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i have had it

M

MTC

Member
Along with running a small cash crop farm my wife and I own a small restaurant in a small town. We used to lease it but had nothing but headaches,so 3 years ago we decided to run it ourselves. We closed the doors Sunday for good when the cook showed up drunk and could hardly walk. That was his third time showing up drunk in last last couple months. We just can not find people that want to work and the restaurant business is work. I will be 68 years old in 2 weeks and it is time to spend some time with grandkids. We had a very good money making business BUT you have to work. That is the problem I see today. thanks for letting me vent.Mike
 
I see a big shift in how work ethics have gone in the last 20 years as well. No generation seems to work as hard in the eyes of the one before. After still having they're job after showing up drunk twice they likely figured they'd get away with it again. At 68 you more than earned your right to retire and I hope you folks have many many years of happiness and health!
 
I can relate,we owned two over ten years time. Best day was when the check for the sale cleared the bank!
 
There comes a time when each of us has to re-evaluate our priorities.

Today was that time for me.

Hope that you enjoy your retirement.
 
Some people I come in contact with see a small business owners, and say "that guy is just raking it in". I tell them you'd make money too if YOU worked 120 hours a week. Don't look back, there is always more money, any time you loose is gone forever.
 
There is another thing hurting small restaurants. The majority of the younger people do not eat in them. They go to fast food places when they go out. So as the older generations pass on the next does not have the same eating habits. The only place you can eat after lunch time around me is either bars, Fast Food or chain restaurants. The small restaurants serve breakfast and lunch mainly.

I also see a bigger percentage of this younger generation just doing enough to "get by". Meaning they are living for the moment without any kind of longer term plan. The spread between those that do have plans and those that do it much larger than in earlier generations. I am seeing home ownership dropping among this group too. Now the ones running with a plan and a good work etic are thriving. They will more than likely eclipse our generation with their personal incomes.

Job skills, knowledge,and work ethics are getting more valuable in this younger generation too. Finding good younger help is harder. Your having to look at more people to find the good ones. There are still lots of good workers. They just have more options if they have any kind of skills at all. If you have job skills and can pass a drug test you can find work ASAP.
 
That is what's happening around here. Guys your age are shutting down their restaurants because they are too old to keep going and nobody wants to take over.
 
I know exactly what you mean busted my butt for years and now the bookkeeper says i can't retire.
Don't know your exact situation but these small town resturants are a lifeline for older folks. Could it be possible to open only a couple hours a day and maybe a few days a week also toss it out there but maybe some older people would be willing to volunteer to help just to keep it open. There's a charity store not far from me no resturants anymore so they opened up just a coffee and donut spot local place not many know of it but for older people its something to get out of bed and go check out .
But all said and done can't blame you grandparents time is important.
Take care
 
Yes most of the young people now live in the moment and don't plan a long time ahead. I had to laugh today, I went to our small town gas station and it was busy and was quite a line ahead of me. I needed about $50 in tractor gas. I didn't put any in the pickup. I thought it was going to take a while but every car or truck ahead of me was a young person and I don't think any of them put more than three gallons of gas in their vehicle. The line was gone in a couple of minutes. I laughed when each one would grab the nozzle for a minute and be done!
 
How much were you paying the cook an hour? Not saying it applied to you but many times when I hear someone say "People don't want to work anymore" they failed to include the rest of the
sentence "for very low pay".There are a lot of private owned restaurants plus a lot of chains in my area that have some good staff but I'd imagine they pay pretty good.
 
We stayed in Eminence Mo for several days one time. There was a steak house down the road a quarter mile or so from where we were staying. We walked down there one night and there was a sign on the door that said "Closed To drunk to cook".
 
