A tipster recently sent me a three page copy of Kali Restaurant Group’s (of Kali’s Court / Meli / Mezze / Tapas Adela note in Fells Point) new set of policies for employees, and boyyyyyy howdy is it a pile of fun! For those of you in the service industry, you might enjoy the conversion of your position as server to that of servant, or similarly a prison guard from the way some of these rules are laid out. Granted, most of them are common sense practices for keeping an air of Klassiness – as Kali’s is oh so very known for! – such as not being late for work, but I’ll cherry pick some of the better ones and let you be the judge. (all emphases added by me)
Regarding cell phones, YOU’RE FIRED:
No employees are to have a cell phone on their person during service. Any employee found to be using said device during service will be disciplined as follows: First time: Warning. Second time: Dismissal.
Regarding eating, PREPARE TO EAT DINNER ROLLS (away from guests, obvi):
If an employee works a double shift they will receive a 100% discount (up to $20).
Regarding smoking, THERE IS NONE:
Employees are not allowed to smoke during their shift. Smoking is allowed before and after service only. There are no exceptions or changes to this policy and it extends to management as well.
And my favorite section, the personal hygiene guidelines commandments. Ladies, you’ll love these!
- Make-up needs to be kept minimal. No colored eye shadow. No lipstick. No excessive blush.
- Earrings are not to be larger than the size of a quarter.
- No facial piercings will be allowed. If you have facial piercings, you will be allowed to wear clear inserts.
- One bracelet and one conservative watch are allowed to be worn.
- One conservative necklace is allowed to be worn.
- No perfume/cologne is allowed.
- Only clear nail polish is allowed to be worn.
There are a lot of these personal hygiene requirements; oddly, visible tattoos are not on the list of restrictions (thank god) for some reason? And gentleman, don’t plan on having hair on your face if you work at any of these establishments because it is FORBIDDEN.
At any rate, if you want to read the full list of new policies here’s the .pdf – I strongly encourage everyone who has ever considered themselves to be a server of any worth to follow each and every one of them like the Bible, print it out and hang it on your fridge next to your child’s fingerpaintings and model yourself after the perfection of current and future Kali Restaurant Group employees. You’re worth it.
The worst thing that can happen while sitting at a restaurant where you are paying at least $90 a person: You want a refill on your $15 a glass shiraz, and your waiter is nowhere to be found. After a good 5 minutes (a real 5 minutes that feels more like 15 when you’re thirsty), your server comes back to your table, reeking of dirty ashtray. They walk over to the service bar to grab your drink. You see your glass of wine clear as day, sitting there waiting for you to sip it with your delectable lamb chops. Your server sits at the service well and pulls out their cell phone to send a text while your meal gets cold. This is not the kind of experience you expect at a Kali’s restaurant, or ANY restaurant for that matter.
I don’t think these rules are unreasonable, and most restaurants have similar rules in place. I’m also not generalizing all smokers, as I was one for a while (smoking and working in restaurants kind of goes hand in hand, it’s a high-stress job). The service staff at a place like Kali’s is a different breed than say the staff of the Hard Rock Cafe (I can say this because I worked at the Baltimore HRC and also at a high-end restaurant similar to Kali’s) – They should adhere to a higher standard than someone who works at a chain restaurant. Kali’s is a high-end restaurant group, and their servers should have that image of professionalism. I worked in restaurants around the city for years in all capacities, and I can assure you that there are some with way worse rules than this.
Agreed, most of it is common sense and a lot of these are de facto in nature, but without a corporate-style memo detailing them – how does their pay compare for folks working these establishments who are professional enough to adhere to some of the more particular standards, as opposed to HRC? Is it worth it?
Also Meghan, to be a little silly, I hope that IS the worst thing that ever happens to you at a restaurant. 🙂
By far, my favorite part is the definition of policy at the top of the document. Talk about Klassy.
The Klassiest!
Yeah, this seems pretty par for the course to me. Hope they are getting paid well, though.
As someone who has worked in several restaurants of varying degree of “klassiness”, nothing about the policies laid out by the Kali Group are unreasonable or unexpected for a good restaurant
I get a lot of the rules- although aren’t all eye shadows “colored”? Shouldn’t that say “neutral”? and if people aren’t allowed to use phones or smoke during their shift, can they not take any breaks? how can you possibly control what someone does on their breaks?
also, if you’re gonna be snarky about a policy, perhaps avoid typos…
Well I wanted to go with “Kalissiest” but that didn’t sound right in my head. I was going with a “K” theme here, people.
I was talking about the policy itself, not you, goof.
As someone who has worked in the Baltimore area in both high end hotels and restaurants I can attest that these standards are completely par for the course. I am amazed that this sheet is being analyzed like this. Typically companies put these in front of servers and then pick and choose the severity at which to enforce it. It is simply an HR tool, every company from Cheesecake Factory to Charlestons has them. If you think the wording is a bit harsh I challenge you to take the time and read other HR manuals and you will be shocked at the severe language used….hint: IT IS MEANT TO SCARE PEOPLE INTO BEHAVING PROPERLY.
this is the comment I was looking for. Thanks Kenneth!
In response to comments about HRC employees being professional enough and compensated well enough to adhere to these standards the answer is yes. Servers in fine dining establishments bring in $200-300 on good nights, and most spend a lot of time going through tedious training to sharpen their knowledge of food, wine, spirits and service. These are not all struggling actress/models…They are hard working “professionals”, some very well educated, and take their career field very seriously. Don’t believe me look at training manifesto’s from Ruth Chris, Flemings, Charleston, Kali’s and tell me just anyone could pass those tests and maintain those standards.
It is a billion dolllar industry that employs millions of well compensated professionals and every career field has its own set of standards particular to the environment.
Thanks!
I’m far too lazy to read the thing myself, but Is there a clause anywhere in there about making the food at Mezze edible?