen closes at 8:45." But then guess what now someone gets to be pissed that I ordered at 8:30. The logic doesn't work if you just keep going. Ok so the kitchen closes at 8:30, now we get pissed at 8:15 orders, etc.
Now if you're saying last seating at 8:30, orders in by 9, and you're getting orders after 9pm, that's one thing, but that's not the case here.
→ More replies (1)3
u/Daf2ck Aug 22 '26 edited Aug 22 '26
I agree.. there’s no perfect solution to this because you’re always going to get someone showing up 5min before whatever the posted time is. And the customer will feel like they’re in the right and the restaurant staff will understand the technicality, but still be annoyed.
I think it just requires understanding on both sides.. the customer should be considerate of the workers and understand that showing up 15min before close is obnoxious and the restaurant staff should be gracious regardless.
My personal go-to.. as a customer is no to-go food 15min before close and no sit-down meals with in 45min of close. But that’s my self-imposed rules as someone who’s worked in restaurants and retail and understands what it’s like to be an on an hourly wage with no control over policy and business hours. Ultimately, the business sets the operating hours/policy and the workers have to abide, but I think customers should be responsible/considerate as well. The “golden rule” concept.. treat others as you’d like to be treated.
I think in an office setting it’s more easily understood that a task that requires an hour’s worth of work shouldn’t be assigned 30 minutes before end of day, but shift it to hospitality and people want to debate about posted hours. A boss should know that assigning such a task without sufficient time in the work day is problematic, and customer should understand that arriving to establishment technically before close, but without sufficient time for the whole experience is also problematic.
11
u/BigRigButters Aug 22 '26
Extremely anecdotal, but the last place I worked before leaving the industry was an extremely small place - think like 8 tables. Me and the owner in the back and two servers rotating up front.
The owner would get pissy about orders like this 20 minutes before closing. First of all bro you have the power to change the policy. But the thing that drove me crazy was that this was money in his pocket, and more tips for the servers, the only person that was getting fucked over was me. And I was just happy to be getting home before midnight.
3
u/Gabe-DaBabe Aug 22 '26
I agree with this. It is what it is and that's ok. Regardless, it will slow your close down and you get paid by the hour so whatevwr.
Doesn't mean that the guests aren't entitled and inconsiderate assholes.
→ More replies (3)11
u/Messipus Aug 22 '26
Are we not allowed to vent about things that are irritating? Seriously, show me a line cook who's never rolled their eyes at a large order less than thirty minutes before close and I'll show you a liar. It's not like OP is saying they're going to spit in their food, they're just here trying to commiserate about one of the most common frustrations in the industry and people are making all kinds of character judgements about them.
→ More replies (3)4
5
u/witchspoon Aug 22 '26
AND if the order went in at 8:45 then these people can in easily 10-15 minutes before that. A 16 top takes a bit to. Get situated, given waters, drink orders taken decide on what they wanted..l did they order apps before they put the mains through? That would mean they were probably in even earlier.
Literally the business is feeding people who pay good money for a nice time out. Fucking get to cooking and shut off the bitching. And I do say this a someone who did plenty of solid time behind the line.→ More replies (36)2
u/metasploit4 Aug 22 '26
Worked in a kitchen for a while and I was always under the impression that open hours are when the grill is turned on. After close, no more orders come in and we start to clean up for the night.
If you are open, you are serving food. As a resturant, you serve food. What's the point of being open and not serving food?
→ More replies (1)
57
u/vanillyl Aug 22 '26
Can anyone translate the timestamps on the screen?
If this photo was taken at 8:51PM as per furthest top left, what do the timestamps to the left at 7:29PM with Makenna (training) and to the right above customer Loree at 5:16PM represent? Which is when the table was seated?
28
u/RemarkableMacadamia IT Aug 22 '26
The clock time is 8:51pm. Those are two tickets, and the ticket time represents how long it’s been since the order was placed.
Ticket #97 has been sitting for 7 minutes, 29 seconds, so the server put the order in at 8:43 or 8:44pm.
Ticket #94 has been sitting for 5 minutes, 16 seconds, so the server put the order in at 8:46pm.
Given that table #94 placed orders for mains at 8:46pm, I’m going to wager a guess that they were an 8:00pm reservation with apps and drinks, or an 8:30pm walk-in that FOH accepted on the condition they skipped apps and went straight to mains.
