Starting a new job is nerve-wracking whether you have experience or not, but we all have to go through it at one point or another. Here are a few first-day tips to follow that will boost your confidence from the get-go and impress your new boss, managers, and coworkers.
1) Come Prepared
Before starting your shift, make sure you’re both mentally and physically prepared to work. Don’t go out or stay up late the night before and be ready to do a lot of listening and learning. Get your clothes/uniform and anything else you’ll need (like a notebook) for work organized the day before you start. This will decrease pre-shift stress, plus it will save you time. This is key because, more than anything else, be on time, or even better, 10-15 minutes early. Showing up late to your first day of work doesn’t exactly send a great message to either your boss or new co-workers.
2) Make the first move
Whether it’s when you first walk in the door or in the middle of your shift during a slow period, ask what you can do to help. Being proactive will not only impress the higher ups, but it will also speed up the learning process, so you can go from training to tips that much faster.
3) Pay close attention
Even if you’re experienced and highly qualified for the position, there will be differences between past and present employers. From operations to expectations, you’ll have a whole new set of rules to play by, so listen to your trainer to get a lay of the land. Also, to help you remember the important details and also give you a resource to reference, take a lot of notes. Bonus: this will also show your trainer that you’re dedicated to learning the work-flow and getting in the swing of things.
4) Get your hustle on
Whether your new job is slower or faster paced than what you’re used to, make sure to work quickly and efficiently. Strolling around the establishment won’t help you excel at your job, nor will it do anything for your bank account. Commission and tips don’t grow on trees. Even if your paycheck isn’t directly tied to how many customers you have, hustling at work, during and post training, will impress your boss and make your coworkers happy that you joined the team.
5) Be friendly and polite
This applies to all parties: trainer, coworkers, and customers. With your trainer and coworkers, don’t talk back. Make sure you have your facts straight before calling someone out, which means having at least a few shifts under your belt. If nothing else, keep smiling, even if you’re not really feeling it. Not only will this keep your morale up, it will also have the same effect on those around you.
6) Ask questions
There are such things as stupid questions, but you should still ask them because it’s better than making stupid mistakes. Asking questions will only help your cause. You’ll learn more, avoid making errors in the future, and also show that you’re engaged in the experience and on point when it comes to training. So if you don’t know something or are confused, speak up so it doesn’t come back to bite you in the butt.
Keeping service industry employees engaged and committed to their roles can decrease turnover, increase profits and positively affect customer satisfaction. When employees feel like they’re a part of a team, they are more likely to take pride in their work and display interest in aligning with company goals. Here are four ways to jumpstart your efforts:
Simplify employee scheduling. Creating work-life balance can be challenging. Employees appreciate the opportunity to provide shift preferences and availability. Although you might not be able to grant all requests, exercise understanding. To centralize and provide structure for this process, think about updating your tech to automate scheduling from both your end and your employees’. Those programs allow for streamlined communication among managers and employees, as well as other administrative benefits.
Assign roles and positions. Service-related businesses offer many different types of jobs. Establishing scope for roles and providing ongoing cross-training shows employees you value their contributions and want to see them advance.
Encourage growth. Many employees strive to move up the industry ladder. When managers promote from within, they design a rewarding, positive atmosphere to which employees gravitate.
Seek feedback. Ask employees to share compelling customer responses. When management institutes an open-door communication standard, employees feel more comfortable relaying positive and negative guest comments, as well as their own observations. When you receive enough feedback to identify trends, thank the employees that helped you get to that point.
September is National Food Safety Month, so, in honor of good food practices, here are some best practices to follow when thawing frozen foods, holding them at the desired temperatures, and prepping produce.
Best practices for thawing food, by method
Refrigeration: Thaw TCS food at 41 ̊Fahrenheit (5 ̊Celsius) or lower to limit pathogen growth. Plan ahead when thawing large items, such as turkeys. They can take several days to defrost.
Microwave oven: You can safely thaw food in a microwave, but only if the food is going to be cooked immediately. Be warned: large items, such as roasts or turkeys, might not thaw well with this method.
Cooking: Thaw food as part of the cooking process.
Running water: Submerge food under running, drinkable water at 70°Fahrenheit (21°Celsius) or lower. Never let the temperature of the food go above 41°Fahrenheit (5°Celsius) for longer than four hours.
Tips on holding food at desired temperatures
Hold foods at their correct temperatures. TCS foods should be held at the correct internal temperatures. Cold food should be held at 41°Fahrenheit (5°Celsius) or lower, and hot food should be 135°Fahrenheit (57°Celsius) or higher.
