Well, let me tell ya, it’s like this. You got a place, a restaurant, right? And it’s busy, real busy. Folks call it the dinner rush, like a bunch of cows stampeding for feed. It’s the dinner rush and a table orders shirley temples. I don’t know what them Shirley Temples be, some fancy drink for city folks, I reckon. Kids like ’em, I heard. Sweet stuff, like them sugary sodas.
Now, you got this table, maybe a whole family, pa, ma, and a bunch of little ‘uns. And they want them Shirley Temples. Not just one or two, maybe a whole bunch. And the waitress, she’s gotta hustle. She’s gotta go tell the bartender, “Hey, make me a mess of these Shirley Temple things.”
But the bartender, she ain’t happy. Maybe she’s tired, maybe she’s got too much to do. She rolls her eyes, like this (imagine me rolling my eyes real big), and says, “Tell ’em we’re out.” Just like that. “Out of Shirley Temples.” Can you believe it? Like you just run out of sugar and cherries all of a sudden.
Now, what’s the waitress gonna do? She’s gotta go back to that table, them hungry folks waitin’, and tell ’em, “Sorry, no Shirley Temples for you.” Maybe the kids start whinin’, maybe the pa gets all grumpy. It ain’t a good situation, let me tell ya.
It reminds me of that time down at the diner, must’ve been ’52 or ’53, can’t rightly recall. Folks were lined up out the door, waitin’ for a table. And old man Johnson, he was the cook, bless his heart, he couldn’t keep up. Orders pilin’ up, folks gettin’ antsy. We had to tell some folks, “Sorry, no more pancakes.” Some folks got mad, real mad. But what can ya do? You can’t make food outta thin air, can ya?
- You gotta have enough stuff, enough cherries and ginger ale or whatever goes in them Shirley Temples.
- You gotta have enough people workin’, enough hands to make the drinks and serve the food.
- And you gotta have a plan, a way to keep things movin’ even when it gets crazy busy.
See, it’s all about bein’ prepared. Like plantin’ your crops early so you got somethin’ to harvest come fall. If you don’t plan ahead, you’re gonna be in a pickle. Just like that bartender, runnin’ outta Shirley Temples in the middle of the dinner rush.
Now, some folks say you gotta be optimistic, like that Roosevelt fella. Always lookin’ on the bright side, even when things are tough. But I say, you gotta be realistic too. You gotta know what you can handle and what you can’t. And if you can’t handle makin’ a bunch of Shirley Temples, well, then maybe you shouldn’t be workin’ at a restaurant durin’ the dinner rush.
And another thing, you gotta treat folks right. Even them little ‘uns who want them fancy drinks. You can’t just roll your eyes and say, “We’re out.” You gotta try, at least try to make things work. Maybe offer ’em somethin’ else, maybe apologize for the trouble. That’s just good manners, somethin’ folks seem to forget these days.
So, there you have it. The story of the Shirley Temples and the dinner rush. It ain’t much, just a little somethin’ that happened. But it teaches ya somethin’, I reckon. It teaches ya that you gotta be prepared, you gotta be realistic, and you gotta treat folks right. And maybe, just maybe, you should always have enough cherries on hand, just in case.
Dealing with the dinner rush ain’t easy, but it’s part of the job. And if you can’t handle it, well, maybe you should find yourself another line of work. Maybe somethin’ quieter, like milkin’ cows. At least cows don’t order no fancy Shirley Temples.
The best way is to keep an eye on things. When the orders are coming fast, that is when you can see where the problems are. Maybe you need some more help. That’s happened before. Need to have everyone help, just like when we get together for a barn raising or when it is harvest time.
Tags: Restaurant, Dinner Rush, Shirley Temple, Customer Service, Bartender, Preparedness, Problem Solving, Food Service, Efficiency
Original article by the Author:Wei,If you intend to republish this content, please attribute the source accordingly:https://www.jaynscott.com/coping-with-shirley-temple-orders-during-the-dinner-rush-hour/