I’m going to write a book about ketchup. What do we do with the ketchup? I have been exposed to so many “ketchup policies” in my restaurant career. In the restaurant I manage now, I have changed the “ketchup policy” several times for one reason or another. Recently, we went with a red plastic bottle, and therefore, unlike the glass bottle, you cannot see the ketchup inside. Believe it or not, this changes everything. I had to rewrite the whole policy. It is posted above the ketchup bag, plain and simple. However, it remains confusing, particularly in Door County where most of the staff come from other countries and don’t know what a straw is. They have taught me so much about so much. I listen well and I adapt to what I learn.
The crux of the problem concerning the ketchup is that you cannot put new ketchup on top of old ketchup. The table runs low at some point during the day and it looks messy and gross, not very appetizing. We need to get the old ketchup out and the new ketchup in. So……what is considered too low? Is marrying ketchup ok? What the heck is “marrying” the ketchup? How do we know which ketchup has been “married” when all the bottles are now full? What to do with the old, but not bad ketchup only the bottle looked icky? How do we not make a complete mess? Anyone who has worked in a restaurant understands this…and my need to create a “ketchup policy”. The team must work together and maintain consistency by following the policy which has been proven to work.
There are ways of doing things that have been found to work best. They become “policies”….not hard fast….but they are the rules nonetheless. It is a must especially when you have a short term, new staff every season. Without the rules, the guidance, it is bedlam, for real. This is not to say that if a new employee comes up with a new idea, I won’t listen. It’s kind of like when everyone is sitting at the kitchen table working on a puzzle and you’re trying to find that “one piece” and then your sister walks up, looks down, and grabs it….and gets the satisfaction of putting it in the spot. It’s sort of annoying, but then you do have the piece which was the goal after all. I am aware of this phenomenon so I always listen to suggestions and make changes. The current “coffee policy” is not mine....nor is the “dessert tray”. I don’t care, it works.
However, there is often that one new employee, and they are usually above average or better, who comes along who “thinks” they know everything before they know anything. You cannot train them until they are humbled. They get in their own way. I find it sad because I feel that low self esteem is quite often the issue, and as I said, they have amazing potential. They are often more skilled than I ever was at this business. Their “need to prove” what I already know about them hinders their being all that they can be. If I am not able to help them with this feeling of low self esteem and not being enough, no one will like them. They will be the outcast. So the challenge is….how do you humble someone and build them up at the same time? How do I help them claim their leadership in a humble way without losing their boldness? How do I bring out the team champion in them?
I know about this because I have been there….gone into a new situation, felt scared and uncomfortable, and even when I knew I was good enough, I still felt like I had to prove it. Prove my right to be there….my right to be alive, my right to be a part of the human race. It is a juxtaposition when the self esteem in your heart…the God within your heart…the excellence in you…does not match what is chattering around up in your head. The feeling that I am not good enough, that I am strange, that people won’t like me…all the noise I hear when I walk into someplace new. It helps if I don’t “try” so hard and just be…breathe…listen….take it all in…I do not feel the same sense of urgency to bring resolve to the situation the minute I get there anymore….to feel instant love. I think it would be strange if I did. This lesson applies to many areas of my life. I can feel peace even amidst the jitters….if I breathe. It is funny how easily I forget what helps me most. I don’t know what you would call it when I’m not breathing…..gasping? I breathe and I begin Honoring My Truth!
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