The same day Marie left on June 9th, I received a phone call from a restaurant regarding a position I had applied for online. The position was as a food runner/waitress assistant at this 5-star restaurant called Sidart in one of Auckland’s nearby suburbs, Ponsonby. The woman I spoke with asked me a few questions about my recent waitressing experience at the 5-star restaurant in Napier. Satisfied with my answers, she asked me if I could come in for a “trial run” at the restaurant that night. I of course jumped at the opportunity for a potential job! In New Zealand and Australia, it is not unusual for employers to have potential employees come in for what they call trial runs. Basically, it is completely legal for them to have you work for free so they can see whether you are actually capable of doing the job. Crazy, I know. So, the woman told me, “You need black shoes, a black shirt, and black pants.” Check, check and check. After looking up directions to the restaurant, I decided to make the “short” walk there instead of taking one of the city buses—mistake number one. See, I had never been to Ponsonby before; hence, I had no idea that the main road to get there (Victoria Street) is potentially one of the steepest streets in Auckland. What I expected to be an easy 15-20 minute walk turned into a 25-30 minute hardcore aerobic exercise.
By the time I arrived at the restaurant, I was red-faced, a bit out of breath and sweaty. Thank goodness for deodorant, perfume and black clothing! The restaurant was located upstairs in an area called Three Lamps Plaza. After going up the stairs and sliding open the massive door to the restaurant, I was greeted by Marie, who I had spoken to on the phone, and the other waitress whose name escapes me. The restaurant itself was very small with only about 12 tables, but it was extremely posh, elegant and intimate. The girls were really sweet, both local Kiwis. One of them looked down at my black sandals and said, “Do you have some shoes?” I replied, “What do you mean?” As it turned out, I needed black closed-toed shoes in order to work the shift…mistake number two. I honestly should have known better. Since time was of the essence, I had to catch a bus back to town, run back to the flat, and quickly change my shoes. Fortunately, Emma was home and offered to drive me back to the restaurant. After a flustered return, I met the kitchen staff, including Sid the owner, and they all seemed friendly and easy-going. I spent the rest of the evening basically shadowing the girls and learning the ins and outs of all their restaurant procedures.
It was during this time that I learned the restaurant had THREE menus that guests could choose from: a nine-course tasting menu, a four-course menu, and an a la carte menu. Do you know what that meant? Yeah, I was expected to memorize all of the items on all three menus. This was not a particularly easy task when the menu items involved such descriptions as “Second Course: Venison, cauliflower, smoked date and capers; Easterbrook quail and rabbit loin with almonds and gingerbread; and free range pork, celeriac, and garlic tortellini.” Plus, cutlery had to be re-set after every course for every person, potentially meaning up to nine re-settings per person throughout an evening! It was pretty full-on. My trial run lasted about 2 ½ hours, and I did well. However, Marie and Sid asked if I would mind coming in for one more trial run the next day during the lunch shift so they could see how I did in a busier environment. I accepted. Marie said that during the next shift, I would be shadowing Tasman, the person who currently had the job I was trialing. When I arrived for lunch the next day (with closed-toed shoes), I was introduced to Tasman, a beautiful Maori girl in her 20s who had rockin style.
She seemed very confused upon meeting me, and asked, “So, what are you here for?” I told her I was shadowing her for the food runner/waitressing assistant position. She responded in a disturbed voice, “Oh…you mean, my job. You’re my replacement?” Awwkward. Apparently, the owner hadn’t bothered to tell her that he was firing her, and I was how she found out. Real nice. I was completely naïve to the whole situation. She later went on to ask, “So, this job was advertised?” I answered, “Yes. I applied for it a few days ago.” I told her I didn’t want to take anyone’s job, and that I’d had no idea of the situation. She modestly told me not to worry about it, and that she would be fine. For the entire trial run, Tasman remained mostly pleasant, worked through her shift as normal, and trained me on her job. The job, by the way, was verrry stressful. Everything had to be ‘just so,’ with absolutely NO room for error—precision and excellence were key. Plus, it was busy. At one point when I was in the kitchen polishing glasses, one of the younger chefs asked me how it was going. With telling anxiety on my face, I whispered “Not too fun.” He responded by saying, “Oh, you think this is bad…wait for a Saturday. Saturdays are mental.” Comforting, very comforting.
Near the end of what turned into almost a 4-hour trial run, I noticed that Tasman, Marie, and Sid were all missing. That could only mean one thing. Sure enough, were firing her…while I was there and before I had even accepted the job! It was ridiculously inappropriate on so many levels. After firing her, they called me out back as well. Tasman was still there…crying. I felt so horrible. Sid and Marie went on to tell me that they thought I did well and asked if I was still interested in the position. I told them I would need to think about it. Honestly, after seeing how they treated Tasman, I wasn’t entirely comfortable with the thought of working there anymore. Plus, it would only be a part-time job, and by that point, I was in desperate need of full-time work. Not to mention, Marie and Sid would never disclose the hourly pay rate of the position. They kept sidestepping it, basically saying we would “discuss the pay later,” once I decided to take the job. Pretty sketch. When I told them I would have to think about whether or not I wanted to accept the position, Sid yelled back over to Tasman (who was still crying from having just been fired) and asked if she could work on Saturday after all since I had to think about taking the job! Unbelievable.
I left there feeling completely defeated. I had worked my bum off without pay for a total of nearly seven hours over two days, all for nothing. Just the thought of turning down a job while being so close to being in debt was completely overwhelming in itself, but at the same time, it’s what my gut was telling me to do. Plus, I felt so wretched about Tasman and the whole situation. Really though, weighing in on my mind even more than those things was a much more serious matter from home. I had received a call from my Dad a few days prior, telling me that the cousin whom I am closest to was in the hospital. It took a few days for it to even sink in, and when it did, I just didn’t know what to do. It was such a helpless feeling to be on the complete other side of the world knowing someone I loved was in such a physical state. Since then, however, I am elated to say that my cousin’s health has progressively improved and I recently spoke to her on the phone as well. It meant soooo much to be able to hear her voice. My thoughts are with her every day as she continues to get stronger and stronger!
Best,
Ash
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