Many Restaurant Job Applicants Aren't Showing Up For Interviews

[Demovictory9]

With a skyline view, and a Scandinavian kitchen, the Hewing Hotel is back in full swing. Like almost every restaurant around, they’re hiring. Nyle Flynn is the executive chef at the hotel’s Tullibee restaurant.

“As executive chefs, it’s our jobs to take cooks and turn them into sous chefs, take sous chefs and turn them into chefs, and that’s how you keep people in the industry for a long time,” Flynn said.

But lately, that’s gotten really tricky. Take last week for instance.

“Out of the 12 interviews, three showed up, nine no-called, no-showed, and never answered for a follow-up phone call,” Flynn said.

He’s had an increase in applicants and a decrease in people following up — something he’s never seen in his 16 years in the industry.

https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2021/06/21/many-restaurant-job-applicants-arent-showing-up-for-interviews/

[ck4829]

1. "Don't call me, I'll call you."... Maybe some will follow up 6 weeks later, it was SOP when I was

looking for a job a long time ago, every employer of those GLORIOUS minimum wage jobs took their sweet time.

Doesn't feel so great when the table turns, huh?

Critical Race Theory

[TheBlackAdder]

32. Yep, it's a two-way street. So many applicants submit and never follow through on an interviews too.

.

While they are trying to paint this as a COVID-19 issue related to the stimulus/survival payments keeping people from working, it's really that the restaurant industry treats their employees like shit. As the markets open back up, the better gigs are getting filled first and the shittier locations are being ghosted. Perhaps this is more of an indication of how shitty certain employers are.

Much like when the economy is strong, employers don't call applicants for interviews to line up future staffing, they ghost the applicants.

.

[obamanut2012]

33. Exactly!

The worm turns.

[marble falls]

2. Not so sure how the back of the house ran, but they treated the front of the house as ....

... disposable though necessary inconveniences.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

3. Let me know when they do a story about how job applicants are strung along, required to perform

unpaid labor as part of the application, and then eventually ghosted.

[ck4829]

7. For years, how many employers put the worst possible people in charge of hiring?

Last edited Tue Jun 29, 2021, 12:53 PM - Edit history (1)

And then they wonder why people aren't rushing back to THAT.

Critical Race Theory

[Johnny2X2X]

4. Displaced workers

The restaurant industry laid off millions of workers last year, those workers decided they'd rather work in other industries. It's going to take years for restaurants to get fully staffed. This happens in every recession in industries that were particularly hard hit.

As far as people not showing up for interviews, happens all the time, I'd bet they're offering low pay and no benefits.

[brooklynite]

5. Doesn't explain why they applied in the first place.

[Ace Rothstein]

8. They're probably applying to multiple jobs.

Hiring processes are so drawn out that they have since taken a different position.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

9. People generally apply because they want a job, and they often apply to more than one job at a time.

If their circumstances change before they get a callback, they're likely to ignore the callback when it comes.

[Arazi]

10. Many states require proof that you're trying to find work for unemployment

So people put out a lot of applications for jobs they have no intention of interviewing for.

To solve that, employers need to pay a living wage plus real benefits with decent (not abusive) working conditions. Then you'd find people who would show up to interview.

[Act_of_Reparation]

12. Been a while since you last applied for a job, huh?

They could have had multiple job applications out at the same time and were made an offer between accepting the interview and interview date. Surely you get the supply v. demand situation in the food service labor market.

[brooklynite]

14. Understood, but Idon't believe in burning my bridges...

A simple call to cancel the appointment helps preserve the opportunity in the future.

[Act_of_Reparation]

17. Dude. The Greasy Spoon ain't a Fortune 500 company...

...and these kids aren't hoping for long, prosperous careers in dish washing or table busing. It's rude, sure, but entirely predictable. You don't get to pay sub-minimum wages and expect nothing but the most professional prospective employees.

[brooklynite]

20. And the Hewing Hotel ain't a greasy spoon...

https://hewinghotel.com/tullibee-restaurant/

[haele]

27. Most of these places are still run on a margin, doesn't matter if it's greasy spoon or Michelin star

Especially the singleton restaurants where the owner is also the manager and/or head chef, not some franchise owner or investment partner. Most of those singleton owners, if they're not using family members that they also house and feed, attempt to pay well to get good people to begin with, so their employee schedules will tend to be stable and their food and service will bring in better revenue to be able to provide a cushion for lean times.
Margins are really thin, even with established small restaurants and small local "chains" (family owned cafes, food trucks), no matter how high end, if there's no investors behind them. The smart owners around here will typically pay around standard minimum wage simply to keep the staff that make it past the training and tryout period. Having your staff depend on tips to make minimum wage is a sure way to lose dependable employees. A lot of small restaurants have already adopted a European business model to pay staff, and tips are basically considered langnippe, a nice extra for good service.
The ones that made it through the shut-down are lucky and still need help due to supply chain issues, not just staffing shortages.

