Penni Ellington

Orientation Speech

Hi everyone. My name is Penni, and I’m going to be your Trainer today for Orientation. First off, I want to welcome you to the Chili’s family. You guys are going to have so much fun working here! I know some of you are probably nervous, but let me assure you, there’s no reason to be. We are all really friendly here and if you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to ask me.

First, I’m going to have each of you introduce yourself. Then I’ll tell you a little bit about myself, and a little bit about Chili’s. From there I’ll go into what you can expect during your five days of training, and I’ll tell you about some of our most frequently asked questions. Then I’ll answer any other questions you might have, and we’ll watch some videos that help illustrate some of the stuff we went over. Finally, we’ll take a quick tour of the restaurant, so you can get a feel for where we keep everything. This should take about three hours altogether, but I’ll make sure we get some breaks and some food, so don’t panic!

Okay, let me hand you your workbooks and then we’ll go around the table and have everyone introduce themselves and say where you are from. [Hand out packets, and let everyone introduce themselves].

As I said, my name is Penni, and I’m originally from California. I moved here to Wilmington three-and-a-half years ago to go back to school. I got hired at Chili’s in July of 1997—a full month before we opened the store. So I’m one of four originals left from the opening. Also, I’ve been a trainer since Day One, and I’ve literally trained most of the employees working here today. So, I think I can answer just about any questions you might throw at me. If I can’t, I’ll grab a manager and get back to you.

Okay, now that you’ve all about my fabulous life, let me talk briefly about Chili’s. Chili’s started out as a single restaurant back in Dallas in 1975. About 15 to 20 years ago, Chili’s began to branch out into other states, and eventually across the globe. There are now over 600 Chili’s worldwide. We are in over 20 countries and in every state in the US. We are owned by Brinker International, which also owns Macaroni Grill, South of the Boarder, and Pizzahhs! And, Fortune 500 named us one of the fastest growing businesses 1999---so this is a really great place to work. There are opportunities to climb up the corporate ladder if any of you are interested in looking into it. Raul, our main boss, started off as a busboy nine years ago, and is now part owner in this restaurant. So, as I said, if you want to go into management, or bartending, or cooking, whatever, you will have those opportunities.

Alright, now that I’ve given you all those boring statistics, let’s jump right into training. I’m sure you guys are feeling anxious, so I’ll try to make this as straight forward and simple as I can. If you have any questions, just stop me.

There are five training days. Some of you might have an extra day, or some of you might have only four days. That’s up to the managers, and what our schedule looks like. But you will have all the same classrooms. Each day, you will have a class, a meal, and a test. We will try to get all of these done before you go onto the floor with your trainer, but sometimes we might run out of time and have to finish up the class after our shift. Expect to be here for most if not all of an entire shift. In other words, don’t make any dinner reservations if you are training that night.

For Day One, you’ll probably only be here three or four hours, max. Day One is your Ticket and Expo day. Basically, we’ll teach you how to write out tickets, how to take orders, how our Micro works, and what food comes out of what window. You will actually spend about two hours just standing and observing what specific food come out of each window. This will also give you a chance to see what our food looks like, and that will help you with your menu tests. If you can visualize the food, it’s easier to remember the ingredients.

Speaking of tests, on Day One you will be responsible for knowing the abbreviations for our ingredients—such as tomatoes and mustard--and you’ll also have the Appetizers and Soups tests. All the answers and homework are in order in your packets, so you can easily tell what you’ll be tested on the next day. Please do know this stuff when you come in. It makes our jobs so much easier. We are more than willing to help you, but you’ve got to show us you made an effort to learn this stuff. I know it’s a lot of info, but believe me, in two weeks, this will all be second nature to you, I promise.

Okay, onto Day Two. You’ll watch a Guest Sizzle video, and we’ll go into detail about what is Chili’s "Sizzle Service." We are really big on Sizzle Service, and we’ll pound that into you about 1,000 times before training is done. We’ll also start the beginning of our Alcohol class. This is the first day you’ll be on the floor with your Trainer. They may or may not have you take some tables, but you’ll at least get to see how we take orders. You’ll be tested on Salads, Tacos, Quesadillas, and the Guiltless Grill portion of our menu.

Day Three is the Difficult Guest video, and the rest of the Alcohol. And no—unfortunately, you don’t get to taste test the drinks! Sorry! You’ll take more tables—at least half. You’ll be tested on Grills, Favorites, Fajitas, and our Seating Chart.

Day Four is a Shadow Shift day. This means you’ll have all the tables in your section, and your Trainer will observe you. She will help you out if you get stuck, and she’ll definitely help you if you start to get overwhelmed. Day Four is your Alcohol and Liquor tests, along with your Burgers and Sandwiches tests. Don’t panic! If you don’t get all your tests finished—you’ve still got Day Five to play catch up. But again, try to come in as prepared as possible, because it is entirely up to that day’s Trainer as to how far you will go.

