Saturday PM 11.14.15

Written By: Elizabeth

LY Dinner Sales: $5791
Projected Sales :  $6544
TY Dinner Sales: $6755
+/- : +17% LY and +$211 PS
Dinner Covers: 221
Avg PPA: $30.51

Weather: Chilly, 60s. Kayo is going to try and bring the heaters this weekend.

Special events?: East Side Studio tours

Who worked:Stephanie, Miho, Kate,Clair  Dusten CL, Mika/Samara Host, Ruthy CT, Jason SA, Hiroe FR

Flow of Business, Cuts and Ticket Times:
I would say a typical Saturday with the exception of the walk in large parties we got. First a 9 top walked in (at this point already on a wait) we quoted them an hour. Then an 11 top walked in and we quoted them 1:30- they didn't stick around to wait. We had the 11 top reso at 7pm which had preordered their food (it was for a 16 year olds bday) they were all very well behaved, especially compared to the "children" that were in the party room last night. The 9-top walk in threw us for a loop, and we ended up under quoting several tables. Everyone was very understanding, and most of them only had to wait 15-20 minutes after their quoted time. But one table, B3, ended up waiting almost 45 minutes after their quoted time. We kept in constant communication with them and about 15 minutes before we sat them I spoke with them, let them know I would be sending some food out- I asked if they had any allergies and they said the ladies were gluten free. So I sent them a sunshine roll, poisson cru & a kome viche for being so understanding. The ended up racking up a pretty big tab in the end, so it was worth it and they were very pleased.

The night, otherwise, went smoothly. Samara was struggling with keeping Mika focused, so it was probably a bit rougher at the host stand. But lots of teamwork, especially when it came to bussing tables and putting up glassware. Everyone was on their A game tonight!

That guy, David, who use to own a Thai Food restaurant (or trailer?) came in tonight and sat solo at the sushi bar. He talked to Take on his way out, which gave me a chance to check out his check. He left Dusten $3 on a $33 check. So I hovered around him and on his way out I grabbed him and asked if everything was okay with his service tonight. When he said yes, everything was great, I took the opportunity to say that "generally if service is adequate, it is customary to leave 18% gratuity and we noticed that the last few times he has been in he has only tipped 10% and we were wondering if maybe we were doing something wrong, or had perhaps offended him in anyway.
In short, he said "well, no everything is great every time. I guess I'm just cheap", Furthermore, he went on to say "if I tipped 18-20% every time I came here I would go broke"....

I didn't really know where to go with that. During the entire convo I kept a smile on my face and the conversation directed more towards the "we're just making sure you get the best service" and then it took a swing towards a different direction when he started talking about having owned his own place before, and that he got a promotion at his other job, and so on. I was happy it deterred from the already awkward Tip conversation, and I introduced myself, and he him, and he told me to send my apologies to Dusten, and that when he returns in January he would be sure to adjust hi tip.

The long of the short of it is, though, that his first statement was the most accurate. He is just cheap. That's all there is to it. Plain. And. Simple.   Cheap. :-/

Specials:
Geoduck 19
Sanma 2
Hon Maguro 41
Toro 21
Japanese Uni 5
Salmon Collar 4

3 Staff members that stood out (why/how):
A few things:
-Had a good follow up conversation with Samara about Mika, and actually followed up with Mika after her shift. She said she has never really hosted before so it's hard to get use to. She also said that shes not sure if she will be able to stay here if she isn't serving. I reminded her of the conversation we had during her interview and she understood- I also told her in order to move her up we need to see initiative on her end. She said she is going to need to think about it, and she's not sure if she is going to stay or not, because it just may not be financially beneficial if she can't move into serving after 3 months. I told her that the 3 month time line sounds about right, and that even if she did move into serving, should would probably still host on Fri and Sat and then serve on Sundays. So, long story short, it's up in the air.

-Clair was handed some tricky tables tonight. She had Beth Sher (crazy lady who once made Lindsey cry, and who is so manic on the phone with me when she places catering orders...) and then another table at A3 that last time they were in left her barely enough to cover their tab. Then she had a 9 top of Young Asian girls celebrating a birthday. BUT she handled it all in stride and kept a positive attitude the entire time. I was very proud of her.

-On a side note- I've really been trying to focus on being more positive (in both my personal life and at work) and try to not let every little thing bother me. And I felt like tonight my positive attitude was definitely palpable to the rest of the staff and kept everyone's mood lifted by it. I have always been a huge advocate of the mentality that the leader sets the mood of the shift (that being, the manager, or shift leader) and tonight was a prime example of what a positive and happy attitude can do to a staff. All smiles tonight from everyone, despite the challenges of difficult tables.

Any VIP's in?
Ingrid & James (they were so excited to talk about their Tokyo trip!), Ben and Anne Edgerton (Contigo Owner/ Contigo Designer), Brandon Tomlinson

Comps& Void Detail:
FNF for geoduck pieces for Ben & Anne, they really appreciated it.
FNF on the check for Brandon Tomlinson- he was like "you don't have to do this, we don't expect this" and I said "I know, but it's a nice little treat". He was blown away. So sweet those people are!
Voided 2 Asahi Misrings for Ruthy
Voided 2 House Reds for Miho, 86'd.
Recovery ($30) for the table that waited an hour and a half for their table.


R&M needs:
I purchased a new receiver ($300) it's pretty much a newer version of what we had. The best part is, it has BLUETOOTH! So no more wires! It's should connect automatically when you turn it on and the settings are on bluetooth. I think I got the wiring right, I mean, there's sound, so thats good. I just couldn't find a spot to put the top smaller speaker (which I never heard anything coming from it anyway...maybe because it was disconnected) Either way, I'm going to ask Aaron about it and see if he can just swing by tomorrow to take a double check that I put all the wires in the right spot. He has experience with this sort of thing.

86'd items/ need more:
We ran out of The Better Half Sauv Blanc so I put a few bottles of the Jules Taylor in the fridge to hold us over until we get more on Monday. Very similar wine.

We are also out of House Red. It will be in on Tuesday.

Wyclef we have less than one bottle of as well. Same. Tuesday.