Page 11 of Holly versus Mr. Ivy
Wait… if she wasn’t satisfied with her job, why had she stayed so long? Better yet, why had she not made adjustments to make The Boardwalk what she wanted? Regardless, I’d been in enough kitchens to know a good executive chef when I saw one. Letting Holly go wasn’t an option. “Quite the opposite, actually.”
“Explain. Please.”
I swiveled my computer screen so she could see the presentation I’d prepared. The first slide included a graph chart with answers from every employee regarding how they felt about the work environment at the restaurant.
“Only three percent of the entire restaurant staff stated they were content with the way things are currently operating.”
She flinched. “And it’s all my fault?”
There was more to the story than just her. “No. What I’m saying is our first priority is improving the work environment. I noticed it the very first day. Everyone is on eggshells around here. I’m not saying we turn into a frat house, but we need to create camaraderie.” My hope was that in making Holly aware of the situation, she’d be able to help me improve the overall feeling at the restaurant. Just like I needed to figure out a way to get the waitstaff to be more alert and on top of things. If everyone put in an effort to improve, we could reach our goal.
She picked up her donut and nibbled on it. “How?”
I clicked to the next slide. “A party.”
She snorted. “Of course you’d think a party would solve a problem.”
Of course you’d shoot the idea down.I ignored her barb. “We’ll do it here at the restaurant before we open. We’ll ask someone else to cater it so no one has to work extra hours. We’ll play a few games, relax, talk to each other, that kind of thing. And introduce a reward system.”
“If you think I want to spend my non-working hours with Darby and Josh, you’re highly mistaken. I’d rather cut off my finger.” She mimed chopping off her appendages.
Neither did I, but for the sake of the restaurant, I would. “We need our executive chef to keep all her fingers intact.” How did I get Holly to see how important this was? “I know it isn’t what anyonewantsto do, but it needs to be done. The atmosphere here needs to change before we can implement the rest of our plans.”
“Can’t we just let some people go? It certainly would improve my mood.”
I grimaced. That aspect of my job was a last resort. Ending someone’s career, taking away their financial security, completely sucked. From what I’d observed, if Darby and Josh were gone, the atmosphere in the kitchen would improve drastically, and in turn, things might not be as tense. But could I do it? Would I be able to handle the burden of guilt? Did we have enough time to train new employees?
If, and that was a big IF, we went that route, then maybe we went all in and let go of all the employees who currently weren’t working at an acceptable level. “Is that really what you want?”
She lifted a shoulder. “I’d certainly prefer that over pretending to havefunat a party with Darby and Josh.”
“And you don’t think there’s a possibility of them making any improvements, even when you haven’t heard my full plan yet?”
Holly let out an impatient sigh. “From the moment I was hired, Darby hasn’t liked me. No, I don’t think whatever genius idea you have will make a bit of difference. Our best option is to let her go.”
I slowly nodded, soaking in her words as dread filled my stomach. “Okay. If that’s what you want, I’ll support your decision.”I hate letting people go.
“Thank you.”
I stared at the grains of wood on my desktop. “You’re welcome.”
“What do we do while we’re trying to hire new employees?”
We couldn’t operate without being fully staffed. “We interview first. Once we find candidates, then we let the others go.”
“Okay.” She slid down in her chair. “You know, I despise this part of management. I’ve suffered with those two simply because the last time I told someone to pack up and not come back, I…” She picked at a button on her shirt.
Whoa!Was Holly sharing a vulnerability? I liked it. I liked knowing I wasn’t the only one who struggled with letting people go. I liked knowing we had something in common. That she had difficulties just like I did. “You what?” I gently prodded.
“I felt guilty for a long time. I didn’t eat or sleep for at least a week after.”
I could relate. “The first time I had to fire someone, I ran to the bathroom and puked right after.” Nausea still brewed any time I terminated an employee, but at least I hadn’t spewed my guts since that first time. I guess that was a win? “Let’s do it together, when the time comes.”
A brief smile flitted across her lips. “You’re a puker, huh?”
Despite the heavy topic, I smiled at Holly’s attempt to lighten the mood. “You better have a trashcan ready when the time comes.”
“I’ll bring in a few in case it becomes explosive.” She smiled. Then, as if realizing what her lips were doing, she schooled them back to a neutral line. “Back to this party. When will it be, and what do you need from me?”
