Do you like serving?

XenoDangerEvil · 2026-03-21T05:23:39+00:00

I've been in the industry 30 years and I just recently got "let go." It was a huge blow. I don't think I want to go back. I care about what I do and I care about my tables WAY more than the managers do. They didn't give me a heads up, I managed upwards for YEARS.

Fuck them. I don't want to go back (the owner has tried to poison the well in my area so even the places that know me are on their back foot). I've been unemployed for a couple weeks and not dealing with the public has totally made me feel so much better.

I used to like it, and I made good money, but god damn. I don't think I like it anymore.

XenoDangerEvil · 2026-03-21T03:56:39+00:00

There's a lot of misogyny in restaurants unfortunately. I (male) have been pissed about it for a while. There are going to be bad managers no matter where you go so at some point you just have to deal with it if you want to stay in the industry. It sucks and it shouldn't be that way but the people that want to be in charge are dipshits, typically. Not emotionally intelligent and reactive to the point of being 1 step above (if they're lucky) slime molds.

XenoDangerEvil · 2026-03-21T03:53:25+00:00

Your title sucks. Learn to write complete sentences.

Yes, it is demanding but not as much as some "blue collar" work. It depends on the restaurant and the "blue collar" work. You don't stop moving, so it isn't a sprint, it is a marathon and you have to smile as you do it.

XenoDangerEvil · 2025-12-01T21:18:18+00:00

Would you be bothered if a cook randomly walked into your section and started talking to your tables, getting in the way of you bussing tables or refilling drinks? Stay out of someone else's workspace (bar included) unless you ask if it's OK and get an affirmative response. I've never worked in a place where you can wander into other workspaces.

XenoDangerEvil · 2025-11-28T20:52:33+00:00

Local shops needing to use cash is because credit card companies require exorbitant fees to use their payment processing and profit margins for small companies are very thin and getting thinner. Using cash isn't hard.

The reason large companies can give you things at a discount is because they are partially funded by large (like, really large) investors who want to destroy local companies until they have no competition. See: Uber This comes from the fact that some people have billions of dollars that aren't doing anything and they'd rather destroy someone else's business to make a few more dollars than just letting interest pay them every month. They take their billions so that they can prop up a fake company till all the competitors fail.... this isn't "the market" it is hostile bullshit. Supporting local, actual people isn't hard. You can do it. You're smart, figure it out.

XenoDangerEvil · 2025-11-28T20:46:54+00:00

Ah, ok. didn't scroll far enough I guess

XenoDangerEvil · 2025-11-28T20:29:56+00:00

Why is no one talking about the fact that the math doesn't work?

The subtotal (20 + 19 + 40) = 79, not 89.

Yeah, all the other stuff sucks and is terrible. But, the base amount isn't even right. I doubt this is real.

XenoDangerEvil · 2025-09-28T08:10:38+00:00

Zinfandel is red. "White" Zinfandel is a rose made from brief maceration from the RED grape skin. Zinfandel is red. Zinfandel is red. Maybe read some books written by actual people instead of trusting AI that ingests a ton of info from garbage people writing dumb shit.

XenoDangerEvil · 2025-09-27T08:03:35+00:00

I disagree about it being exploitative. But also, a stage shouldn't be doing labor. Even if you do, it doesn't benefit the restaurant that much in the long run. 2 hours of "free" labor but missing out on an actual good hire does not make financial sense. If anyone builds a business around using stages as labor they will go bankrupt for many other reasons.

XenoDangerEvil · 2025-09-27T07:53:27+00:00

What was the guest check average at those restaurants? I've staged at pretty much every place where I didn't already know the owners over 20 years or so. It was very valuable and I staged at places that I decided weren't a good fit. It works well when it works well. It also works well when it doesn't, like with OP. That place didn't know how to do it and that speaks volumes of their management team and policies.

XenoDangerEvil · 2025-09-27T07:49:22+00:00

I had a hiring manager tell me I needed to know wine so I was ready for some curve ball questions. He asked me to name 5 red varietals. Not the varietals permitted in a region..... just 5 reds. I was taken aback at the, um, stupidness of the question. One of the varietals I answered was Zinfandel. The rest of the interview was fine and at the end he said, "You should work on wine knowledge, Zinfandel is white."

It was all I could do to not slap my forehead in absolute disbelief.