Here they pay a good wage but still cant get people to show up for work,, there are still the hard workers but they are for the most part taken already,, or if you get a good one they may find a better paying job in the oil field or coal mine, hard to compete with their pay scales,, wife works @ home depot, has for the last 10 years,, they go through help like water through a screen door, they train them for two weeks or more and then many make it one or two days and say this is way too much work,, so for Here it has been a struggle for most employers, our unemployment rate here is 4-6% now,, we have lost several good restaurants due to them not being able to keep help,, it was really bad when the rate was 3% when the methane fields were going crazy here everyone that wanted to work was working not all areas have a whole work force who wants to work,, so what I mean is here wages are not even close to the problems of having good employees, the problem is so many flat do not want to work
 
Still gets back to how much people are paid.When I worked at the concrete plant our boss paid more than other plants and similar places so we had the best drivers and help and applications from people wanting to work there.Paid off really as we had great drivers that could really handle the concrete mixers on the job which is not an easy thing to do and a great safety record.Also our company would help its employees any way they could.You get what you give you pay bottom feeder wages you get bottom feeder workers.
 
With recreational weed becoming legal in more and more states the number of people who can't pass a drug test for employment is also on the rise.
Loren
 
MTC, I'm going to post a few things that I've noticed about food establishments. Perhaps some of them apply to your restaurant. Perhaps none of them apply to your restaurant. First, in general, the pay that cooks and waitresses get is usually terrible. Several years ago, a waitress told me that she was getting $2.23/hour. That means she had to rely on tips. Most of the area farmers do not tip. (Sorry if this hits home, guys. If you DO tip your food server, I guess it doesn't apply to you)
My wife and I actually had a "date nite" last night. For the second time in a couple of weeks, the waitress didn't show. So the cook had to come out of the kitchen to serve the customers AND she had to go back into the kitchen to prepare the food. (This is a dive bar in a town of about 100, so it's no Applebees or Chili's) We didn't get any kind of acknowledgement for over half an hour and when I went to the bar to order my drinks, all she said was "I'll be at your table in a second." I was ready to walk, but my wife reminded me that we weren't in any hurry and when she finally did make it, she had tears in her eyes. The lady who was supposed to cover is very dependable at her day job and has no kids, so I assume it was because of the pay. (Assuming here, I have no idea)
The last time a server didn't show and the cook had to cover (a different cook. Not the same as last night), I felt sorry for her and left a decent tip and she thanked me profusely. So I know her pay really stinks.
My sister-in-law is a banker in a very small town and the few businesses left in town pooled together and purchased the cafe. They felt they had to do it because if the cafe would close, the town would close. Their cafe is now doing a booming business and is listed as one of the best places in the state to eat fried chicken.
One last thing: If you pay your cook decent wages, you could get another one. If you live in a small town and really can't pay them too much, it's just the breaks of doing business. I will agree, though, that there is no excuse for your cook, or any worker, to come in drunk.
 
I've heard the restaurant business is the hardest business to make work. A person who really likes to cook opens the doors, and fails in the business management side. A good manager opens the doors, and fails in the hospitality side of it, etc.

At 68, you've earned your retirement. Let someone else work. Some older people miss that fact - they gotta be in control so they stay working, not allowing younger people to step in. Then they gripe about how terrible kids are. Well, how can the kid ever show his/her potential if you never let them???

Maybe that drunk cook will see that he was making bad life decisions and turn his life around. You just never know.
 
(quoted from post at 20:44:12 07/03/18) There is another thing hurting small restaurants. The majority of the younger people do not eat in them. They go to fast food places when they go out. So as the older generations pass on the next does not have the same eating habits. The only place you can eat after lunch time around me is either bars, Fast Food or chain restaurants. The small restaurants serve breakfast and lunch mainly.

I also see a bigger percentage of this younger generation just doing enough to "get by". Meaning they are living for the moment without any kind of longer term plan. The spread between those that do have plans and those that do it much larger than in earlier generations. I am seeing home ownership dropping among this group too. Now the ones running with a plan and a good work etic are thriving. They will more than likely eclipse our generation with their personal incomes.

Job skills, knowledge,and work ethics are getting more valuable in this younger generation too. Finding good younger help is harder. Your having to look at more people to find the good ones. There are still lots of good workers. They just have more options if they have any kind of skills at all. If you have job skills and can pass a drug test you can find work ASAP.
Click to expand...