52
u/BoerInDieWoestyn Aug 22 '26
Disclaimer: I have never worked in a kitchen, I'm just here because I find it entertaining.
I don't think the time there says 7:29pm, I think it's a stopwatch counter that says "This order came in 7mins and 29 seconds ago"
That's the only way I can think this makes sense
→ More replies (10)2
u/unbelizeable1 Aug 22 '26
729 and 516 is how long ago both tickets were rang in.
I use the same system at work
2
u/vanillyl Aug 23 '26
Thank you! Idk why but not being able to figure out the timestamps was really bothering me lol, appreciate you putting me out of my misery
117
u/hopsinduo Aug 22 '26
They close at 9 or service ends at 9? If you close at 9 and staff are taking orders up till close then you have a management problem. If it's service that ends at 9 then you just have to suck it up and think about it as more money.
9
u/reddiwhip999 Aug 22 '26
Ticket says 5:16. What am I missing?
Oh, also, Jesus, mgmt, would it hurt you to program POS so all the same items are grouped together with an item count?
4 Carbonara (S1, S4, S7, S15)
And so on....
225
u/mighthaveabitlater Aug 22 '26
I mean, FOH shouldn't have sat the table, but they did, so hopefully you did as good of a job on the order as you would have on any other
53
u/Pretend-Function-133 Aug 22 '26
Probably sitting since 7
41
5
40
u/mighthaveabitlater Aug 22 '26
Again on foh, should have taken the order sooner, it's not the customers fault they are still paying full price, give them what they are paying for.
53
u/Same-Platypus1941 Chive-11 Was an Inside Job Aug 22 '26
If you close at nine people can be seated up until 9, don’t know what y’all are getting upset about.
12
u/two_pump_warrior Aug 22 '26
It’s just people that want to close down early and run some bullshit quarter of a station for 30 minutes. I get it, I wanted to leave too but I never found it worth the trouble.
7
u/mighthaveabitlater Aug 22 '26
Close time can mean different things, where I'm from, a venue will have a close time, and a time the kitchen closes, I'm assuming op was talking about the time the venue closes, where I'm from you wouldn't sit a table right before close, because the kitchen would have closed a bit earlier
10
u/Rusty_Tap Aug 22 '26
Mm typically we have a kitchen close time and then a bar close time so people can eat, kitchen can clean and nobody is rushed out of the building before they've finished.
Kitchen close time is irrelevant for the ordering of desserts if you're already in the building eating beforehand.
We take food orders right up until kitchen close.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (1)4
u/tonicella_lineata Chive LOYALIST Aug 22 '26
Nah, if you close at 9 you should be able to actually start closing up the shop at 9. Every other business works that way - once it's closing time, people need to start leaving. Why should restaurants be an exception?
10
u/Surface_Detail Aug 22 '26
Nah, not every other business. Bars have last orders twenty minutes before close. They ring a nice little bell and everything.
26
u/NothingReallyAndYou Aug 22 '26
Any retail job I've ever had made us wait until the last customer was finished and had left the store before we were allowed to start closing up. That could be an hour or more past closing time for some places.
8
u/mighthaveabitlater Aug 22 '26
Good front of house know how to wrap up a table and get them out without them feeling rushed
3
u/Intrepid-Molasses842 Aug 22 '26
Every retail places starts spamming “we close in x, please make your way to the checkout line” so that’s bs. You might have to wait for them, however the business isn’t being accepting of their tardiness. They want them out. A big part of the difference is probably due to pay. If restaurants paid their FOH staff hourly I bet they’d be less willing to have a single table there past close.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (1)4
u/tonicella_lineata Chive LOYALIST Aug 22 '26
I've worked one retail place that did that, and several others where we were encouraged to start doing whatever closing tasks we could while letting folks know we were closed and they needed to finish up. Obviously, I've never worked anywhere where we physically removed customers or anything like that, but I have worked one place where we fully refused sales after close, too. Most customers understand the idea that closing time means closing time, even if some of them are entitled jerks, and I've found the same to be true in the restaurants I've worked at. If management is willing to set boundaries like doing the last seating half an hour before close, and informing folks what time you actually close, it's not usually difficult to close up on time! People working any kind of shift work should be able to know about what time they'll get to leave, with exceptions being exceptions and not the rule.
