This is a genuine question regarding this type of work (my work) and perhaps generally the structure surrounding it. I feel like I am being asked for too much, for the kind of work that I do. This is probably a bit long so I've highlighted relevant bits if you don't feel like reading the whole thing because any opinion or advice here is much appreciated. Really hope I don't sound like a spoiled brat. It's a little bit of a rant, I do take into consideration all circumstancial factors involved in work that aren't just about previous experience/knowledge, demand/supply and pay, as well as work outside working hours.
Would like to say that I myself don't see my job as a career, although many people make excellent careers out of it and I, now more than ever appreciate the work that goes into it and before, during and after the obvious tasks.
I work in a 'boutique' cocktail bar, one of maybe two or three of its kind, if that, in a small town in England. I completed a one week long course in 2016 on cocktail-making and bartending work, so I could have some background knowledge. My manager, upon hiring me, during the interview said that he called me because it's hard to find this type of specified labour in this town, and background knowledge would be really helpful. Last week he called me out on not having memorised all our cocktails, since I've been working for him every weekend for about 12 weeks now. We have 79 cocktails, which alone I find reasonable to not have memorised in 24 days of work, given there are also bottle names I've been memorising, soft drinks brands, small selection of beer and wines, learning the colour codes for the purees and juice standardized bottles that sit in the bar, as well as any other relevant thing that I need to know to work in this particular environment, such as routine cleaning, products for cleaning, the nightclub's lightnining system (it's been three weeks I've worked alone in our nightclub room and it is honestly a bitch to catch) and so on. I get paid a minimum wage, and so do the waitresses/barback and other bartenders, whenever there is one. We hold about 100-150 people a night and there is usually 2, maybe 3 bartenders and 1-2 barbacks for the night, not including our manager. It's very heavy for whoever's working and we're always understaffed. The only people that earn more are the bouncers, manager (there is only 1 of him) and this one bartender who has about 20 years experience, so kudos to him i guess. He's a special little butterfly who can make hearts with lemon peel and place it on top of cocktails so I don't compare my work to his.
My issue isn't just 'is this something I should/can say no to'. So the unnamed company I work for (literally, does not have a name, just individual establishment names) owns these four places: the bar, vintage pub in town, hipster pub across the street from vintage pub and a small craft burger place. The manager is some sort of regional manager and manages all four, with a few managers underneath him for each establishment, however not the bar, where it's only him.
I work with two other girls. They're both 18 and just arrived in the UK from eastern Europe last September, and this is their first job*.* I asked them how come they worked there, you know, really late mornings kind of place for them to walk so long to get home, and they said it was 'literally the only place that would hire us, since it's our first job and we have no experience at all'. Sometimes I am asked to run to help out at the pubs, once having arrived and my manager said 'so, it's just you and me today. Everyone else called in sick' and it was literally me, him and the chef in a medium sized pub where I was running around serving tables, serving at the bar, taking takeaways from the kitchen and taking delivery orders. Also I ran off to help with 2 hours notice, so I would say I'm a pretty ok worker. I'm also aware that people my age (early 20s) don't often earn more than a minimum in the UK. We're all on zero hour contracts, and, actually, only one week ago my boss gave me PAPERS for my job, I was getting paid in cash before because he forgot, even though I reminded him a few times. So I don't even have a written contract yet, only a verbal one from our interview. Furthermore, last week when he called me out on not knowing everything, the conversation went a little like this
''You need to know all cocktails. How long have you been working here? 12 weeks? You need to remember them''
''I know I know, sorry, but honestly, they're 79 cocktails...''
''YES and SO WHAT? That isn't a lot. You're studying to be a lawyer, right? How to you memorise cases?''
(the truth is, I don't, I just peform mildly at exams when I don't have a sheet to look up what I need)
''well, it's different context, there's a history, there are more things about them than just a formula. I feel like this is more like a physics thing, formulaic, it's different to cases in general''
(angrily) ''no, they all have a history! It's the same. You have to learn it, we can make up some stories for each of them. It's a 2 week thing, you should have learned in two weeks! it's really not that hard**, just write them down, ten times** each and you'll remember. Remember how you said at your previous job you were hired to be in the bar but they kept putting you on the floor? You need to show how much you want to me on the bar! you need to learn all cocktails!''
