Cell Phones

[ESHchef]

Just curious as to different policies regarding cell phone use in the kitchen. In mine they are basically not allowed and I do ask that ringers are turned off before starting a shift. I am sympathetic to some of the people who have kids and need to be reached in case of emergency but that is pretty much as far as it goes.

Also curious as to how business is for everyone. In the Detroit area it has been miserably cold which has put a big dent in our wallets. January is historicaly a bad month but this is getting out of hand!

Thanks to all!

[lebelage]

" am sympathetic to some of the people who have kids and need to be reached in case of emergency but that is pretty much as far as it goes."

You need not tolerate it at all. People had children for thousands of years with no cellphones.

And don't you think your policy is biased? Giving people who have children privileges that people without children don't have?

I don't allow them to enter the kitchen, period. They gotta stay in the lockers. Because invariably people cheat and start sneaking off to use them. Not only that but everyone is going to have a different idea of what "an emergency" is.
Some people's notion of "an emergency" is that their kid wants to say hi.

If there's a real emergency it can go through the company line.

But that is just my opinion which is incredibly unpopular with the "my parenthood defines how everything should be in this world" set.

[ESHchef]

Point taken, thanks.

[Fincher]

cell phones in the kitchen don't bother me abit. its over use and abuse that bother me. We don't have anyone at work who abuses the phone so its not an issue.

I say give people certain freedoms until they do something to abuse it. abuse of rule making is as bad as abuse for cell phones in my book.

And don't you think your policy is biased? Giving people who have children privileges that people without children don't have?

to me rules like this are also biased in the first place. There wouldn't be a rule against cell phones in most places if the workers actually only used them for emergencies. If they only recieved one call a week or so this wouldn't be an issue. but there is always that one jerk who has to talk to his friends every few minutes. Its because of him that other people have to suffer and not have cell phones. So its biased against everyone who are good workers in favor of the one idiot.

With all the issues that go on in a kitchen, cleanliness, seasoning, team work, attitude, dress, etc.. cell phones to me are a minimal problem. and they can't be dealt with on a case by case issue.

[Fincher]

but I also like what janice says. any real emergency can go through the company line. thats also a very good policy.

[lebelage]

In a small place you may be able to go case by case. But say a place with 20 kitchen employees.

Someone abuses the phone. So you tell them they are no longer allowed to use their cell phone.

Next thing you know you have a discrimination case because they've decided it's their gender, race, religion etc that is causing the loss of privileges not that they abused them.

You can't really give and take privileges in this litigious society. Like it or not you have to treat everyone alike.
Whether or not they deserve to be treated alike.

[foodpump]

Cellphones are very addictive and disruptive. I've fired one guy who was in the john yakking on his phone with a pot burning dry, he was calling prospective employers about his resume... Another girl walked out on me when I told her to put the @#$% - ing thing in her locker.
What worked best for me was to tell each and every employee to stick their phones in their lockers. How you spend your time on lunch breaks or after work is your business.

[BistroOwner1]

Wow, sounds like your either at one extreme or another with this issue. I don't allow them to use them while they are on the line, but I have seen a quick call placed while out for a smoke break. We fall under the no abuse - so no problem group. On the other hand, I don't allow them past the kitchen doors to the FOH under any circumstances. The glory of cell phones is , they all come with voice mail!

[Fincher]

you give them lunch breaks? your too nice!

[slick4591]

I learned the hard way that phones don't belong in the kitchen. I used to allow it, but when complaints started coming in that my food wasn't consistant I started noticing that people were making recipes with a phone stuck in an ear. Made it a policy that phones get turned off when employees were on my time.

[cheztom]

I only have one person right now who's having a hard time with the "no cells" policy. They are welcome to use the kitchen line for emergencies. Caught them last week texting while manning an action station. One strike. But J is right - have to be careful how you handle this.

[Max_Xavier]

I also agree. No cellphones in the kitchen. The restaurant line is great for recieving emergency calls.

Interesting Experience...
A long time ago in Orlando. I was working in a catering company. We had a new hire prep kid who felt his cellphone was an primary obligation and work was secondary. Apparently he was running a telethon on his second day. After the second call Chef asked him to put the phone away and reminded him of the policy in the employee handbook that he signed when he was hired. The kid kept answering his cell phone anyway . The Chef being an extremely passive/aggresive kind was patient with it for about 2 hours. After two hours Chef asked the new kid to turn it off. So he did supposedly. Within a few minutes the phone rang, the kid answered it and excused himself to talk in private outside. so of course Chef went calmly Nuclear for a second, You may know that facial expresion. Then with a smile called the kid into the kitchen and asked to see his really cool phone. When the kid handed him the phone-Chef asked how much it cost and what brand it was. The second the kid answered, the Chef pulled $$ out if his wallet, handed the cash to the kid and demolished the phone by thowing it across the street against a building. Chefs' only words after that were. (spoken with calm elegance) "alright!, now you can focus on work, if you still want the job." all the while having a big smile on his face. The kid worked with us for over a year.

[firechef37]

We're in the no abuse no problem catagory as long as you're smart enough to realize that once the "fun" starts you'd better not answer...better yet put the damn thing on vibrate and get a quick thrill while you work...as for FOH, I don't want to see them or hear them or even have someone think you may have one. We have two incoming lines and a fax line. Got an emergency have them call that way. Unless your house is on fire or you yourself died my phone had better not ring as a personal call for anyone during a high volume period. I actually missed a call from some restaurant owner/Chef in the metro-NYC area that had called me to offer his help in "improving" my restaurant because of the no call during busy service "rule."

FYI...a cell phone in a 365F fryer is not a good thing. Hands free devices come in handy. Heck, my mom, also a sucessful real estate broker, helps out from time to time and knows to silence her phone in my "house."

[foodpump]

Y'know firechief, dropping a cellphone in a fryer reminds me of my Chef where I did my apprenticeship.

This was in the mid '80's and the hotel had just issued beepers/pagers to all heads of Dept. This did not go well with the Chef and he did make some comparisons of Eunichs to carrying a pager. I was grinding up vegetables in the buffalo chopper when the Chef sees me and gets this evil Grinch-like grin on face. He instructs me to clear out all the vegtables from the chopper, then sticks the beeper in his breast pocket, saunters over, and dramatically leans over the chopper, shaking his pocket vigorously like a strip dancer. The old buffalo chopper hiccups and sneezes then plows through that beeper, spraying the kitchen with little bitty pieces....

[cheztom]

Dropped my cell in the fryer for about 5 seconds. Fished it out with tongs and proceeded to "dry" it out. It still works, but the display looks like a lava lamp now. Nokia makes some good equipment.

Oh yeah, we lost the use of that fryer for most of service that night.