14
u/ginger_qc F1exican Did Chive-11 Aug 22 '26
The restaurant literally sets the hours, this unwritten rule of not being allowed to order food from a restaurant while they're OPEN is so wild to me.
This mentality is cancer, like yeah we're open till 9 but if you order at 8:45 I'm giving you shitty food because I don't like that you ordered so close to closing.
If you wanna work at every other business, go work at any of those other businesses. If you want to serve people delicious food when they're hungry, and make a choice to come to your establishment, that's a compliment to your skills and you're abusing their patronage by not providing the same experience as someone who ordered 30 minutes earlier
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (2)7
u/CantaloupeAsleep502 Aug 22 '26
Restaurants are an exception in soooo many other ways, this is just how it works. If you wanted to start closing at 9, last service would be like 730 lol.
7
u/tonicella_lineata Chive LOYALIST Aug 22 '26 edited Aug 22 '26
I literally grew up in restaurants, and have worked in plenty of them myself. Having your last seating a half hour before close is fine for closing up on time in 99% of situations. Of course, you'll occasionally get entitled assholes who want to camp way past close, and how you handle that mostly comes down to management. But it's not actually difficult to give restaurant employees as consistent a schedule as, say, retail employees - some of y'all just have shitty bosses.
Edit: And yeah, some retail bosses are shitty, too. But I've also worked plenty of retail jobs, and I've seen a lot more retail stores that at least try to respect their employees' time, even though it absolutely can be done in restaurants, too.
38
35
u/witchspoon Aug 22 '26
Close at 9 means the doors close, so no incoming customers at 9. Buckle in and keep cooking.
4
u/yooston Aug 22 '26
Exactly I feel like this is such a simple system. The standard should be the time a restaurant closes as the last time you can be seated.
2
u/ThetaGrim Aug 23 '26
Right. Close at 9 but as a customer I have to guess how long the kitchen is going to take so I have to guess if I'll be served if come at 830? They should just put the last call time, would make restaurant times so much easier for patrons.
→ More replies (1)
32
u/CaptainHolt43 Aug 22 '26
I'm always confused at the amount of people in the comment section that have never worked in a kitchen
6
u/dwebste21 Aug 22 '26
This always annoyed me about the restaurant business. Not the person coming in before closing, but the amount of bitching that comes from pretty much everyone in the kitchen. You take tables until a certain time. It’s as simple as that.
5
6
u/TougeGh0st 10+ Years Aug 23 '26
God I cant believe fucking Makenna is ordering shrimp scampi at 8:51. The audacity!
56
u/Shot_Revolution8828 Aug 22 '26
Do you close at 9 or stop seating at 9? Just remember slow restaurants dont give raises.
5
u/scj1091 Aug 22 '26
Yup, this. My favorite local restaurant closed for the same reason it was my favorite - never a crowd.
5
u/MTG_OG_VA Aug 22 '26
Easy 15 top. 8 of them are bolognese or carbonara. You can knock those duplicates out in one big shot. 15 all ordering something different would suck. This isn’t bad
4
u/xloyalbetrayerx Aug 23 '26
I don’t even like 15 people… who the fuck finds 15 other people to eat with that late?
23
8
u/buffalobill41 Aug 22 '26
I get it but that's the job. None of these solutions make sense they just move the goalposts.
4
u/Existential_Sprinkle Aug 22 '26
I always ask at some point on my first day when we stop taking orders to clear things up and manage my expectations and work flow
7
7
47
u/HugeLeaves Aug 22 '26
I'll never understand people that rock up right before close and do this. We just got a one star review at my restaurant because somebody showed up ten minutes before close and we turned them away (restaurant I work at has a two month wait list, we rarely allow walk-ins)
10
u/witchspoon Aug 22 '26
This table was probably seated at 830 plenty of time to get this order in. Usually “close” Is doors close not kitchen close.
28
u/mighthaveabitlater Aug 22 '26
Turned them away though so that's the right way to do it
16
u/HugeLeaves Aug 22 '26
Of course, our food speaks for itself. If they are going to leave us a one star review for that then it isn't the kind of guest we want to deal with.
