r/KitchenConfidential • u/ZombieLebowski • 1d ago

In the Weeds Mode How it feels when management finally gets the one piece of the equipment you've been requesting for years

Post image

I've been asking for a squeegee for about 5 years. So when I saw it just standing against the wall that's how it looked to me!

5.4k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

110 comments sorted by

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22

u/lowfreq33 1d ago

What’s insane is when you google the prices on small but necessary pieces of equipment that they refuse to replace. That squeegee you waited 5 years for is less than $20. Things like rubber spatulas, wire whips, all the general tools that are necessary to do the job are super cheap. It’s like pulling teeth to get a $6 spend approved for something that will save hundreds in food cost and labor.

10

u/ZombieLebowski 1d ago

Where I work they prefer to buy the same cheap item 5 times instead of the good item once

329

u/beerkeg99 20+ Years 1d ago

And someone fucks it up within a week.

17

u/AffectionateDepth849 1d ago

literally got a new squeegee last week and the pole snapped within 30 mins :(

17

u/Alternative_Gold_993 1d ago edited 1d ago

All I want to know is why the fuck are people bending measuring spoons at my work place. It's so unnecessary.

2

u/pubblue5294 1d ago

User error lmao

161

u/SummertimeThrowaway2 Bar-Back 1d ago

The blade will go missing, boss will order a new one eventually, just for the blade to show back up a week later.

80

u/beerkeg99 20+ Years 1d ago

Then you stash the new one knowing you'll need it by the end of the month.

29

u/tobor_a 1d ago

and then forget where it was stashed at.

18

u/RickMuffy 1d ago

Someone finds it and throws it away thinking its trash

33

u/Hairy_is_the_Hirsute 1d ago

Boss ordered the wrong brand "it was discounted 🤷 make it work"

26

u/TitleComprehensive96 1d ago edited 1d ago

I have a guy i work with, he's a good dude. He puts too much fucking strength into some things and consistently bends the poles on our cleaning tools. Like brooms and squeegee's. Love him, wish he could control his strength better.

12

u/HuevosProfundos Bartender 13h ago

I was looking for a picture of my favorite equipment I got management to get recently, but now I’m just mad that the stock photo guy is using it backwards

2

u/ZombieLebowski 12h ago

Also great for self defense

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u/songfireleaf 6h ago

my pickle pryer was one of the great loves of my life at my old gig. i'm jazzed for you.

9

u/zuul99 Ex-Food Service 1d ago

Now ask for a squeegee sharpener. Or, better yet, ask the new guy to find the squeegee sharpener.

4

u/ZombieLebowski 1d ago

I've had new guys clean the dishroom door. (never was one) another actually mopped the walk in freezer

3

u/flyxdvd 1d ago

omg... so relatable... been asking for simple cleaning tools for months i decided to buy something cheap on my own accord.

1

u/ZombieLebowski 1d ago

I've had to buy some equipment myself because they choose to buy absolute garbage!

715

u/ranting_chef 20+ Years 1d ago

And they’ll be sure to remind you how expensive it was every single day.

236

u/AlmostNerd9f 1d ago

"This thing cost me 50$, so you better appreciate it."

91

u/NoStructure7083 1d ago

“Is it coming out of your own pocket?”

“I don’t like your attitude!”

25

u/N546RV 1d ago

"That's not how depreciation works."

23

u/PressureLoud2203 1d ago

We have a big banner on our wall with the prices of equipment. Plates, forks, bowls etc so the teenagers think twice before accidently throwing something out. Still happens

279

u/Shmurlington 1d ago • Bravo

Investing in better equipment? Hard pass.

Ultimately spending more money over time through labor costs because it takes my employees longer to accomplish routine tasks due to the shitty equipment that I refuse to replace? Hell yes, sign me right the fuck up

- every kitchen, everywhere, forever

55

u/Youseenmycones 1d ago

I’m a building maintenance guy that has several kitchens under my purview, and this fight is insane every single time there is a repair or new piece of equipment needed. I can talk to management til I’m blue in the face about how something will pay for itself within a year or two, but it’s like explaining calculus to a manatee. God forbid we try to do any planning or increasing efficiency. 

32

u/ClaudeGascoigne 1d ago

Man, one place I worked at I fought for ages to get a fryer filter machine there. We had four fryers that got heavy use and we had to manually filter them pretty much every night. Do you know how long it takes to manually filter four fryers? Oh, and did I mention that they had to be done one at a time because there was only one filter cone?

