I typically enjoy my job at Buffalo Wild Wings. Really, I do. However, whenever something in management changes, things just go awry for a little bit until I get a feel of the new managers. Also of note is that I get a lot more freedom than most hourly employees since I'm also a shift leader.

This new woman is just horrible, however. At 34 years old, you think you'd be a bit more understanding of what's expected of you and willing to fit in to that expectation. Not with her, however. She's been the General Manager of a Ground Round and a TGI Fridays. I don't know the reasons for exciting either of these companies.

She came to my store by way of a demotion. She was General Manager of the newest Pittsburgh location, and well, sucked at it. She was demoted to regular manager and stuck at my store. How unfortunate. DESPITE being demoted, she's stated several times she has no intention of changing to fit BWW standards.

She's generally nice and friendly, and likes to talk to tables to check in. However, there's more to running a store than visiting guests and filling out paperwork. There's also these things called employee loyalty, employee satisfaction, and an employee-friendly environment.

She fails in relations with the staff. Instead of taking the tried-and-proven coaching method of using a store's staff like a team, she instead takes a command-and-control stance on things, even when it isn't her place to do so.

For example, she's been assigned as the kitchen maanger. Her first change was to re-do the nightly cleaning lists. IE, when a cook is getting ready to go, they must first complete their "outs", or cleaning tasks. The former list of outs were very fine-tuned with employee and manager input. The kitchen's never been cleaner.

Her changes were made without any employee input, and the loads are ridiculous. The first person leaving has the least to do, while the last person has the most. Why?

I came close to walking out tonight. If things wouldn't have re-arranged themselves to a satisfying ending, I would have. The Tuesday night kitchen staff, the only night I work in the kitchen, has a tried-and-proven method of working. She tried to change this, which is what almost had me leaving. However, we fell back to the old system after we all became annoyed with what she was trying to do.

Sorry to vent, but it's been a long night.

For the uninitiated, I work part-time (often with full-time hours) at a Buffalo Wild Wings. I've been there since I was 17, or going on four and a half years. I know the ropes, often better than the two people that have been there longer than me. The current three managers have been with the company for less than a year, so I'm even the go-to person for the managers.

I started off as a cashier and cook, but eventually got into serving and bar tending once I turned 18. Despite being paid well over minimum wage when I started cooking and cashiering, I found that I was making much more serving. On a busy Friday or Saturday night, I was making up to $35/hr in tips over a seven to eight hour period. That's fantastic money; it's just a shame that every night isn't like that.

About two years ago, I started shift leading, or essentially managing without the manager title and some extra responsibilities. On Sundays, I was both the opening manager and opening server, so I was making $10/hr plus tips. The money was amazing, particularly for Steeler and Penguins games. However, once new management came around, this was no longer the case. I was either shift lead or tipped, not both.

While on almost any given serve of bar tending shift I'll make well over $10/hr, I still keep a few shift leading shifts just for the fact that I enjoy being in control and having the status. It's a privilege that justifies the difference in pay. I also tend to cook at least once a week, typically on a busy night where orders are large and tips are small. Two of our most capable cooks recently departed our store for new opportunities at other stores, leaving the kitchen without a strong presence to run the expo window putting orders together. I've taken over this job again, because it's the extra responsibility that I like.

Besides, it makes it all that much harder for management to get rid of me.

So in the end, I keep a mix of shifts every week, but mostly tipped shifts. There've been days where my tips total more than many of the cooks paychecks, so who am I to complain? They can't fire me anytime soon, and I've got a fair amount of control in the store.

I can't give a clear winner between tipped and hourly wages because they both have their advantages and disadvantages. I'll never opt to move to upper management because I'll be making less money for the first year or so, and I'll be graduating college in less than a year. I'd prefer to make all my income from the websites I maintain, but that's not in the realm of possibility. At least not this month, anyways.

This year's charity date auction at Buffalo Wild Wings in Penn Center has been canceled. The reasons are ridiculous: another bar is holding a "big" party the same night, and any other Friday or Saturday during the month is pretty much taken up by Penguins games. I love hockey, but come one. This was supposed to be a charity event, which should come before a single hockey game. As usual, my efforts at advertising the event were futile. I'm not really surprised.

Buffalo Wild Wings is still raising money for St. Jude's, so my offer still stands.

In other news, today was my 21st birthday, but I didn't drink anything. I don't really plan to go out of my way just to buy a drink, either. It was much more exciting to go buy cigarettes when I turned 18. I didn't have a use for the cigarettes, but atleast I can drink the alcohol. Now Amanda just needs to get her license so she can drive after I've over-intoxicated myself at dinner.

I wish I'd written more entries this week, but school's kept me unusually busier than normal. I managed to start an article for BIOS_LEVEL, but I've yet to finish it. Stay tuned for tomorrow's "Weekly Profile".