Check temperatures regularly. Timing is essential. Make sure you check food temperatures at least every four hours. Toss food that’s not 41°Fahrenheit (5°Celsius) or lower, or 135°Fahrenheit (57°Celsius) or higher.
Use food covers and sneeze guards. Keep food covered to help maintain temperatures. Covers and sneeze guards also help protect the food from contaminants.
Use hot-holding equipment properly. Don’t reheat food in them unless they are built to do so.
Five rules to follow when prepping produce
Avoid cross-contamination by preventing fruit and vegetables from touching surfaces exposed to raw meat, seafood or poultry.
Wash produce thoroughlyunder running water before cutting, cooking, or combining it with other ingredients. Don’t forget to make sure the water is a little warmer than the produce, remove the outer leaves of leafy greens, and pull lettuce or spinach completely apart, and rinse thoroughly.
Don’t mix different items or multiple batches of the same item together if you’resoaking or storing produce in standing water or an ice-water slurry.
Store items, such as sliced melons, cut tomatoes and cut leafy greens, at41°Fahrenheit (5°Celsius) or lower.
Don’t serve raw seed sprouts if you primarily serve high-risk populations.
September in Denver is all about beer, with a calendar packed full of events all staring Hops, culminating in the behemoth beer festival that is The Great American Beer Festival.
As a lead-up (and down) to GABF, Avanti Food & Beverage in LoHi will be hosting a series of ticketless events throughout the week of September 23-27.
It all starts with a Kickoff Party on September 23rd featuring Odell Brewing. From 8pm until close, look forward to keg tappings (mmm … ‘Myrcenary‘), more beer, and giveaways!
And let the good times keep on rolling…
On September 24 at 10pm, Avanti is throwing the GABF After Party featuring Dogfish Head to celebrate the brewery’s 20 off-centered years with the first nationwide tapping of their 20th Anniversary Beer ‘Higher Math’. Also enjoy beers from Dogfish Founder Sam Calagione’s personal stash, including limited bottled beers: 2006 120 Minute IPA, 2006 Fort, 2006 Raison D’Extra, 2007 Immort Ale. And, as a bonus, get a Dogfish signature glasses with any “vintage beer” purchased!
Friday happy hour! On the 25th, Avanti is hosting an extended happy hour from 1-4pm with Ratio Beerworks brewers on hand to discuss their beers.
And, to finish off the week of festivities, enjoy the calm after the storm at Avanti on Sunday, September 26 with a Hungover Sunday Funday. Enjoy “BroMosas” (craft beer mimosas) specials plus creative beer Bloody Mary offerings that will satisfy the hair of YOUR dog!
TopTender303, the 4-week bartending competition to find Denver’s best bartender, kicked off with a bang last Tuesday night!
The competition was stiff, with 10 bartenders from Denver’s top watering holes throwing down their best drink-making moves in a 2-round showdown: Drink of Choice and Mystery Box,featuring the TOP SECRET spirit of the night provided by Beverage Distributers Company.
The Goal: Make the cut to Week 2 of TopTender303, and one step closer to the $500 grand prize.
Pre-competition, the tenders were relaxed and socializing.
While sharing some funny tidbits about their times behind the bar, Conner had us all laughing after revealing his most annoying request to date was some dude asking him to charge his e-cigarette at the packed Cold Crush bar.
When asked about strangest drink requests, Chad spoke up, “Chambord and Sprite, to which I asked, would you like a side of diabetes with that?” Apparently the customers were not so amused, responding with a hostile “Yes” after a few seconds of death staring.
Then it was Game Time, and Vodka was the star.
The first round, Drink of Choice, started with a mad dash to the fully stocked ingredient table, containing basically anything and everything that the bartenders could use to make their drinks, and with only 20 minutes to get it done, it was a hectic round.
The Mystery Box was an entirely different beast. Given a box filled with random ingredients, the bartenders had another 20 minutes to make their final drinks including at least three mystery box ingredients. There was some intense creativity going down. See the photo below, those are Cheetos sprinkled on top (…and it was de-lish-ous).
It was a pretty epic show, with the bartenders in the center of the room surrounded by friends and fans from the industry watching and cheering as the competitors made it happen.
It was a hard decision when it came time to make the cuts.
Both rounds of drinks were sampled by attendees, who voted for their favorites, as well as a panel of judges that helped make the final decision as to who would be moving on to Week 2. Although extremely talented, Kyle Faulhaber, Danny Hampton, and Ryan Buchanan won’t be moving on.
So, after an awesome night of intense competition and delicious beverages, we’re looking forward to Round 2 of TopTender303, going down at NATIV Hotel on Tuesday, September 8, where the remaining 7 bartenders will battle it out using yet another TOP SECRET spirit. DON’T MISS IT!
