10 ms·

I was a dishy for years in a few different restaurants and hotels. It's hard work but if you do your best to help out the kitchen and wait staff wherever you ca

I was a dishy for years in a few different restaurants and hotels. It's hard work but if you do your best to help out the kitchen and wait staff wherever you can (picking up ingredients, helping mise en place, fetching dish carts yourself, stocking bar) then you can really make a difference in the day to day. Sometimes I miss the camaraderie. It's an easy industry to get stuck in though, and there's usually a lot of alcohol involved. It took me a while but eventually decided it's not for me.

ginknocab 2y ago
I got stuck a long time in restaurants from around 18 years old to right at 30. Finally got out and move to the construction industry. I'm just wondering what exactly Aguilar did in construction that's definitely harder than some high volume fast paced kitchens. Only thing I can come up with is most likely roofing, especially during the summer, because everything else I've been through in construction is easier. "I ask Aguilar: How does this compare to the construction work you did back home? 'It’s easy,' he says."
- mason55 2y ago
  I wouldn't be surprised if the construction business in Guatemala is a lot harder than in the US. Probably longer hours, no breaks, harder work, few to no worker protections.
- mdgrech23 2y ago
  man that is a super informative comment. I worked a shitty fast food job back in the day and I always felt like that was the hardest job I ever did. Literally just non stop work.
- akira2501 2y ago
  The difference between construction and the kitchen is that if I mess up in the kitchen we're out probably less than $100. If I mess up in construction we're out significantly more in particular if it's a commercial construction job.
  - nradov 2y ago
    That's not a meaningful difference from the employee's perspective. If you mess up in either job then the worst that they can do is fire you (unless you engage in some sort of malicious sabotage that could be proven in court).
    - akira2501 2y ago
      > That's not a meaningful difference from the employee's perspective. Perhaps for certain types of employees. I know that if the cost of my mistake is much higher then the level of preparation and study I'm going to do before committing to action is going to be greater. I guess some people just can't be made to work that way. > the worst that they can do is fire you If I lose a job in a kitchen, I can find work tomorrow, if I lose a job in construction, it's going to be harder to replace that salary. The zero sum analysis doesn't really work here.
      - nradov 2y ago
        Huh? It's not hard to find construction jobs at all. Contractors are constantly hiring.
  - mckn1ght 2y ago
    There is another kind of mistake than can be made besides procedural. My worst safety screwups in foodservice were 2 things: cutting through my fingernail and about 2/3 of my entire fingertip with a brand new chefs knife (looked away at somebody barking something in my ear while rapidly chiffonading basil) and plunging my entire hand into a deep fryer (slipped while wiping down the edge of the oil vat–again, rushing). I’ve heard way worse stories coming out of construction. People breaking backs, having hands pulled into machinery… my mistakes have healed, theirs are permanently disfiguring.
    - WalterBright 2y ago
      The framing people I knew were all mostly deaf from the saws and nail guns.
- mckn1ght 2y ago
  I worked about 12 years in restaurants, held every job besides mgmt level, including one of the hardest being an upscale dive bar with actually decent food and a sparkling kitchen (read: lots of elbow grease), where the cooks also had to wash dishes, there was no dedicated position for that. I’ve worked in kitchens that maintained over 100°F ambient temps next to pizza ovens wearing long sleeved chef jackets. Kitchens where we dragged pieces of ovens, stoves and entire coolers/shelves outside after every Sunday brunch to power wash them. I also worked for a week one summer with an uncle who laid brick. We built a chimney on a two story house. Mixing concrete and mortar in mixers and wheelbarrows and getting it to the work spots, carrying bricks around, carrying 100 lb sections of flue up half finished stairs and ladders. No comparison. I never slept better in my life than that week. Hardest work I’ve ever experienced. I’m sure construction, like foodservice, has easier and harder jobs. But I’d be willing to bet the hardest construction job is way harder than the hardest foodservice job. Not to mention more dangerous.
QuantumGood 2y ago
I washed dishes in a downtown tower with four restaurants, all sharing one kitchen. The output of the dishwasher took four people, mostly because delivering the dishes across the huge kitchen distances was time consuming. I had a lot of generalized anxiety, and so I liked complex physical challenges. I eventually replaced all four dishwashers. Took a lot of intense speed and strategic dish delivery. I came very close to the dishes coming out going back into the loading area again, and that's where I needed the greatest speed. Over the years I've found other people also dealt with their anxiety by seeking out intense sports or sports-like physical activities that facilitated seeking higher and higher levels of mastery.
- ffefese 2y ago
  [dead]
- aj7 2y ago
  Very cool comment.
- patrickmay 2y ago
  > I came very close to the dishes coming out going back into the loading area again, and that's where I needed the greatest speed. I had trouble parsing this and got a vision of you meeting yourself coming out of the loading area.
  - vyrotek 2y ago
    Dunkin Donuts commercial "Time to make the donuts" "I already made the donuts"
- booleandilemma 2y ago
  Did you feel guilty about the other 4 guys losing their jobs?
  - QuantumGood 2y ago
    Three others, and none were lost. One was the nephew of my boss, who was allowed to just go sit in a break room pretty much any time. The other two just hung around looking busy whenever the boss came by. The cooks knew what was going on but didn't say anything. Eventually, my boss figured it out and assigned me to clean pots and baking racks in the bakery. Dysfunctional place for dishwashers. She told me I could be an assistant baker and get a raise if I learned everything the two bakers could teach. When they day came they said "there's nothing more to teach you" (there was a lot more, but not for an "assistant"). I told my boss and she literally ran out of her office, me running after her, ran into the bakery shouting "he thinks he knows everything!". No assistant baker job for me. I moved on the next day.
jamil7 2y ago
> Sometimes I miss the camaraderie. I also worked as a dishpig and kitchen hand in my early 20s before I got a job programming. The feeling of the kitchen humming during service is something I’ve never come close to in office jobs. The flip side of course when everything collapses, getting screamed at, shit pay and horrible hours.