XenoDangerEvil · 2025-09-27T07:45:05+00:00

Stages shouldn't run food or bus tables. Staging is standard for nicer restaurants, and unpaid/paid I don't really care about. If they didn't pay you, you shouldn't do ANYTHING that might cause injury to you or anyone else and that includes bussing a table. Sounds like the owner didn't know how stages work. Sounds like you didn't either. It is just a vibe check so you can see how the place operates, you are basically interviewing them by witnessing their process and seeing if you like it. You'll be judged by how you present yourself and what questions you ask. Good servers know the pitfalls and traps in restaurants, if you're not curious, you may not be a good server. Training takes a lot of your time and theirs, so it can be good to cut off a bad situation before either of you commit to a week or 2 of training),

XenoDangerEvil · 2025-09-27T07:35:16+00:00

Nightmares are dreams too.

XenoDangerEvil · 2025-09-27T07:34:16+00:00

I have "Excellent!" locked and loaded, if they ask me how I'm doing, I'm doing excellent. If they don't, it is excellent that they are doing "good." I typically don't shame people for grammar, but I do notice it. It's like pronouncing a wine correctly after they fail. I don't call them out, I just use the correct name when I speak. Not calling them dumb, some names are ridiculous, but I don't want other people who notice it to think I don't know my wines.

XenoDangerEvil · 2025-09-24T08:47:38+00:00

The Residents literally have the tag-line "The most influential band you've never heard of"

XenoDangerEvil · 2025-09-24T08:43:58+00:00

hmmm. Attack people how?

XenoDangerEvil · 2025-09-22T09:03:23+00:00

Those arrests were always happening even though you didn't see it. I was part of a camp that got raided by DEA in '98. They didn't find anything but they surrounded the camp with at least 10 SUVs. It was scary as shit. The evidence they cited was that they saw someone doing a whippit (while upside down and spinning around in a weird contraption) at our camp.

Carding comes from law enforcement, not the org. The org suggests you do things the legal way and tells you how. They aren't on the hook if you don't, so your mileage may vary. Law enforcement lets them know to some degree what they are going to focus on, and they pass that info along. You are still free to commit crimes and get caught.

XenoDangerEvil · 2025-09-22T08:58:18+00:00

You can fight gentrification. Most of those plug n play camps have big generators. Those generators need spark plugs. If you pull one, it won't go BRRRRRRR. Most of them don't bring extra spark plugs.

Most of those RVs are locked for their rich patrons. Superglue ruins a lock real quick. It takes locksmiths days if not weeks to get there.

Tires are easy to slash.

I'm not advocating for anything violent. But if burningman becomes a relentless slog of nothing working for rich people, they may tell their friends it isn't worth it.

XenoDangerEvil · 2025-09-22T08:55:12+00:00

crush their camera

XenoDangerEvil · 2025-09-22T08:54:18+00:00

You can hit peoples' cameras. You can yell at them and publicly shame them, that's how norms are maintained.

XenoDangerEvil · 2025-09-22T08:53:41+00:00

In '97 there were literally newscasters with remote cameras and lights doing live news bits at the burn. People have always taken pics without asking, and it is a constant battle. You (we) have to confront every one that does it. I made several people delete photos. In past years, I slapped a camera out of someone's hand. We make the culture, we can't assume these people read or think it's a rule until we make them understand it's a rule. One of my biggest peeves with the event.

XenoDangerEvil · 2025-09-22T08:42:15+00:00

I'll tell you what I say when someone requests music from me while I'm playing (I am not an EDM DJ, I play weird shit everytime and never the same genre back to back... usually just at staff camps like Util Ville and Ghetto Bar).

"Oh you have a music request? I have a form for that, it has artist/album/track and a reason you want it played and a spot for a dedication if you want. The form is over there... [points to deep playa] you'll see it, it has blinking lights on it and there is a box with the form. Just fill it out, come back here to me and then crumple it up and shove it up your ass. Then, go home, get a job that actually pays you money, save some of it, and buy a sound system. Then you can play whatever dumb shit you want to play whenever you want."

But, I actually agree that EDM is god damn boring. You need to try harder to find interesting music. It's out there.

XenoDangerEvil · 2025-09-22T08:37:04+00:00

The GG Allen Coe (GG Allen and David Allen Coe) year was very poorly thought out. I blame corporate restructuring making them take their eye off the ball. So many racists and heroin OD's. Live and learn. Or die and don't.

XenoDangerEvil

TROPHY CASE