A good friend of mine suggested I apply for this restaurant for the Winter. She had actually recommended I apply a year ago, but sadly things didn’t pan out that season. Housing and the job opportunity I had mainly applied for didn’t pan out the way I wanted. Which led me to staying and working in San Diego for the winter.
Genuinely, I’m glad things happened the way they did. As I always tell myself, things always work out exactly as they need to. Sometimes it takes a little while.
The beginning of the season was rough. I was quite slow, held back the bar team a bit. The bar I work at in the summer, I was one of two you could trust in the well. This bar, not so much. Management noticed and the owner gave me some blunt feedback. Let me know that I wasn’t performing as well as they needed me to. In his words, “16 minute ticket times are unacceptable.” Bright side, I took it very well. I already knew. That night was not my proudest, I already knew that I wasn’t putting out drinks as quickly as I needed to. I told him “Yes sir, I understand.” Immediately, I asked one of the other bartenders for advice. To see if maybe there was, a quick remedy, something I could put into practice that would turn it around immediately. Sadly, there was none. My issue: I hadn’t put in enough effort. I thought I could cruise through the season, I thought I was hot shit.
Management, especially the owner, was super impressed with how I responded to their criticisms.
One of the other managers, Nate, had one day given me a lot of advice after we closed for the night. It was a long talk. I missed the last bus and had to walk home that night. But he gave me so much to think about. Offered me suggestions on books to read. Told me I should refer to a book I already had. Cocktail Codex. From there I studied up. I began drilling down the cocktails. Just worked on improving as quickly as possible since it felt like I was at risk of losing my spot. The biggest thing holding me back was my drink knowledge. Once I got the recipes down I sped up tremendously.
Ended up finishing the season in really good standing. I went from anxious about each and every shift, to excited. Except for the exhaustion from working two jobs.
Some days were rough, wake up at 5:30am leave for work at 6:45 or 7:15 (depending on whether I wanted to sleep in), clock in at 7:20. Clock out at 4:10pm to get changed and head over to start my bar job at 5pm until 10/11pm. Get home just after midnight to eat and then do it again the next day.
At the end, the owner only had positive things to say about me and my character. All of management said they would love to have me back again next winter. Multiple coworkers praised me. And I ended up winning a little award at our end of season party due to my growth and grasping of their bar program.
It was dope, nerve wracking for a while, but lead to a lot of growth and served as a good reminder, that while I thought I was good. Which in some ways I was, there are still so many different aspects I can continue to work on.