We've Been Made "Redundant"

I've blogged previously about the company that I wait tables for - Great Performances. My primary place of work is the cafe at the Asia Society Museum, which GP runs. I've been there almost a year. It's a really great place to work. Waiting tables can be a really horrible job. At many restaurants the management is awful, the push to upsell is ridiculous, the hours are long and tedious, the chefs can be tempermental to flat out crazy, sometimes the waitstaff create drama amongst themselves, tips can be pooled and whittled down to nothing, the work environment can be unsanitary... Waiters are often hired for their personalities and ability to sell, hustle and be competent and responsible and yet are subsequently treated like slaves. The best thing about Great Performances is, even though it is one of the largest food service companies in New York, it has a top down ethic of treating its people with respect. In my year with GP, I've been able to earn a decent living working with very nice people, in a clean environment, with excellent and unique food - in short, things that make the job easy. It's easy to sell food when you believe in it and the people who create it. It's easy to come to work, even to a somewhat menial job, when the hours are short, the money is good, the environment and clients are pleasant, the management is capable and willing to support you, and your fellow co-workers are considerate, reliable and fun to be around. Things are so nice at the cafe, in fact, that we just received a 3 star (highest possible) review in the vaunted Michelin Guide. And we just got fired from the Asia Society...

I showed up at work this morning for my usual Friday shift and was told there was a full staff meeting on the 8th floor of the building. The head of HR at GP was there as well as one of the top 3 in management of the company. I knew that couldn't be good. We were all informed that as of December 21, the GP contract with Asia Society was over and Asia Society had decided not to renew. GP would make every effort to absorb all of us into their other venues, it was no reflection on us, as all reviews in the trades in New York (even Boston), and all customer feedback were unanimously and fervently positive. "It was just a business decision." Apparently the Asia Society believes they can make more money if they run the cafe themselves. Later, the head of Events at the Asia Society met with us and told us all thanks for our hard work in helping build the cafe from nothing to the popular and well reviewed place it had become and that it was nothing personal but the Asia Society just made a business decision to go in a different direction. Whatevs. But then he went on to tell us that he himself had made the decision to not renew the contract, and that he was "really excited," that the transition was "going to be great!" and if any of us wanted to stay on at the cafe, he "couldn't promise" us anything, but he might be able to put a good word in for us... The man just canned 15 people and then stood in front of us and told us how excited he was about it. I've never experienced such a complete lack of people skills in my whole life.

Later, to add insult to injury, and in a perfect display of true (not Alanis Morrisette fake) irony, in the middle of the lunch rush, the Director of Communications at the Asia Society stands in the middle of the restaurant and announces to the whole place that the cafe just received the 3 star Michelin Guide review and encourages the patrons to "give a hand" to the management and servers at the cafe. There we all are, in mid-lunch rush, caught like deer in the headlights while our patrons clap for us, like it's a curtain call. It was awkward and embarrassing and a little infuriating, because - and here's the definition of real irony - the patrons were not in on the fact that those of us who had worked so hard to earn that 3 star review were fired that very morning. The Asia Society brought Great Performances in two years ago to build them a cafe from the floor up, and now that it has become successful, garnered great press, and gained an excellent reputation - despite the fact that the Asia Society did absolutely nothing to promote the cafe themselves - they now want to ride on that reputation, take all the glory and exploit the reviews we at GP earned and claim them for their own, and dupe the public by quietly changing management, service and food and still claiming to be the same place. The review of the Asia Society cafe that is in the 2008 NYC Michelin Guide will not represent or reflect the cafe that will be there in 2008. That cafe in the review will be no more as of December 21, 2007.

I'm taking this more personally than I thought I would. As the day progressed, the hypocrisy and shittiness of the whole thing just really started to build. First of all, I've never been fired before (especially en masse) and it sucks. Secondly, I'm worried about the kitchen staff who aren't from this country and have a lot more riding on a steady paycheck than someone like me. Thirdly, I wanted to be the one who made the decision where I'd work and not have it taken from me by someone who really doesn't even care how he's affected those of us he's fired, and is gleefully exploiting the reputation we all built so hard to build. I suppose it's part and parcel of the corporate world to let the people under you do the work and then take credit for it and profit from it. That's why I've never taken a corporate job, and hope to never have to. I know change can be a good thing. All it takes is a change in perspective. I know there are a lot of projects and opportunities that Ryan and I have waiting for us with our business. I know that I will not starve, even if I don't find another job right away. I know that there are a million wait jobs in NYC, and I know that I may not ever have to wait a table again. But those thoughts are for tomorrow. Today, it sucks to be fired.