Haele

[Act_of_Reparation]

37. A waiter in a fancy restaurant is still a waiter.

No one gets into that line work expecting to make a career of it, no matter where it is.

[RobinA]

43. Yeah, It's Predictable

But I'm with brooklynite. I guess we're old, but I remember NEVER burning an employment bridge, even if it was a crap job. Never know when a crap job is the only job. Late '70's, early '80s. Getting hired at fast food was in no way guaranteed.

[msfiddlestix]

34. lol

maybe the bridge wasn't worth saving?

I'm no longer in the employment market, got aged out a while back. Before then, I was fairly well experienced pounding the pavement for a job when i didn't have prospects, and when i did have other options rather than the one I applied for in desperation.

You sort of have to have been there to relate.

As an aside: I do not for one moment consider this story concerning, and I strongly suspect is being constantly circulated in the media at the behest of slave wagers, like the restaurant industry.

Statue of Liberty : Bring me your poor and starving huddled masses, so that we capitalists can freely enjoy the fruit of their labor in service to financial gains, personal profits and wealth directly to Big Business tax free off shore accounts.

[Yonnie3]

16. Perhaps they applied as a requirement to receive unemployment benefits.

I was on the program a long time ago when the research grants dried up. I was required to list jobs I applied for and a result. The result was usually "awaiting employer response," since they rarely contacted me within the benefit week.

[twin_ghost]

39. Many States require UI recepients to apply for work while receiving benefits.

[Treefrog]

41. You have to show that you're looking for work when on unemployment.

Hence the apps.

[mucifer]

6. They will eventually figure out ways to do it with robots. No benefits no sick days etc.

[Jose Garcia]

40. Some restaurants already are turning to robots:

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/entertainment/restaurants-and-bars/fl-ss-prem-food-delivery-robots-broward-south-florida-20210417-324fvqdq3reqtclop7iovb553i-story.html

[Javaman]

11. Basing a business model on the belief of paying

Your employees less than minimum wage has always been stupid and greedy. If you can’t pay them a living wage then you shouldn’t be in business

There are several co-op restaurants here in Austin that pay a living wage and are doing quite well

[haele]

13. We are friends with a restaurant owner/head chef.

Who managed to get all his front and kitchen staff back, kept most of the on during the pandemic almost to the cost of his own house. So it's not like he's paying poorly, he always started at standard State minimum wage with benefits for new hires instead of the much lower tipped wages, so his staff would never have to worry about making ends meet on tips.

He is now trying to expand since they got a national award and tourist season is ramping up, but even trainee sous chefs are being poached by other mid-level to high end restaurants, many of them offering signing bonuses of up to $2k after 3 months work if they have experience at a known good restaurant. Even family employees at the little immigrant places are being poached by high-end "fusion" restaurants trying to get more staff for an expected busy tourist season.

It's a seller's market for labor. And that can be difficult for smaller businesses that spent their off-season savings cushion to stay open during COVID. Tom can't afford to provide a bonus for 5 more kitchen staff, so he's already decided he can lose a bit of revenue comping drinks and desserts for delayed meals until he can put more in the bank to hire trainee/post high school line cooks and teach them himself on his off time instead of hiring someone who was already trained to be a sous chef.

Haele

[Quakerfriend]

18. Wow, interesting. It is indeed a seller's market for labor + margins are razor thin. N/t

[LizBeth]

29. "never have to worry about making ends meet on tips" paying minimum wage does absoutely have a

Last edited Tue Jun 22, 2021, 12:25 PM - Edit history (1)

person dependent on tips for monthly expenses. Better than the crooked and dishonest 2.39 an hour for servers but regardless, minimum wage does not come close to cover a persons monthly cost.

[haele]

36. Minimum State non-tipper wage for a business with 24 employees or more is $14.

Last edited Tue Jun 22, 2021, 01:06 PM - Edit history (1)

That's his baseline for trainees. It's the same as In n' Out locally. He employs almost 30 staff now. He keeps his staff on as trainees for three months to insure they work out, then they go full time or flex part time if that was how they chose to work starting at $15. He expects and treats his kitchen and senior front of house employees as full time, minimum 38 hrs a week with benefits including hours accrued for paid personal leave.

With tips - and his place typically gets high tips - all his staff tends to average out another $2 an hour in wages normal days, $4 - $6 an hour during tourist season. He splits tips evenly into his payroll, "easier for tax purposes", no surprises for anyone.

He raises wages based on time and training. His restaurant/pub has been in business since the early '90's, and he's always run it that way. As he puts it, a quality restaurant or pub shouldn't be hiring and firing good people all the time.
The telling point is that he got back all his pre-COVID staff that he had to let go; he's just getting slammed now COVID restrictions are lifted, tourists are coming back, and his COVID take-out plans and process increased his customer base by a huge amount that is continuing even after COVID.
He doesn't make six figures, unlike some franchise or restaurant owners.