One of the biggest things killing the mom and pop cafes is the quality of the food. Young people today are much more concerned about what they are eating. They don't want something "home" cooked in lard! Trust me, these people are not eating fast food either, or if they do they just get the salad.

I'm 63. I stopped eating the the local cafes years ago when I realized that I was paying for what I could get at home. When I go out to eat I really want it to be a treat.

My father in law judged a cafe not by the quality of the food but by the quantity. Some of the worst cafes I ever ate in where the ones he thought were best. That's also a no, no with a lot of younger people who don't over eat.

So basically what's happening with a lot of these cafes is that times have changed and they failed to change with the times. Now their customer base is dying off.

Rick
 
Sometimes it's not only pay and i will agree on the bottom feeders. Where i work now whole shifts will quit not just one person but several will walk out.The pay is good over 12 starting pay anytime over 8 hours is overtime don't have to wait for 40 and free food plenty of overtime i can easily clear 600 a week also weekly pay checks. Sounds nice doesn't it but as one supervisor said we got a couple alpha females working here they wreck more havoc trying to outdo each other and maintain there control it simply put makes a hostile work place .
One resturant i worked at there were some customers that were exceptionally rude one of the worst never left a tip one i spotted her coming in i told the waitress I'll take care of her warmed up the coffee on the grill yup it's amazing how some people's attitude gets changed when you accidentally dump some hot coffee in there lap .
 
I live in a small town. Most of the food in this town. Well we could use a health inspector.Only one place in town I will eat at. A major highway splits the town. So we have most of the chain store's not worth eating in.

As for people working. I had a kid tell me. Why should I work. When the Govt will pay me not to work.
 
Have you ever seen a chief's life on pbs?
They actually started to revitalize a town .
also with the farm to table concept there
helping small farmers to.
 
(quoted from post at 09:24:40 07/04/18) I live in a small town. Most of the food in this town. Well we could use a health inspector.Only one place in town I will eat at. A major highway splits the town. So we have most of the chain store's not worth eating in.

As for people working. I had a kid tell me. Why should I work. When the Govt will pay me not to work.
Click to expand...
o sum up the youngster's attitude, "I just want to be happy TODAY, I don't want to do ANYTHING!".
 
(quoted from post at 08:08:44 07/04/18) Still gets back to how much people are paid.When I worked at the concrete plant our boss paid more than other plants and similar places so we had the best drivers and help and applications from people wanting to work there.Paid off really as we had great drivers that could really handle the concrete mixers on the job which is not an easy thing to do and a great safety record.Also our company would help its employees any way they could.You get what you give you pay bottom feeder wages you get bottom feeder workers.
Click to expand...

BINGO
You pay low and your nothing but a job trainer. Turn over is so bad your constantly training newbys which cuts into you and your other employees productivity. You get what you pay for goes for people too.

Worked for a major steel fabricator churning out fabbed steel by the semi load. Average project took 50 semi loads.
That owner would hire felons in the fab shop because he could pay them low and they were under his thumb like slaves since no one else would hire them.
 
When I was dispatching concrete I put up with a lot from customers just the way it is but was paid real well for doing the job and wasn't working for any other reason but to make
as much money as I could for the hrs I put in,sure I'd of loved to walked out some days but I can say for sure it was the money that kept me on that job.BTW Rule #1 You never really win an argument with a customer.
 
Your felons must be different there ours are
bussed almost 60 miles to work travel time
paid.Also daily overdose cases supervisor
being threatened and cops there 24 x 7 . the
felons rule that place and no regular people
will work there
 
I run a small business (50 employees). Labor is the tough nut to crack. To keep this tractor related, labor has almost always been a problem. When I was a young man, back about 1980, I asked a local successful farmer why he used large 4wd tractors, while other farmers were running 4020's, 4430's, etc. He said that he could eliminate half of his employees, and those big tractors showed up for work every Monday morning-SOBER. My dad is 87, and he tells me that labor has always been a problem. We use a consultant for our business, and he tells us to quit whining, pay top wages in our market, manage for productivity, promote quickly, fire the bottom 10%, always have a bench. That being said, sometimes you have to accept reality and call it quits. That, my tractor loving friends, is a tough call.