Day Five is the easiest day. You will have a Shadow Shift, and you will only have a classroom if you need to catch up on any tests. You’ll take every table by yourself, but again, your Trainer will be right there should you need help. We’re not going to abandon you and let you struggle with the customers by yourself. You’ll be tested on Kid’s Menu and Desserts—these are really easy.

If you are ready, you’ll also have your Ready To Roll and Food Server tests. Your Ready To Roll is an oral test where we ask you questions such as, "Where do we get ice? Where do the fajita trivets go? Where do we keep back up chips? How do we split a check? How do we make sweet tea?" You will be taught all of this during your training. And it’s not like we are going to fire you if you can’t answer every single question. We just want to know you’ve tried. We won’t fault you at all for not having a photographic memory. And as I said before, the Trainers are more that willing to help you if you show that you are trying.

I’m sure this all sounds totally overwhelming. It’s not. Yes, it’s a lot of information to try and absorb in just 5 days, but once you get through it, everything else is a piece of cake. You’ll be ready for the floor and most of this stuff will come back to you as needed. And every employee here is always willing to help you out for the first few weeks as you try to find things on the Micro and around the store. Everyone is really friendly and we all help each other out. We call it the Buddy System, and while it may sound dumb, it works.

I’m sure you have some questions running through your head, besides, "Where’s the nearest exit?" Let me answer some of the most common questions, and then I’ll open the floor to you guys.

First, let me tell you some of our policies. You are not allowed to smoke on the premises. This is one of Raul’s strictest policies. There are no cigarette breaks, and he doesn’t even want you smoking when you pull up or pull out of our parking lot. If you smoke, get patches.

If you need a day off, and you know in advance, write it in the Front of the House Request Off book. It’s a black book in the office. You need to request the day off at least two weeks in advance. And this is not a guarantee you will get it off, but we are really good here about granting requests. But just know that if you all want New Year’s Eve off, some of you may not get it. It’s based on a combination of seniority, people living in dorms, airline tickets, who worked last year, etc.

If you need a day off, but find out at the last minute—it is your responsibility to get someone to cover your shift for you. There is a light blue Shift Change book in the office. You write who is working for you, your name, the shift being covered, and a manager’s signature. If you do not put this in the book, or the manager doesn’t sign off on it, it could be your butt—no offense—if the person doesn’t show. In other words, if someone is supposed to work for you, and they don’t show, and it’s not in the book—you are the one held accountable and can be written up or fired. The reason we are so strict on this is because: 1) we don’t want people claiming someone picked up a shift for them just so they could go to a last minute party, and then just say, "Oops! I thought she agreed to work for me" 2) the managers know who is best suited for each station. Some servers are simply not strong enough to be closers. We don’t want a server working the lounge by themselves if they’ve never worked a ten-table section before.

If you are sick, same thing—get someone to cover for you. First, call Chili’s ASAP and let them know you are sick and are about to call around. This gives us a heads up so we can start asking people, or working on the schedule. Then, call everyone who’s not scheduled and see if anyone can help out. That way, if you cannot make it in, Chili’s knows you tried. We aren’t ogres. We aren’t going to make you work if you can’t. But we need to know you really tried to get it covered. We know how many people it takes to run the restaurant. So we schedule a specific amount per day. When you call in sick, you throw us off, and other servers have to suffer the consequences.

After all this bummer talk, let’s get to some good stuff! Discounts. You get 50% off your meals as long as you don’t take them out of the restaurant. So Togo food is not discounted. You can come in before a shift, or, if you are cut early enough, after your shift, and get a meal. You have to eat your meals at Table 20 or in the back. You can get a discount even if you are with other people, but the percentage goes down. If it’s just two of you, it’s still 50%. If it’s three people, it goes to 40% off, and so on. You do get a discount if you come in on your day off—as long as we are not on a wait.

You cannot eat in the lounge if you are in uniform. And if you do eat in the lounge—like on a day off, you will not get a discount—regardless of whether or not you drink anything. You are allowed to sit in the lounge on days off, but you must have a waitress between you and the bartender. You are not allowed to sit at the bar. You are not allowed to sit in the lounge after you get off a shift unless: 1) one hour has passed 2) you left the building and came back 3) you are out of uniform. This is just to protect our image. What would it say to customers if the wait staff was in the lounge drinking?

Finally, we get paid every other Friday. You can pick up your check after 2pm from the bar. You must sign for your check, and you are not allowed to pick up another employee’s check for them. If you don’t get your check on Friday, you can pick it up in the office.

Okay, I think I’ve covered almost everything. We went through your five days of training, your tests, and some of our policies. I’m now going to open the floor up to you guys for questions. There are no stupid questions, so don’t feel intimidated. After that, we’ll take a break, and then we’ll eat while watching the videos. And finally, I’ll give you a quick tour and get you guys out of here. Any questions?