No Call, No Show
I used to be a waitress. And a hostess. Always front of the house. Although I dated the back of the house with some frequency. You'd think they'd cook for you more, really. Turns out, they mostly have problems with controlled substances. Mostly.
Working in a restaurant, like working all jobs, involves learning new terminology. Some is easy, like "order up" or "two-top." Others are a bit more obscure. Like "in the weeds." After being in the weeds a time or two, I technically knew what was involved in getting there, but I didn't really get the origin of the phrase until after I got out of the business. "In the weeds" is like getting stuck in a field of high, high, high grass and never ever being able to see your way out of it. The most frequent cause of getting into the weeds where I worked was having to hand-scoop Ben & Jerry's Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz Buzz ice cream into individual bowls for a six-top, as plates of roast beef and turkey and whipped potatoes sat baking under the lights and whatever kitchen Nazi was working as expeditor began screaming at you to pick up your orders.
Good times, I'll tell you. No wonder I went to grad school.
Anyway, another restaurant term is "no call, no show." This, as you might be able to tell, is a scheduling term and may very well be used in other industries. No call, no show usually occurred the day after a big party--staff Christmas parties (always in January), 4th of July, a random 3 a.m. afterparty--that sort of thing. No call, no show is when someone on the schedule didn't show up and never called in to say they'd be late or needed cover.
No call, no show didn't happen too often. It usually meant that someone had either gotten into a car wreck, been arrested, or quit. And, if none of those things were true, a no call, no show certainly meant a firing was imminent. It is the ultimate faux pas--the failure to help your fellow staff by letting them know that you are too hung over to make it in to close the night, thereby forcing someone to work a double, cursing your name the entire night.
I've been enduring a lot of no call, no show lately. Not at work, but personally. A lot of people have been taking the initial time to make it on the schedule. Buying drinks, asking for phone numbers, making an occasional follow-up call. But then. No call, no show.
I'm beginning to take it personally. Do I not give them the shifts they want? Are the benefits that...unattractive? Are they interviewing elsewhere? To be honest, yes, they probably are interviewing elsewhere. But then, I'm doing my share of interviews, too, in order to fill the position, so I can't fault them there.
However, the courtesey of a phone call is not to be overrated. It will certainly save on the cursing. And may even get you the closing shift in the good section, if you're nice to the manager...
Working in a restaurant, like working all jobs, involves learning new terminology. Some is easy, like "order up" or "two-top." Others are a bit more obscure. Like "in the weeds." After being in the weeds a time or two, I technically knew what was involved in getting there, but I didn't really get the origin of the phrase until after I got out of the business. "In the weeds" is like getting stuck in a field of high, high, high grass and never ever being able to see your way out of it. The most frequent cause of getting into the weeds where I worked was having to hand-scoop Ben & Jerry's Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz Buzz ice cream into individual bowls for a six-top, as plates of roast beef and turkey and whipped potatoes sat baking under the lights and whatever kitchen Nazi was working as expeditor began screaming at you to pick up your orders.
Good times, I'll tell you. No wonder I went to grad school.
Anyway, another restaurant term is "no call, no show." This, as you might be able to tell, is a scheduling term and may very well be used in other industries. No call, no show usually occurred the day after a big party--staff Christmas parties (always in January), 4th of July, a random 3 a.m. afterparty--that sort of thing. No call, no show is when someone on the schedule didn't show up and never called in to say they'd be late or needed cover.
No call, no show didn't happen too often. It usually meant that someone had either gotten into a car wreck, been arrested, or quit. And, if none of those things were true, a no call, no show certainly meant a firing was imminent. It is the ultimate faux pas--the failure to help your fellow staff by letting them know that you are too hung over to make it in to close the night, thereby forcing someone to work a double, cursing your name the entire night.
I've been enduring a lot of no call, no show lately. Not at work, but personally. A lot of people have been taking the initial time to make it on the schedule. Buying drinks, asking for phone numbers, making an occasional follow-up call. But then. No call, no show.
I'm beginning to take it personally. Do I not give them the shifts they want? Are the benefits that...unattractive? Are they interviewing elsewhere? To be honest, yes, they probably are interviewing elsewhere. But then, I'm doing my share of interviews, too, in order to fill the position, so I can't fault them there.
However, the courtesey of a phone call is not to be overrated. It will certainly save on the cursing. And may even get you the closing shift in the good section, if you're nice to the manager...
posted by Miss Head at
8:53 AM
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