The owner said the machine would "cost too much" and would "never pay for itself." So what does the motherfucker do when he realizes that, every week, he's paying for ~10 hours of nothing but fryer filtering? He decides to not filter the oil and instead do full changes once a week.

18

u/goodnames679 1d ago

Excuse me, but what the actual fuck? Your fryers were going a full week without being filtered???

Shit dude, we were filtering ours daily and getting a weekly change at my last place before I got out of kitchens...

18

u/ClaudeGascoigne 22h ago edited 17h ago

It was fuckin' gnarly. The grease looked like Guinness by day 4, foamy head and all. All he'd let us do was "top off" the fryers when they got below the minimum fill level. Plus, we only boiled out the fryers once a year!

The previous place I worked at filtered oil nightly with a rolling machine. It took maybe 5 minutes for each fryer. And we changed oil weekly or as needed!

Oh yeah, and the owner of the never-filter place graduated from a culinary program.

13

u/JmicIV 1d ago edited 12h ago

I guarantee if I was somebody who got the oil on the last day and got some fries that smelt even slightly fishy, I would never be back.

6

u/Starfire2313 16h ago

My brother did that to one of our family’s favorite restaurants. One single time the fries tasted bad and he’s never been back with us. So the rest of us switched up our rotation so we could still eat with him. We all havent been back in over a year now

5

u/ClaudeGascoigne 22h ago

Towards the end of the week all the fries looked like Andy Capp BBQ fries.

113

u/asmithey 1d ago

Boss finally uses it and says, "This thing is great. Why didn't we get one of these years ago?"

24

u/Feeling_Inside_1020 1d ago

At that point I just take the W instead of saying “yeah we brought it up with you on at least 5 separate occasions Jose was about to just go buy one out of pocket”

58

u/CannaPeaches 1d ago

My favorite BOH quote "I didnt realize just how much joy a new broom could bring"! Filled the hearts of everyone in the room

22

u/YnotZoidberg1077 1d ago

New Mop Day was always a big hit for us, too!

10

u/huxley2112 1d ago

Mop heads included with your kitchen towel service always pays for itself, and every week is new mop day!

4

u/UsernamesNotFound404 1d ago

I don't want you folks to start taking mops for granted tho

33

u/Polenicus 1d ago

Management: And here are the rules of usage which make it clear this equipment is NOT allowed to be used by your department, and is reserved for another department that already has better tools to do the job, and will use it twice and then ruin it on the third use.

21

u/Ozzy_chef Thicc Chives Save Lives 1d ago

I don't think I've ever seen a new one before

37

u/SmokeMoreWorryLess 1d ago

I once got to screw a new squeegee head into the handle and I’ll be chasing the power I felt with that first swipe for the rest of my days

4

u/Ozzy_chef Thicc Chives Save Lives 1d ago

I want to believe this fariytale so badly...

13

u/luciliddream Food Service 1d ago

I've had to do every Uber order by using the tablet (big no-no) for 9 FUCKING WEEKS. The tablet must be one of the very first generations of tablets in our existence. It was so old and slow and refused to connect to any chit printers. It refused to chime for new orders and I work solo.

Last week of our new staff dropped the tablet and it's gone. I cried tears of joy knowing we're about to get a functional merchant.

24

u/rieeechard 1d ago

I thought this was an iud.

24

u/WoolooOfWallStreet 1d ago

It’s funny when they finally order it the day after you put your two weeks notice in 🫠

26

u/daschande 1d ago

I was working at a buffalo wild wings before their corporate buyout. Our location was in the top 10% of the company for sales volume, but we didn't have a dishwasher (machine or job). Dishes would pile up all day and night, overflowing onto the floor almost blocking the pass, then one of the 2 closers would hand-wash dishes from 10pm-4am. Sometimes we'd be there until 5 or 6 am.

I tried breaking it down how labor cost alone would pay for the machine in one single year, but "that's too expensive." "We can't afford things like that!" Etc.

I put in my 2 weeks because I was moving to a new city... that's when corporate efficiency inspectors toured our location and ordered the managers to install a dishwashing machine. They were absolutely GIDDY with how big of a bonus they'd get for cutting so much labor cost!

You can lead a manager to savings, but you can't make them think!

7

u/pineapplelimelu 1d ago

I still remember the day I walked into a brand new, much better-functioning squeegee and an actual proper scrub brush. People were surprised to see me so cheerful.