Honestly never before I felt so incompetent, 79 formulas in two weeks really is an amazing feat but for me it isn't realistic to spend time during the week writing down cocktails, memorising them for a job that, although I like more than my previous one, only pays a minimum wage. In my interview I was promised a £7.50 increase if I took their 'masterclasses'. So I did, and was asked to work instead. For most of it, we didn't have costumers, but it wasn't really a masterclass, just a tasting session with a group of 6 people, they made different flavour mojitos, cosmos and drank them all afterwards. Anyhow, I didn't get a pay increase after watching that. I showed up for work during days I don't work with two hours notice to cover a shift in the bar and restaurant at the pub, because no one had shown up. My point is, although I rely reavily on the money I make at this job, I am at full understanding that generally, a lot of the time a bartending job does not require much experience, is a low paid job at starters and I am an easily replaceable pawn for the people above me, so I do not expect a pay rise. However, after being promised the perspective of one, it is hard not to look at the work and think 'this is the kind of thing that should be important to my manager too' like staying as late as he needs (6am?) cleaning up the place, chasing customers who decide not to pay (we have a bouncer for these situations) upselling, trying to impress customers with 'did you know an Old Fashioned used to be made with soda in the 20th century?' stories and always always being available to work during the 5 to probable 10 or 12 hours that I'll be working, not in the last 12 weeks having been allowed a break. Generally think my manager is a decent person and respect him, but I guess my point here is although this job is usually low experience required, easily replaceable worker, typical minimum wage, it does require some sort of experience AND knowledge, as well as language; I imagine an unskilled person or non-fluent immigrant would not be able to do it compared to other low paid jobs. Seems to me that bartending can be like this but also a career where people earn more and subsequentially are willing (and required to) spend their non-working hours getting better at their work, am I wrong? However, for the amount of money and physical labour I do at the end of the day (worth nothing I had a somewhat serious injury, slipping on an ice cube at our emergency exit stairs, hit my back, had a CT scan and have a very bad shoulder/arm/neck muscle injury that hasn't healed as of 5 weeks ago, where my arm gets all weak and I can't lift anything heavier than a book, I get all shaky, very painful [prescribed codeine kind of painful] and impacted a lot on work that I however kept doing ''because we're understaffed'') I would think that I could work on anything else that pays the same, such as potwash (which I've done and really liked) some cleaning jobs, back to pub bartending, uber. Most weeks I like working in a bar but I cannot entertain the idea of using time I'm not being paid for, towards being better at this job, not because I'm lazy, simply don't want to because there are better uses for my time (ie my university work, if I am doing any work at all), and being better at my job will only help the place make more money, perhaps my boss, and definitely the owner of the establishment. I, however, may get a few more tips (not much, it's the UK after all. . Also will not get put to work as a waitress since our waitresses have said they have no interest in serving any drinks, and in fact said they don't know how to serve spirits/mixer drinks. I really like this job because it is honestly so close to home I can walk and personally I enjoy later starts, although those haven't been happening much lately.
In conclusion, I asked myself these questions to decide if I'm being unreasonable
Is bartending a low paid job? Yes. Can it be a career and pay more than a mininum wage (subsequently implying extra work on being better at it, afterall it is a career choice if one chooses) yes. Are the waitresses I work with, who never had a job before, therefore no experience or prior knowledge required, being paid the same? They are. Is there more demand for bartending vs waiting tables in a bar/this bar? Yes. Will this job ever give me a raise, given the reasons I noted in the paragraph above? Probably not. Therefore, is it unreasonable for me to not entertain my manager's request and spend non-paid time learning (therefore suggesting a higher effort job) things to become better? No. I came to the conclusion a raise was wildly outside the realm of my perspective at this place after working at our other establishments, putting myself available for work right after coming out of the hospital due to an injury that took place at work and sitting through our bar's masterclass (one which I was told would lead to an increase in pay) also the fact I do not have a written contract with my manager and he paid me cash for the first 12 weeks. Am i being reasonable?
Overall I've been thinking about (in theory at least) jobs in relation to supply/demand, experience or knowledge/lack of it and its relation to pay and committment to work after working hours. Thoughts, observations or advice on my specific situation would really appreciated.
TL;DR: I'm a bartender on weekends in a busy bar and my boss very assertively said I had to memorise all our cocktails, and empty-threatened putting me to work as a waitress, implying I wasn't putting enough effort for not learning all drinks. I earn a minimum wage, have attended short call shifts in pubs he manages during the week for the only other job other than his and the chef's that night, always stay until we clean last table usually about 4/5/6am, often do 10 hour shifts without breaks. I go to university and help out my dad, and I won't earn more for learning these drinks. I do more than the bare minimum always with a smile on my face which I think is enough (and the 20 something cocktails I know) and if I were to spend my time writing down thing memorising cocktails only my boss and the company would benefit, since I do not plan to make a career in working in bars. Am I being unreasonable, taking into account the context for low/high paid jobs, supply and demand, jobs that require experience/knowledge and is bartending one of these jobs, or also a general low paid job, unless you want to make a career of it, where you can get replaced like a pawn?
usa jobs resume
usa hotel jobs
usajobs
usa jobs federal government
usa job in ksa
usa jobs
usa jobs login
usa jobs gov
usajobs.gov
www.usajobs.gov
usajobs.com
usajobs
usajobs.gov official
Aucun commentaire: