JOB DESCRIPTION: Tender Greens [FINAL]

 Hospitality at Tender Greens

Going out to eat with friends, family, or colleagues has been a common practice since the dawn of time. Sharing foods with one another is a gateway to bonding and strengthening relationships while tantalizing the taste buds. Overall, it is a wonderful experience and a source of my fondest memories. On the other hand, have you ever considered what the staff of the restaurant undergoes to make sure their customers have a pleasant experience?

As a member of the hospitality team at a restaurant chain named Tender Greens, my job was to make sure that customers feel welcomed and have a pleasant experience from the moment they walk through the doors. My occupation also served to customers who may not walk through the door, as Tender Greens receives loads of online and takeout orders throughout the day. 

My hospitality shifts would switch between four main roles:

• Cashier

• Busser

• Expo

• To-Go’s

Each position has its own regiment to follow, and some are more laborious than others.

Cashier

To be a cashier at Tender Greens (the most sought after position), one would do the following:

• Take orders (in-person/phone)

• Marketing

• Closing

Cashiers are the “face of the franchise” as they are the ones you first meet as you enter the restaurant, and the ones that customers communicate with to purchase food. While taking orders in-person, the phone often rings, and one has to learn to balance both of these tasks. If the in-store or phone customer is a “Karen”, balancing these two can be challenging. Cashiers also try to market drinks and desserts to customers to increase company sales. After store hours, cashiers also need to close their areas by breaking down and rebuilding drink machines, storing leftover food/drinks in the walk-in fridge, rolling silverware for the next day, and sanitizing the register area.

Busser

The work of a busser consists of the following:

• Clean tables

• Bring dishes to washer

• Closing

Busser is the most laborious role but also the most straightforward, which is why it was my favorite. They are constantly on their feet from santizing tables, and delivering used dishes and silverware to the dishwasher in the back of the restaurant. Along with this, bussers are also responsible for sweeping food and trash off the ground. After store hours, bussers begin their closing procedures which include, taking out all the trash and replacing the bags, bringing cushions from the outdoor patio inside, locking the doors, and ensuring that every table and the floors are spotless for the next day. 

Expo

Expo is responsible for the finishing touches of meal by completing these tasks:

• Make sides and toppings

• Place sides and toppings on dish

• Walk orders out

Expo is the heart and soul of the restaurant as they are the last in the line to make sure the food looks perfect to captivate the customer the moment the plate lands on their table. One has to make sure all 12 sides and 3 soups are ready for use, if not they have to make a new batch. Expos will receive a plate, and they are responsible for placing the sides, toppings, and finishing touches on every dish. Once the dish is ready, they walk it out to the customers often carrying up to four dishes at a time. After the customer(s) have received their food, it is time to get the next round of plates ready for the next customer.

To-Go’s

To be successful at To-Go’s, one needs to:

• Pack up to-go orders

• Communicate with third-party delivery drivers

• Communicate with line

To-Go’s is one of the easiest roles to serve at Tender Greens, which is why most new members start here with training. They bag up all to-go and online orders, and check receipts to make sure that everything is where it needs to go. To-Go staff complete all online orders by filling out a small sheet ensuring the customer that their order is correct as the sheet contains the staff member’s signature and the baggage time. For third-party delivery orders, such as Uber Eats or Doordash, we place stickers at the top of the bag to ensure the order is not tampered with after the bag leaves the restaurant. As the staff are doing their job, these delivery drivers are also doing their job, and may want the order before it is ready. In this case, which happens very often, the member on To-Go’s would communicate with the line in an attempt to get the order out faster for the delivery driver.

Although each role seems like enough for one person to handle, there have been many times where I had to take on the load of more than one. It is not the worst to handle, but it adds stress to the employee, and often leads to more mistakes.

Comparison

I would like to compare my role to a therapist. The customer comes to me to seek services that I am expected to know how to handle, and I try my best to make sure they have a pleasant experience and would want to come back again. 

Readability Statistics

Passive Sentences: 0

Flesch Reading Ease: 70

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: Grade 7