By the time I was 15, I was shucking oysters at a restaurant in New Orleans. At 16, I was dishwashing, serving, hosting, and bartending (I was a terrible bartender). After that I moved on to the booze biz and found some success there, but none of that would have happened if I hadn’t put my time in behind the bar.
I miss the feeling like I’m in the chute at a rodeo when a big night looms ahead, but also know what it’s like to stand around on a hot Tuesday afternoon, wondering if anyone was ever going to walk in the door. Despite the angry customers, throbbing hangovers while trying to open, or not knowing whether I’d be able to pay rent, I wouldn’t trade one minute of it.
Anyone who’s done time in the industry knows exactly what I mean. I hated it… but I loved it, too.
The Service Industry Network was born out of a desire to share all those mixed feelings of love and hate we have for the hospitality business, created by a splinter cell of UNION Point of Sale (don’t worry, we’re not going to try to sell you a POS). When I joined UNION it was evident from day one how committed the team was to this business and its people. And that’s not some fluffy statement to get you to love us – this company is made up of pros who now want to do right by the culture that raised them.
If there’s anything in this world we know, it’s the service industry. It’s in our blood.
We wanted a real, tangible place for the pro tips, the war stories, the jokes, the insider stuff that only we get. We wanted to foster that reckless, fun culture that we love, that we’re drawn to, no matter if we’re still behind the bar, taking orders, or working in the office and miss those glory days. We wanted to give you exactly what you wanted because at the end of the day, we’re all in this together. So…shots?