6
u/mighthaveabitlater Aug 22 '26
Exactly, usually can get those nonsense reviews taken down by Google I've found
4
u/sniper-no_sniping Aug 22 '26
I wouldn’t do it but you can’t put it past the public. And the restaurant managers I’ve worked under always said that if the hours say we are open until 9pm, then that’s what we should expect and accommodate.
I sometimes see restaurants that make note of the last seating they will do, which I think is the best way to avoid issues like this. Something like:
Brunch 10 AM - 3 PM (last seating 2PM)
Dinner 5 PM - 10 PM (last seating 9:30pm)31
u/Canadianingermany Aug 22 '26
I'll never understand not understanding this.
We take up to 50 pounds.
Its 47 pounds
What the fuck, that is so close to the limit.
If service is until 9 people can order until 9:00. most people interpret this as last order time.
17
→ More replies (7)1
u/No_Step9082 Aug 22 '26
if service is until 9, I would interpret that as "I should be done eating and ready to pay at 9"
→ More replies (7)→ More replies (2)2
u/AffectionateWay5783 Aug 22 '26
The hours are the hours. If you need more time to close up then schedule for it. My place is open til 11 7 days a week and yeah the 10:55 orders suck but we plan around that.
6
u/Ghost_Runner3000 Aug 23 '26
So one table ordered food off the menu during business hours…what exactly is there to discuss?
3
u/LikeToLook805 Aug 22 '26
Ouch.
I consider myself very fortunate that the place I work stops seating new guests a half hour before our posted closing time and announces last call for new orders not long after that.
3
u/kibbrew Aug 22 '26
I hated this when I worked in restaurants...my last gig I was usually the main closer, meaning I'd have to do dishes and other side work etc. Obviously start sidework early but this would set me back at least like an hour lol. All the servers finally unloading and deconstructing their shit. Things pile up fast as hell
3
u/unbelizeable1 Aug 22 '26
Ok, this rant aside. Who else thinks the new Toast look is ugly af.
Came into work yesterday and was jump scared by that shit lol
3
9
u/Nostrils Aug 22 '26
Kitchen close times and restaurant close times are different, this may be an unpopular stance but if the kitchen is open until 9:00 then it needs to be able to accept orders until 9:00.
I used to work at a hotel and room service ran until 10:30, we could be mopped and ready to go but if an order came in at 10:29 we’d be making it…groaning but doing it.
6
u/CwispyWhiskey Aug 22 '26
I had a really shitty day at work, and I had a specific craving, so I rushed to the place and I knew I was an asshole but I tipped well and apologized profusely lol. That’s the only time I have ever been “that guy”
5
u/BigPandaCloud Aug 22 '26
8:30 is pre close. Start shutting things down and cleaning so that by 9 you can actually take down the line and close. People get annoyed because they might have to reopen a station that was slow for the day and they thought was safe to close.
As a former dish I would get bombarded with dishes from the line and big ass sandwich boards at close. Then i would have to bus the tables, clean the last of the dishes, and vacuum.
My question is if doors close at 9 then at what time do you kick out the 16 top you sat before close? They need time to eat right? With that many people there going to be chopping it up for like an hour. I still need to vacuum the floor and clean whatever dishes they have. Then im going to have to explain to management why it took so long to close while I listen to them bitch about labor costs.
14
u/UofMtigers2014 Aug 22 '26
Complaining about a ticket put in 15 minutes before closing time at a restaurant that closes at 11 is understandable. It’s far outside the normal dinner hours.
9pm? Give me a break.
3
u/DestinedAscension123 Aug 22 '26
Such an early close this complaint is ridiculous.
2
u/UofMtigers2014 Aug 22 '26
Last job was in an entertainment district. 1am close Sun-Thu and 3am Fri-Sat. Pre-COVID that was 3am and 5am. We sat until 15 min pre-close. Orders in by closing time.
9
u/Unusualshrub003 Aug 22 '26
I never understood why the food service industry is the only one that doesn’t stick to closing times.
If I walk into a store at ten minutes til close, I have ten minutes to get my shit and check out. I don’t have an hour to shop because I came in before closing. I can’t show up at the bank and apply for a mortgage loan at 4:55pm. Restaurants should be the same way.
