I work three days a week doing prep and service, plus closing. I usually do a quick clean on the flattop with a grill brick and some fryer oil at the end of the night, and once a week I deep clean. But the other guy spends way more time on it, adding vinegar and making it spotless. I keep hearing we need to cut labor costs, so I focus on just keeping it sanitary, but apparently, that’s not good enough for management. Do they want food served safely, or just shiny equipment for corporate to admire?
Honestly, sounds like whoever’s pushing labor cuts should also explain if they want shiny or just clean. Tell the other guy to relax if he’s not the one in charge.
Exactly. They want unrealistic stuff but don’t want to pay for it.
Maybe give your boss a choice: ‘Do you want me to focus on food safety, or making the flattop super shiny? If you want both, maybe we can look at adding more time to get it all done.’ They can either make the time or see that their demand isn’t reasonable.
As a manager, I get this issue. Some of our locations look like a mess when labor is tight, but they keep telling us to make it work. I’ve even had to scrub our floors myself when it got so slippery it was dangerous. Same with keeping the kitchen clean, it’s not that we don’t want to, but they’ve gotta know it’s tough with the budget as tight as it is. If your manager helps with closing, maybe they can see how bad the gap is and push for a better balance.
Totally agree. When I was managing front-of-house, I’d grab a mop or jump in with the dish team now and then. Didn’t look spotless, but food safety came first.
My sous chef here keeps everything perfect every night, spotless flattop, perfect prep, you name it. But he’s clocked for 40 hours a week and works 50 because of it. We’re all burnt out, and management still doesn’t care. They could keep good staff if they allowed enough time, but this way, everyone’s quitting. Just do your best with the time they give you.
I do a basic clean too, maybe just a bit of fresh oil and a wipe-down. Your way sounds fine to me, your manager’s got bigger issues if he’s stressing over a shiny flat top.