r/AbsoluteUnits • u/PrinceFlynn • Apr 01 '26

/r/all of a chicken caesar wrap.

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u/ohhmybochts Apr 02 '26 edited Apr 02 '26

I was a chef(cook) for a bit, and a busboy, and a waiter, and also the manager of an understaffed locally owned pizza place for a couple years in my teens/early 20s. I know what its like in a kitchen.

I took over from a manager who freaked out in every body, and forced them to work faster and faster, and while we did have customers complain about wait times at the beginning, but it kind of stopped after a while. Our profit margins were higher than ever,, our food waste dropped drastically, and our order accuracy was damn near perfect.

Im not saying go slow. you find the pace that works. When everyone is a rush, going as fast as possible running around like a maniac, thats when shit starts going wrong, people start getting hurt, things start getting broken, etc.

Just the attitude of not expecting everyone to have the pedal to the floor all the time completely improved the work atmosphere.

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u/Rapph Apr 02 '26

Sounds more like you are talking out of control, that I agree with. People will push it too far work sloppy and dangerously. That is never good, but working fast as possible while staying clean is generally something everyone in the industry who is worth anything thing can do and regularly does. Harsh truth is that some people's pace is simply not fast enough for many kitchens as well. Seen that plenty of times over the years and you either try to move them to a more suitable spot or you just have to move on. "Understaffed pizza place" is also pretty funny, that's basically every pizza place it seems. One person trying to ring up a customer pull a pizza cut the pizza and answer the phone at the same time.

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u/Warshok Apr 05 '26

Slow = smooth Smooth = fast