Enjoy retirement.
 
I am really surprised at some of the replies you have received here. Everything from criticism for paying low wages ( how would they know??) to business suggestions to praise for what you have accomplished. Wow.
I have worked in the restaurant business as a second job. You are right, you have to WORK!! And a lot of hard work, long hours, and even the worst hours out of the day.
No criticism coming from me. I Hope things work out for you.
 
Possibly in some areas but not all. Most places advertising for help starting pay is less than $10 here. And this is just a good average area.
 
(quoted from post at 04:26:18 07/04/18) We stayed in Eminence Mo for several days one time. There was a steak house down the road a quarter mile or so from where we were staying. We walked down there one night and there was a sign on the door that said "Closed To drunk to cook".
Click to expand...

Randy--I think I know that guy--Andy
 
We paid 14.00 a hour. Come in at 6 done at 2. Five days a week with paid vacation and holidays pay.
 
You're right JD, work 'just enough', then you and I can take care of the rest for them. I know of some cases that is exactly how they do it.
 
One other thing, why don't people ever realize that the economy is different all over the U.S.?!?! It is, and people need to understand that. I'll bet the highest rent apartment 50 miles from here wouldn't cover the rent for the cheapest apartment in LA, D.C., Chicago, or NYC. Especially just outside of those cities, where the people that don't want to directly live inside the city will pay higher rent to be close to those cities without being in them. So I don't see how any of you can say he wasn't paying his worker enough, unless you live in across the street. Yes, being a waitress, chef, cook, hostess, etc, is hard work for the pay. Some places have the population to help make up for it in tips based on the simple number of people they serve. More people, more money. Some areas just don't have the population to have a booming economy where you can make $15/hr at McDonald's. How many times a week do you think a restaurant or diner in a small town sells a $75 steak compared to a restaurant on the outskirts of Dallas?
 
There is a reason restaurants and contractors have the highest failure rate of any businesses in America. Both are heavily reliant of labor while keeping their product price as low as possible.
 
I had the same thought. Most new restaurants don't last three years. This one beat the average by a long ways. Someone else mentioned it takes a deep bench to keep a restaurant running. Most people with a good work ethic are going to move on to better jobs, so turnover is a fixed part of the restaurant business.

Did the new hires pass a drug and alcohol test?
 
(quoted from post at 09:07:13 07/04/18) Sometimes it's not only pay and i will agree on the bottom feeders. Where i work now whole shifts will quit not just one person but several will walk out.The pay is good over 12 starting pay anytime over 8 hours is overtime don't have to wait for 40 and free food plenty of overtime i can easily clear 600 a week also weekly pay checks. Sounds nice doesn't it but as one supervisor said we got a couple alpha females working here they wreck more havoc trying to outdo each other and maintain there control it simply put makes a hostile work place .
One resturant i worked at there were some customers that were exceptionally rude one of the worst never left a tip one i spotted her coming in i told the waitress I'll take care of her warmed up the coffee on the grill yup it's amazing how some people's attitude gets changed when you accidentally dump some hot coffee in there lap .
Click to expand...

Maybe part of the problem is that we all just know our local areas. Around me $600 a week (30K yearly) is barely a living wage and I sure would not expect a full time (40 hours) waitress to work very hard to get it.

As to tippping, if I owned a restaurant and you failed to tip properly (and if you had a gripe I would expect you to notify me or manager) I would post your name on a 'wall of shame' and bar you from ever coming back. There is no excuse to fail to tip!
 

Yeah it sure is easy to write a big pay check. You guys that say all you have to do is pay well, how about you go into all of your independently owned businesses where you do business and pay them 25% extra each time for their employees.
 
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