I know many of the people here are older or managers rather than employees, but this may help a portion of people out there. Tips for people who are new or want to be a prep cook, line cook or pizza cook. But some of this applies to various jobs.
1) For anything you prep, write the food name, your name and the date on a label or tape on the side of a pan.
2) Don't leave messes behind. Any mess you make, clean it up as soon as possible.
3) Spend a few minutes each day checking the walk-in and freezers. Make sure everything is wrapped, labeled and not spoiled.
4) Before you sit down or go on your phone, check if there's anything you can do during downtime. Prep food. Clean. Check inventory. Make pizza boxes.
5) Continuing on the previous point, periodically ask coworkers if they need help with anything.
6) Spend the first week memorizing the menu. And take notes of critical details your boss tells you (on paper or your phone), especially if you're new.
7) If a superior criticizes something you do, don't try to justify it. Don't even mention to them the fact that you usually do something correctly but the one time you did it wrong was when they looked. The only thing your superior wants to hear is that you acknowledge their feedback and are working to improve it.
8 - Take some safety precautions, such as saying "behind" when you're behind someone, holding a knife downward when walking with it, saying "hot" when you're carrying a hot object, etc.
9) Be nice to all of your coworkers, even if they occasionally are irritable and take some of their anger out on you. Arguing with them can escalate the problem, so just defuse the situation. They'll eventually come back around to you once they know that you've been consistently nice to them.
10) Chain of command. If two coworkers tell you conflicting ideas, take the word of the higher rank employee. This way you're not liable if something goes wrong, because the higher-up made the decision.
11) Managers have cameras and microphones. They can see what you're doing and hear what you're saying.
12) In some restaurants, there are specific people that handle inventory and you don't have to do anything. But overall, it's a good idea to check inventory every day and inform whoever is responsible for inventory what they need. Some restaurants use printed out excel sheets to keep track of inventory, but if yours doesn't, you can take initiative and print a spreadsheet yourself, or at least write lists.
13) If you receive a criticism from a boss, write that down as a note and spend the next week working on that to make sure you get that aspect right.
14) Tell your boss that you want to learn new things so you can do more for the business, and if there's anything they can help you with, let them know.
15) From time to time, ask your boss about your performance. And things you can work on. Work on those things, so that you have a strong case for evaluating your pay. And if you have an evaluation interview with your boss to explain where you've improved.
16) Some of the social circles in the restaurant industry do cocaine during the day and then drink heavily at 2am in the morning. Stay out of trouble and don't get into the wrong crowd.
17) Watch youtube videos to see if you can improve at cooking, prepping, how to hold a knife, etc.
18) Don't just think about today. Think about if the restaurant is stocked and prepped to handle tomorrow or the day after also.
19) If you're trying to work as a server or bartender, before you take a job, take a peek at how busy the restaurant is on a Wednesday or Thursday night. If it's slow, you don't want a tip-based job.