Disclosure - Six years ago, Tom let me look over his business as a model for my final project for a Bachelor's Degree. It was a major eye-opener on what hard work it took to keep a small restaurant afloat and to maintain some success. That's when we became family friends.

On Edit - the discussion about minimum wages cover pretty much everyone across the board. While $15 an hour is still pretty meagre in most locations, the fact is that he pays his staff the same, if not more, than most high-end restaurants in this country, is not common. He uses a European restaurant model for his business (he's originally from Ireland, where his family runs a pub), which is considered unsustainable by most American Restaurants.
To him, the fact that Americans consider tips as part of a standard restaurant wage instead of a bonus is still mind boggling.

Haele

[Quakerfriend]

15. The problem may in some ways be related to

The lack of info the applicants can gleen from job postings.
Often times there is no info re: salary, benefits, hours OR even location.
The larger corporations often times expect those hired to wait to find out whether they will be placed in Seattle, NYC or Phila etc.

[RobinA]

45. I Find This

even at the professional level. Although not looking for a job, I always keep an eye on the ads. NOBODY gives salary information in what I am looking at. Which would, of course, lead to a lot of wasted interviewing on everybody's part. You get to the interview and you want $70,000 and the pay is $30,000, everybody's time has just been wasted. And in my line of work, mental health, this happens.

[Wingus Dingus]

19. I do find it rude that people apply, schedule interviews,

and then don't show up. That is a huge waste of time for the restaurants/companies, who have to start all over. I know everyone here loves it when the "little guys" are sticking it to the man, but shitty behavior is shitty behavior. I went apeshit on my son who quit his fast food job years ago by just saying "I quit" at the end of his shift and not working through the rest of his schedule. He still feels bad about it. If you say you're going to be somewhere, then be there. Or at least call and tell them you don't want to keep the appointment--is that so hard?

[ck4829]

21. Turnabout is fair play

Maybe some employers will learn to stop stringing people around and maybe they'll stop putting the worst possible people in charge of hiring decisions.

Critical Race Theory

[Wingus Dingus]

23. No, that's juvenile. You act like a professional no matter what you're paid.

I was raised that way--in all of my shitty low paid jobs, I always treated my employers with courtesy because those are real human beings you are dealing with. You're not dealing with corporate McDonald's or corporate Applebee's, you're fucking over real people when you agree to an interview and don't even bother to call before blowing them off.

[Happy Hoosier]

26. I agree that one should act with courtesy....

It's only right to call and cancel.

But I hope these these employers offering low pay and shitty conditions are getting the idea.

[Treefrog]

42. I agree. I remember my mother was always adamant about that kind of thing.

Always give notice, always act professionally, no matter what the job. I stuck out many a crappy job in high school and college because of her guidance. I’m forever grateful.

[Wingus Dingus]

44. Yep, my parents too. It was about showing your work ethic, respect, and courtesy, no matter

what socioeconomic group you belong to (they were working-class people).

[keithbvadu2]

22. Retail workers are quitting at record rates for higher-paying work:

Not just restaurants.

Retail workers are quitting at record rates for higher-paying work: 'My life isn't worth a dead-end

https://www.democraticunderground.com/111711620

[Happy Hoosier]

24. Restaurant jobs suck.

Long hours, low pay, and shitty working conditions.

I worked in food service through college. One piece of advice I gave to my daughter is to avoid working in restaurants if she can.

[Chainfire]

25. Potential employees now have some choices available

they are going to fill the better jobs, with more money, and the most benefits first. The restaurant business needs to step up with better jobs, more pay and more benefits and their problems will go away. If they choose to maintain their status quo, to hell with them.

[Wicked Blue]

28. Try paying workers decent wages and benefits

and treating them like human beings

[LizBeth]

30. I applied for a clerical job that was at 16 an hour. In this area with cost of living it will just

pay my monthly bills and I am tight and frugal. No extras. Over 200 apps for that position. I have found that in many of the jobs I am applying to. To say people do not want to work is crap. They simply want a job where working 40-50 a week will allow the to live.

[obamanut2012]

31. Good, workers are going with the employer that pays them the most

And has the best working environment. It's time all labor gets paid more, but especially these "lower" retail and restaurant positions. They have been screwed over for decades, not called after an interview, paid badly, hours cut, insane sexual harassment, etc. I'm glad they have at least some power now.

Pay them more. Give benefits. Treat them better.

[msfiddlestix]

35. I don't believe this story and all the others of the same theme has merit.

this narrative feeds directly to the bs of Big Business donors who intend to keep status quo low waged job offers with little or no benefits etc.

a more discerning critique is in order here, imo.

[RobinA]

46. I Do

I worked retail in the '80's. It was bad then, I'm sure it's worse now. Treating people well helps, but there are plenty of people out there who just lack self-respect.

[dilby]

38. Shocked, the industry that threw their employees into the streets...

At the beginning of COVID19 now cannot find anyone who will work for them. Absolutely shocked, who would have thought people who were making minimum wage with no benefits or healthcare would not come rushing back after a year of struggling or finding a better paying job.