Final Words

As this class comes to a close, and the final on Monday, these are my final words about my project. This blog has been based on something I do at least three times out of the week and if blogging about something I do is this easy, and can potentially make me money, it sounds like something I would definitely be looking into. The most difficult part about this blog is just making sure I have time throughout my busy schedule to write about my experiences. There are so many things I could talk about and narrowing them down into specific subjects was more difficult than I thought. Although, I haven’t completely run out of topics it has caused me to really think about my next blog topic and what parts of my job could be interesting. I have always had some kind of social media, from my secret myspace account, to the Facebook I’ve had through out high school, social media has always been a part of my life and will only continue to expand.

Through out this class I have taken different tools and put them to use, WordPress, Storify, and iMovie were the easiest ones to navigate through, making the experience fun and enjoyable. However HTML is difficult to completely learn and takes a lot of time and experience to put websites together, but the parts that we did learn seemed relatively easy and helped me find other resources to use if I were to create a website of my own. Twitter has never been one of my favorite social medias, but using it through out this class made me explore the site and learn more about how to affectively use it.

I would like to improve on my skills using computers and social media for creating videos, pictures, and a brand image. And by taking what I have learned in class, I will continue to learn and create things in order to identify a personal brand. As far as my professional future, I plan on using these tools to reach out to different people on different sites while still maintaining the image they would like to achieve. After taking this class, and realizing how social media can really impact peoples lives, and learning how to make money while doing it, has really made me think that I could have a future with this. I enjoy this type of work and maybe on day I’ll have something inspiring to say and change the world.

Bar Tending

Bar tending is more than just making drinks, it can be a difficult job that not everyone can handle. It takes a few weeks of training and memorization of drink recipes and accurate pours to ensure the quality of the drinks being made.  More responsibility is place on bartenders in order to keep the restaurant running smoothly. As a bartender we are required to know and recommend the happy hour specials to every guest. We must also make sure that everyone, including tables, are drinking responsibly and we also hold the authority to refuse service to those guests who seem overly intoxicated.

The way to become a bar tender at Twin Peaks varies among each store depending on manager’s discretion. Personally, I have been wanting to bar tend ever since I started working at Twin Peaks so after two and a half years of hard work I deservingly gained my bar key. Hardest part of moving from the floor to behind the bar is finding the right balance between making the drinks for the well, which is for the tables, and taking care of your bar guests. The bar guests are how I make my money, sure the girls tip us out, but our main priority is getting our bar guests served and making sure they have a great experience.

Being behind the bar gives us the right to decide whether someone continues to drink or not, and we are held libel for anyone who can leave the bar intoxicated. If a guest were to leave the bar after being too drunk to drive and injures or kills someone, we as bar tenders could be charged with any damages that may occur and can result in the loss of our TABC license or even jail time. No beer is worth me losing my job or doing jail time for, so cutting people off is nothing personal, it is just precautionary. Another part of being a bar tender, especially at Twin Peaks, is having the ability to take center stage and entertain all the guests by engaging in conversation, having positive energy, and responsibily attending to all the needs the guest may have. And I personally enjoy every minute.

Training

Before every girl becomes a Twin Peaks Girl she must go through four days of training before taking tables on her own. The new girls work with the TP Trainers as the trainers show them the way and explain what it takes to be a TPG. Trainers are the girls who have continuously been topped rank among the employees and have a wealth of knowledge and working experience. As trainers continue to get their experience training different girls, and Twin Peaks continues to grow, these experienced trainers are sent to get a training team started in the new stores. This provides the trainers travel and opportunity to make more money at a different, and potentially busier, store through out the country.

Twin Peaks has always been a big part of allowing their employees to move up within the company as it grows and expands. After being at Twin Peaks for a little over two years ,and becoming girl of the month, I was asked to help open the new store in Independence, Missouri. It worked perfect with my school schedule so I traveled and worked for a week as a Reinforcement Trainer. My job was to make sure that the new trainers were properly training the new employees and making sure the new employees were correctly woking on their steps of service.

I loved the opportunity and had a great experience with everyone i met. The best part of the experience was definitely meting the other trainers from other parts of the country, and girls at the new store. All of the trainers working for the company seemed to share the same passion for Twin Peaks as the others, all wanting to make sure our girls are giving great service and creating the best Twin Peaks experience. It also really expanded my training technique, by going to another state and being evaluated on my training, it showed me the different types of learning and ways I can better train the others.

Behind the Plaid

Here’s an insiders look at some of what it’s like to work a shift as a Twin Peaks Girl!

