Adam Olsen: Relationships are as critical to success in the restaurant business as they are in politics
I cannot sit in a banquet hall surrounded by un-bussed tables. When the
plates are stacking up and dirty utensils litter the linens, my training in The
Dining Room Restaurant at the Butchart Gardens kicks in.
Table management is important.
Adam Olsen ... it's about serving |
I'm thankful for my deep roots serving the public, it started in my 20's
as a waiter. In many ways, that's the way I still see myself. The communication
skills and techniques that I learned in the restaurant business are still the
butter on my bread.
The days toiling "in the weeds" when our restaurant got hit
with a rush taught me how to manage a mass of information and expectations.
Working through pressure has certainly come in handy in my current job, and
there are striking similarities between walking up to the doorstep of a
complete stranger, and a new table to serve. You never know what you are going
to get, so you quickly learn how to read body language and other non-verbal
communication cues.
Always thank the cooks!
Relationships are as critical to success in the restaurant business as
they are in politics. It's not just the relationship the guests that is
important, you have to maintain the internal ones as well. The manager
organizes the schedule and decides who gets the best shifts. The best shifts
equal the potential for big tips. Supervisors organize the front of the house,
and they determine who get the best sections. Hosts organize the guests, and
they determine who sits in what section and when. Bus staff help manage the
quality of the experience. And, that is just at the front of the house.
The kitchen is a whole other world. I have seen many waiters fail
because they did not understand the cooks, and that their relationship with the
cooks will make or break them.
It is easy, and lazy, for a waiter to blame the cooks. No doubt lazy and
careless cooks produce poor quality food which requires more work out front.
But look after the cooks and they look after you! Same goes for the dish pit. I
started in the dish pit, and I know that nothing happens in a restaurant
without the dishwasher ... and there should be no one in the restaurant who is
too important to roll up their sleeves and wash the dishes.
In my time in the restaurant industry, I always worked to break down the
hierarchy. Same for politics.
It is easy for an elected official to let their achievement go their
head. The same goes for a waiter. Success comes from a confluence of energies
working together toward a common goal.
Each role is as important as the other, and just one part of the whole
operation.
It is true that I get the honour of standing in the Chamber, under the
lights and in front of the camera.
I
am one of 87 people in British Columbia who get to speak in the people's house (BC Legislature).
But that honour is due to the hard work and dedication of hundreds of people
who are never seen.
Do the groundwork!
So, when I walk up to a neatly set table, and I begin the process of the
next dining experience, I know I have done the groundwork. I know that I am
working the good shifts and in the good section.
I know that the hosts are selecting the good guests and spacing them
with enough time in between to give me a chance. The bussers are working my
section hard because I respect them and I show it. And, I can rely on the food
prepared for my section to be fresh and the details and presentation to be
first rate.
So, if you see me clearing plates it is partly because I cannot sit and
look at an un-bussed table and partly because I learned in my time as a waiter
that success comes from us all being willing to do whatever is needed.
Adam Olsen ... is a Green
Party Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for Saanich North
and the Islands.
Born in Victoria, BC in 1976, Adam has lived,
worked and played his entire life on the Saanich Peninsula. He is a member of
Tsartlip First Nation (W̱JOȽEȽP), where he
and his wife, Emily, are raising their two children, Silas and Ella.
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