« The Fuzz Congregation… | Home | More Geeky Ideas: Blu… »

Angry People

Thursday 13 March 2003 at 01:21 am So while I'm a talented, experienced web developer and such, I also have married a woman who has a passion for food which has rubbed off on me. So in my spare time when I'm not busy writing code or consulting, I work at a really nice restaurant. Maybe I've said which one before, but for the sake of this entry, I'll leave it out.

The chef at the restaurant, who we'll call Bruno for entertainment value, is a really nice guy, at least as far as I can tell. He's personable, funny, and really loves food. But sometimes things go wrong in the kitchen. Something gets mixed up, or someone didn't give him an important piece of information. It happens, right?

So I'm making tart shell dough on the far end of the kitchen, when I start to hear excited bursts of swearing, almost to the point of a constant scream. It was Bruno. Now, while I understand that when people screw up it is frustrating, and this specific issue had to do with the owner of the restaurant dining (he does so often), the string of yelled colorful adjectives was quite, well, disturbing. He wasn't mad at me, and honestly, I'm not sure he was mad at anyone specifically, but someone did do something wrong after he began the rant and BOOM! Fired. Sure, it was a dishwasher, and maybe he/she was doing something they surely shouldn't have been, but maybe that job was their only income. I guess it's not Bruno's problem, but if they got fired for anything more than making Bruno more angry, that could be bad for the restaurant.

After about 10 minutes, he was his good 'ole charming self again, calmly explaining to the rather attractive but unfriendly hostess that she did a good job of dealing with the situation while he was screaming his balls off.

It kind of bugged me for the rest of the day, and I know it really bothered at least one other person at work too. What is it about people in managment who feel that the best way to get people to stop screwing up is to scream at them publically? Does it really help? I don't think so. Pull 'em aside and give them a stern talking to in private. While the end result might be the same, I think the individual who messed up might feel better about the mistake and want to fix it next time to please the manager, not to avoid his directed raving lunacy.

Also, thanks to Chris, a "Police Officer Applicant" in Fairfax County, who explained eloquently about why there might be 4 cop cars on a scene. While I still think there is a greater tendancy for cops to stop at scenes that could be deemed "exciting" when there isn't really anything going on, he makes a good point that even lanky teenagers can get beligerant beyond the control of the initial cop and his/her backup. Eh, I can't complain -- I'd rather them swarming on the lanky drunken driving teen than pulling me over for doing 47 in a 25. Not like I do that or anything...