Just the Tip

Unless you have had previous experience in the restaurant or night-life industry, people have a hard time understanding what it’s like making all your money off tips. Tips are mostly based on a percentage of the total on the bill, so in order to make more money on the tip, up-sale is imperative (which is why we are so annoying). Typical tips can range from 10 percent for poor service to 25 percent for excellent service. For those girls working in uniforms similar to those at Twin Peaks, girls often expect a 20 or 25 percent tip if they follow their steps of service. The most disappointing part of working off tips is working your ass off for needy tables that don’t leave anything higher than five percent!

For this reason stereotypes are formed. After working in the industry for a while we are generally able to tell what kind of tip we will get by the type of table we are taking care of. Although I have my own stereotypes, I always love when I am wrong and pleasantly surprised by the generosity of others. Part of making good money on tips is good customer service. Even though some tables may not tip well, others will appreciate the service and the good tips will help balance out the bad. Tipping is part of the experience of going out and should be considered within the budget.

You can always tell tables that have worked in the service industry by the way they take care of their servers. Serving or making money off tips is something everyone should experience so people are able to recognize how much work it can be. The best part about working at Twin Peaks is that there is possibility to make a lot of money off one table or one guy you talked to that just wanted someone to listen and show them a little attention. Or if there is a busy night and tables keep getting sat, all the tips can add up pretty quickly. Even though it may not always be easy, working off tips can almost be more profitable than working for a salary.

Events and Dress ups

Throughout the year Twin Peaks is always participating in events and celebrating holidays. Here’s a little look at what it’s like! Check out at what’s going on at Twin Peaks now!

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Twin Peaks Restaurant App

Twin Peaks currently has an app called Peaks Point, that basic function is to provide a manual for training incoming girls, including the uniform standard, food and drink recipes, and updates the company feels the staff should know. If I were to design an app it would look something like this! When the user opens the app the logo and a welcome message will be displayed. From there the user can navigate through all the other options located at the bottom.

The four options include: a “Scenic Views” section, a “TP Girls” section, a “Location” section, and an “Eats and Drinks” section. Under the Scenic Views section the user will be able to upload their experience at Twin Peaks through pictures, as well as view the pictures that others have previously uploaded. These pictures could include: pictures of the food, pictures with the girls, pictures of the 29 degree beer, or even a group picture.This will make the app more interactive with the user and will show others how the experience could be for those who have not yet been to a Twin Peaks. The Location section will show the user the nearest Twin Peaks as well as others in the area, plus the hours of operation at each. Eats and Drinks will have the list of foods on the menu and the list of house beers, beer cocktails, and signature drinks at the bar. This section will also include the happy hour times and in store specials, as well as specials only accessible through the app.

The TP Girls section will include a list of the possible Twin Peak Girls the user may get to meet at their nearest location. The first screen (shown above) will list the first name of the girl, her picture, and her title. Once the girl is selected the next screen will show her name, picture, title, and hometown as well as hobbies the girl might want to include. This way it gives the user a little knowledge of the girls they could encounter without knowing too much into the girls personal information. This app could also provide business to the girls whose sections are requested buy the app user. By leaving the information as general as possible it reduces the possibility of customers that could have the potential of making the girls uncomfortable in the work place.

Overall this app will be informative, interactive, and it will create the fun and outgoing atmosphere that Twin Peaks carries before even stepping foot inside the restaurant!

The Regulars

Every store has them. They are often at Twin Peaks longer than we are. And they get to spend hours a day drinking. I’m talking about the regulars.There are different types of regulars at each store. Some regulars have a favorite waitress and will only sit with her, others don’t care who takes care of them but everyone fights to take their table. Then others will stand around the bar and talk to every girl that walks by. Any time I work I can always expect to see these particular people there. Some people I like to see more than others, that’s for sure. Although most regulars tip the girls pretty well, not every one can be so generous.These regulars like being at Twin Peaks because the girls are pretty good at making them feel like friends and some actually become pretty close.

I have known a few different types of regulars through out my Twin Peaks career and there are a few I think people would be curious to know. At the first store I worked at it shocked my how much some people wanted to be treated like a VIP. There was this one man, a professor at the community college, who would come in around 6:30 every day. He requested to sit alone in the Cougar Den, a room for parties, and request a specific waitress sit with him and refill his diet coke for about three hours while he caught up on work. Out of the few times I took care of him I would have to make all the conversation, refill his diet coke as soon as it got half way, and laugh at all the not-funny jokes he would occasionally make. He was one of the neediest people I have ever waited on but the $85-$100, which is a low tip from him, would make it worth it.