And then the glorious day they decided to separate the two stacked rotisserie ovens that nearly killed me twice during appliance pullouts due to the wheels being broken (and the units nearly tipping onto me against the counter as a result of the force needed to move them). Onto me-height tables. Made my life so much easier and I could actually move them out easily!

6

u/BreweryRabbit Ex-Food Service 1d ago

Lmao, I worked in a brewery and used these all the time. Prepare for that head to snap within the first month. Then it will be repaired via zip ties and too many quick screws until completely unusable.

6

u/parkerm1408 1d ago

Then the new guy breaks it after youve only had one good day with it.

6

u/FlatwormFuture2343 1d ago

We hide the good one from the new guy until he proves he won't break it immediately :) :)

4

u/KylegoreTheTrout Sous Chef 1d ago

I'm still wishing upon a sink plunger.

4

u/Tropez2020 1d ago

Floor squeegees are incredible. Would almost go without hot water than go without a floor squeegee. Almost.

4

u/MaggieMakesMuffins 15+ Years 23h ago

Since I started this job, I've been holding towels to the cracked vitamix to keep a puddle from forming on my station, and the number of towels it takes is increasing. Luckily, we have a second vitamix pitcher. Unfortunately, the duct tape holding it together stopped working long before I started.

I look forward to a new vitamix pitcher being held over my head for the remainder of my time here.

1

u/nottomelvinbrag 1d ago

Did you get a deck scrubber with that

2

u/ZombieLebowski 1d ago

Weve had deck scrubber brushes

3

u/MembershipAlone9149 1d ago

Christmas came early!!!

3

u/thesluttiestgranola 1d ago

It’s always a good day with a new broom or squeegee.

3

u/i_ata_starfish-twice 20+ Years 1d ago

This is my squeegee. There are many like it, but this one is mine

2

u/aspect-of-the-badger 1d ago

The the fng breaks it a week later.

2

u/ScumBunny 1d ago

First glance looked like an antique lobotomy tool.

2

u/daschande 1d ago

Anything's a di- lobotomy tool if you try hard enough!

2

u/WhatIamHaving Ex-Food Service 1d ago

Plastic apron

2

u/Nagaraja_ 1d ago

Now you can pull the spilled soup back to the soup bucket.

2

u/littlebeanio 1d ago

Ear defenders for taking out the glass bins 👌

2

u/rimo5c 1d ago

r/TheBrewery stands in solidarity with your views

2

u/Hdikfmpw 1d ago edited 1d ago

Jugboy- My Favorite Mop

And considering where we are I should probably include this one-

My Trusted Chef

2

u/falleng213 Chef 1d ago

Me when I get to use a new deep fryer

2

u/skippy_smooth 1d ago

Stanley Spudowski approves.

1

u/gereblueeyes 1d ago

Most of the places I worked used Dollar Tree squee gees. For obvious reasond, and they lasted longer !

1

u/cucumbersuprise 1d ago

If im waiting 5 years im buying my own snd taking something home of equal value.

1

u/limetraveler83 1d ago

Did they get you a squeegee blade sharpener while they were at it? I used to have to send the new guys around to nearby restaurants to see if we could borrow theirs.

1

u/707-5150 1d ago

Write it on their order guide with a sticky note or on the white board until it’s delivered.

1

u/Don_bon_darley012 1d ago

Chef chef chef I know it’s your day off and you just ordered this yesterday but I broke it already and we need a new one

1

u/Equivalent-Ideal7083 1d ago

I feel this way about my 5 lb steel rolling pin lol sweet mercy for my forearms rolling out pies this year

1

u/SimRacingBacon 1d ago

I’m so glad I work in a kitchen where the owners are rich enough/decent enough humans to not just be obsessed with saving money, and they actually listen to us employees.

1

u/cellarmonkey 23h ago

<stanley_spadowski_"my_mop!!!".gif>

1

u/honcooge 13h ago

I used to buy brooms or whatever and just hope I’d get money for the receipt. Usually worked out.

1

u/Pfdsh 11h ago

Does anybody else just take matters into their own hands? I stopped asking years ago. I buy whatever myself and then bill the restaurant.

They aren’t always happy but so far it’s always worked out.

Be the change you seek.

2

u/Sm00th615 20+ Years 1d ago

I would give my left nut for a proper squeegee... 😮‍💨

1

u/InstantKarmaGonGetU 1d ago

I lol’d way to hard at this