→ More replies (7)4
u/FinnTheArt1st Aug 22 '26 edited Aug 22 '26
i think it’s largely because other stores factor in closing time to leave time. If staples closes at 10pm, me coming in to buy a pack of highlighters at 9:55 doesn’t impact them leaving in the slightest. But at a restaurant, and especially if say you’re the only closer, a 16 top could bottleneck you into staying an extra hour then planned, closing the kitchen line.
My opinion is it’s more money, but sometimes money doesn’t matter if you’re already working a 11+ hour shift. But yeah that’s the obvious difference.
10
7
u/HatsandCoats Ex-Food Service Aug 22 '26 edited Aug 22 '26
Is this a retirement home? We’re talking pasta with premade sauces and pizza. If you’re open and serving until 9, this is nbd. Want to be a pro? 8:51 is the time to do it. This is why you’re there. If I heard my employee complain about this, I’d take them aside and ask them why they’re choosing to be here.
8
u/BigFloppyDonkyDick69 20+ Years Aug 22 '26
For those confused
5
u/julias-winston Aug 22 '26
Thank you. On the other side in the yellow it says 5:16. I was confused, now that you mention it!
2
2
6
u/tcarnie Aug 22 '26
lol yea we know you’re mad you had to do your job.
And “shoved them em all in one pan” is nothing to brag about.
L post.
5
5
u/foul_tarnished_37 Aug 22 '26
Dunno why everyone is complaining about OP. The party isn’t necessarily wrong, but no matter what, yeah it sucks getting a big order when you think you’re just about ready to wrap up. It especially sucks after a long day.
→ More replies (1)
2
2
u/ResolutionHonest666 Aug 22 '26
last orders taken at…whatever set time. Like how a bartender calls last call
2
u/Short_Possibility_84 Aug 22 '26
Honestly I think it really depends on how the servers and cooks are scheduled! If they’re scheduled to leave at 9 then of course I can see why it would be annoying and frustrating to have to make orders at 8:55 and I do know some fast food places that operate this way. They’ll schedule people to closing and get upset about overtime and still take orders until like 15 minutes before closing.
However, If they’re scheduled to stay some time then I see how it would be best to accommodate especially if it’s a smaller restaurant!
But overall it’s a dick move on the customers end especially for a large party and I would hate to accommodate them because customers tend to get used to certain treatment and build those habits but money is money I guess!
2
4
5
u/JerrysFingerChili Aug 22 '26
i see no issue. the kitchen is open for another 9 minutes. cooks like you give us a bad name. be better, not lazy
2
u/-FalseProfessor- Bartender Aug 22 '26
Oh no, you got tickets when you are still taking tickets. Whatever shall you do?
4
4
u/AgressivleyAverag Aug 22 '26
The comments here are fuckin wild. Guess it depends on your place, my place closes at 9, with a late night menu implemented at 8:30. No food orders after 9. If one of my servers sat and took full food orders for 16 people 15 mins before were set to close, I’d be having angry words with them. If they order off the late night menu then it’s whatever because those dishes are designed to be quick with minimal mess. 16 things of pasta 15 mins before close is a fucking nightmare lmao
→ More replies (9)
3
u/dwebste21 Aug 22 '26
This always annoyed me about the restaurant business. Not the person coming in before closing, but the amount of bitching that comes from pretty much everyone in the kitchen. You take tables until a certain time. It’s as simple as that.
7
13
3
u/Comfortable-Fuel6343 10+ Years Aug 22 '26
"Man we just shut all that shit down! You the servers already have half this shit stashed in your bags!"
3
u/propjoesclocks Aug 22 '26
If you’re open you’re open and if you’re closed you’re closed.
If you did last seating at 8:30 and someone came in at 8:21 you’d still complain.
A restaurant is a business and you sell food for money
3
u/draizetrain Aug 22 '26
Your kitchen is open til 9. You take orders til 9. Don’t want to do that? Take last orders at a set time
3
4
u/Riotroom 20+ Years Aug 22 '26
Just make the pasta bruh, front doors are open. It's just pasta not heart surgery.
4
3
u/RepulsiveMail4476 Aug 22 '26
Most of the comments here are definitely from people in the industry. /s
2.3k
u/Intelligent_Pen656 Aug 22 '26
The common sense solution is to have last service at 8:30.