A majority of the other regulars from that store were young, 21-26 year old, good looking guys who I really enjoyed being around. So when I came to Austin it was a little disappointing to see that all the regulars were over the age of 35. The oldest is around 80! One of the first I came to know was a guy they called Crazy Steve. He was loud, obnoxious, and had no filter on what would come out of his mouth. Crazy Steve has been kicked out of our store about three different times since I have been there, but somehow after spending time away he manages to come back with an apology and a promise to behave. He has become one of my favorite regulars because he just tells people whatever he’s thinking and although it can be offensive it usually is pretty funny.

No matter what guys Twin Peaks attracts it is our job to make them feel at home, which makes working with these people every day feel like they are part of the family.

Sisterhood of the plaid

I have worked in different Twin Peaks in different parts of Texas as well as a store in Missouri. Working in different stores means working with different Twin Peaks Girls. Working with all of these girls, of course, means working with drama, bitchiness, cattiness, as well as laziness. We already work in one of the easiest and laid back restaurants out there, with no side work or cleaning responsibilities, yet girls will still find a way to complain about the amount of work that is required.

Not every girl is as friendly as they appear to be, I learned this the hard way. The first store I worked at in north Texas was filled with these types of girls. It surprised me how fast word spread especially about things that were untrue. However, I continued to go about my business and learned who was real and who was fake among the group and found one particular friend that would make my work day worth while. My first Twin Peaks friend.

Once I graduated high school and moved away for college I transferred stores to a corporate store in south Austin. Soon after I started working with everyone I realized how nonjudgmental, genuine, and supportive each girl was of one another. Finally I felt like family. I have now been at this store for three years and have made friendships that will last a life time and unforgettable memories with these amazing girls and for which I am so grateful. Don’t get me wrong, there are times where tensions would rise, but unlike my previous experiences the dust soon settled and life moved on.

Every Twin Peaks has different types of girls that have different attitudes. However, we are all working towards making our own money. Many girls, including myself, don’t have a financially stable support system and work to support ourselves. There are also many girls under the age of 21 that have children to support with dead-beat-dads with no child-support. Although we may not like every girl that we work with for whatever reason, we all come together through our hardships and in the end we are all sisters in plaid.

What it takes to be a TPG

Working as a waitress for Twin Peaks is very different than working as a waitress at any other restaurant. In order to first be qualified as a Twin Peaks Girl there are certain standards the company has set in order to be hired. First thing managers look at is the girl’s look and personality. As far as looks go, no, not every girl has to be beach blonde with huge boobs. Twin Peaks likes to have a variety of girls from every nationality. As long as she is well put together, chances are she’s going to get the job even without prior experience. The main personality trait that every Twin Peaks girl has is confidence. Confidence in herself to walk around in the outfit and confidence in herself to talk to and entertain strangers.

Once hired the girls are introduced to the ranking system. The rank is used for the order of picking sections, getting cut, and getting days off. Rank is determined by multiple different things: fitness, uniform, hair, make-up, teamwork, on time, overall shift grade, merchandise sales and credit card tips. Although being ranked seems pretty personal, it is used to make sure every girl is putting their best effort forward when representing Twin Peaks.

Another part of the hiring process is going through the right training. While in training, the girls are taught by a certified trainer on the guidelines and expectations for every shift. Girls are advised to be playful, energetic, attentive, knowledgeable, and sexy, or P.E.A.K.S., while working with their tables. Part of our steps of service is to sit with all of our tables when we take their order and while they wait for their food or drink their beers. As we sit with our tables we should keep the three S’s in mind: sit, schmooze, and sell. Schmooze meaning flirt without intent, although this can be misunderstood by those girls who become overly flirty and friendly. The last S, sell, is a reminder to  mentioning the merchandise and up sell the food in order to have a higher bill with a bigger tip percentage.

This means sitting with everyone, even the creepers. And yes, there are a few. It becomes easier to deal with the creepers and laugh at the bad jokes and soon it just becomes part of the routine. Most people might find this way of working a little degrading but honestly, I love what I do. I have a great time getting to know my tables and my fellow sisters in plad and have met so many people with access to so many opportunities it is a great way to network and become known. As far as tips go, you get the good with the bad, and trust me, we remember those who tip bad. Although it usually evens out, it is still waiting tables so not every night is a $200 night. In my experience having a good attitude during every shift is what makes money. Besides, no one wants to be around a girl with a bad attitude.