ginknocab 2y ago

I got stuck a long time in restaurants from around 18 years old to right at 30. Finally got out and move to the construction industry. I'm just wondering what exactly Aguilar did in construction that's definitely harder than some high volume fast paced kitchens. Only thing I can come up with is most likely roofing, especially during the summer, because everything else I've been through in construction is easier. "I ask Aguilar: How does this compare to the construction work you did back home? 'It’s easy,' he says."

mason55 2y ago
I wouldn't be surprised if the construction business in Guatemala is a lot harder than in the US. Probably longer hours, no breaks, harder work, few to no worker protections.
mdgrech23 2y ago
man that is a super informative comment. I worked a shitty fast food job back in the day and I always felt like that was the hardest job I ever did. Literally just non stop work.
akira2501 2y ago
The difference between construction and the kitchen is that if I mess up in the kitchen we're out probably less than $100. If I mess up in construction we're out significantly more in particular if it's a commercial construction job.
- nradov 2y ago
  That's not a meaningful difference from the employee's perspective. If you mess up in either job then the worst that they can do is fire you (unless you engage in some sort of malicious sabotage that could be proven in court).
  - akira2501 2y ago
    > That's not a meaningful difference from the employee's perspective. Perhaps for certain types of employees. I know that if the cost of my mistake is much higher then the level of preparation and study I'm going to do before committing to action is going to be greater. I guess some people just can't be made to work that way. > the worst that they can do is fire you If I lose a job in a kitchen, I can find work tomorrow, if I lose a job in construction, it's going to be harder to replace that salary. The zero sum analysis doesn't really work here.
    - nradov 2y ago
      Huh? It's not hard to find construction jobs at all. Contractors are constantly hiring.
- mckn1ght 2y ago
  There is another kind of mistake than can be made besides procedural. My worst safety screwups in foodservice were 2 things: cutting through my fingernail and about 2/3 of my entire fingertip with a brand new chefs knife (looked away at somebody barking something in my ear while rapidly chiffonading basil) and plunging my entire hand into a deep fryer (slipped while wiping down the edge of the oil vat–again, rushing). I’ve heard way worse stories coming out of construction. People breaking backs, having hands pulled into machinery… my mistakes have healed, theirs are permanently disfiguring.
  - WalterBright 2y ago
    The framing people I knew were all mostly deaf from the saws and nail guns.
mckn1ght 2y ago
I worked about 12 years in restaurants, held every job besides mgmt level, including one of the hardest being an upscale dive bar with actually decent food and a sparkling kitchen (read: lots of elbow grease), where the cooks also had to wash dishes, there was no dedicated position for that. I’ve worked in kitchens that maintained over 100°F ambient temps next to pizza ovens wearing long sleeved chef jackets. Kitchens where we dragged pieces of ovens, stoves and entire coolers/shelves outside after every Sunday brunch to power wash them. I also worked for a week one summer with an uncle who laid brick. We built a chimney on a two story house. Mixing concrete and mortar in mixers and wheelbarrows and getting it to the work spots, carrying bricks around, carrying 100 lb sections of flue up half finished stairs and ladders. No comparison. I never slept better in my life than that week. Hardest work I’ve ever experienced. I’m sure construction, like foodservice, has easier and harder jobs. But I’d be willing to bet the hardest construction job is way harder than the hardest foodservice job. Not to mention more dangerous.

QuantumGood 2y ago

I washed dishes in a downtown tower with four restaurants, all sharing one kitchen. The output of the dishwasher took four people, mostly because delivering the dishes across the huge kitchen distances was time consuming. I had a lot of generalized anxiety, and so I liked complex physical challenges. I eventually replaced all four dishwashers. Took a lot of intense speed and strategic dish delivery. I came very close to the dishes coming out going back into the loading area again, and that's where I needed the greatest speed. Over the years I've found other people also dealt with their anxiety by seeking out intense sports or sports-like physical activities that facilitated seeking higher and higher levels of mastery.

ffefese 2y ago
[dead]
aj7 2y ago
Very cool comment.
patrickmay 2y ago
> I came very close to the dishes coming out going back into the loading area again, and that's where I needed the greatest speed. I had trouble parsing this and got a vision of you meeting yourself coming out of the loading area.
- vyrotek 2y ago
  Dunkin Donuts commercial "Time to make the donuts" "I already made the donuts"
booleandilemma 2y ago
Did you feel guilty about the other 4 guys losing their jobs?
- QuantumGood 2y ago
  Three others, and none were lost. One was the nephew of my boss, who was allowed to just go sit in a break room pretty much any time. The other two just hung around looking busy whenever the boss came by. The cooks knew what was going on but didn't say anything. Eventually, my boss figured it out and assigned me to clean pots and baking racks in the bakery. Dysfunctional place for dishwashers. She told me I could be an assistant baker and get a raise if I learned everything the two bakers could teach. When they day came they said "there's nothing more to teach you" (there was a lot more, but not for an "assistant"). I told my boss and she literally ran out of her office, me running after her, ran into the bakery shouting "he thinks he knows everything!". No assistant baker job for me. I moved on the next day.

jamil7 2y ago

> Sometimes I miss the camaraderie. I also worked as a dishpig and kitchen hand in my early 20s before I got a job programming. The feeling of the kitchen humming during service is something I’ve never come close to in office jobs. The flip side of course when everything collapses, getting screamed at, shit pay and horrible hours.