r/dishwashers

This is totally a rant/vent, maybe looking for validation, maybe looking for a reality check, idk.

Started working as a dishwasher 2 days ago at a new restaurant that started up around 1-2 months ago.

To preface, the layout of the place is this: Walk in, tables to the left, bar/kitchen to the right. Sharp right on enter and there are stairs leading to a basement where the dishwashing station is.

There are 4 people working in the kitchen, and it is SMALL. You have to squeeze past people. The stairs to downstairs are extremely small and steep, you will tumble if you aren't being very careful.

My responsibilities are (I learned on the 1st day):

- Take dirty plates from a bin under the sink downstairs. Also, take pots/pans from the sink, needs multiple trips.

- Rinse and clean dishes, sanitize, put in dishwasher spotless

- Put dishes on a rack to dry. There are a surplus of dishes for the rack space, meaning you'll have to stop occasionally to hand dry things with a cloth to make room

- Take clean, dry dishes and the bins back upstairs and put them in their respective spot, extremely difficult with such a small kitchen and such little knowledge as a noobie there

First day on the job, its a Friday, we get swamped.

No gloves are given, no apron, it is hot down there and there is a sewer smell.

The ceiling is too low for my height, I can't properly stand up and there is a beam running through the middle of the room. I hit my head on it multiple times. I have a welt.

The hot water runs out in about 2 hours, leaving me with only cold water in the sink and dishwasher (I doubt this is safe)

The wine glasses can't go in the dishwasher or the cup washer either because apparently they'll fall over (before being told this, I washed multiple rounds of them like that). I also can't hand wash them because.. no hot water, so they just get rinsed.

I'm expected to stop everything and wash the pans and pots, dry them with a cloth, and bring them back upstairs because they don't have many.

On day 2, Saturday, I was told it would be less hectic. It was busier. Walk-ins.

Impossible for me personally to fulfill my responsibilies for the role and keep up with the kitchen just by myself.

I do not get any food, I do not get a break. The shift is 6 hours.

Here comes the major issue on why I was fired:

1st day, I broke a plate. It turned out to be a vintage plate. Nobody told me anything at this point yet, I would have been more cautious and slower with it. The owner/chef who, till this point had been timid, comes downstairs and cusses me out. I just apologize.

2nd day, end of shift I break a wine glass and a water glass.

After my 2nd shift, I got pulled to the side and let go. It was cordial.

Despite sweating bullets, destroying my hands and back, asking for any hours available, I wasn't enough.

That hurt.

I understand I made some mistakes though, and I'm quite happy to leave as it I think it definitely wasn't the place for me, but it still stung. I wasn't enough to match their expectations for the role despite doing my all.

I hope they find who they're looking for.

Edit: Never did dishwashing before. Apparently, it's a red flag that the only dishwasher is an under the counter one (the kind with 2 stackable racks). Atleast now I know lol

The time has finally come. I’ve been promoted to chef and next week will be my last week of being in the pit. It’s seen me through some tough times and I’m thankful for all of the good and bad memories made there. I’ve worked with some pretty cool humans and have reached peak philosophical esoteric thought on my 14 hour shifts. Didn’t know I’d be so sentimental. I’m excited for my next chapter and my heart will forever be with the dishies. Godspeed everyone.

I've been working as a dishwasher for about a month and a little over a week. In my and my boss's opinions, I have been doing pretty well. I have understood the layout and work fast. Last night when I walked in for my shift, I met this new guy standing at the dishwashing station. I don't even remember his name because of how much I was multitasking the whole time. Apparently he isn't a new hire. He is returning since it's summer. But he basically is a new hire.

He said he worked 8 nights before. It must have been a long time ago because he barely retained anything. I assumed I was just getting some extra help since we had to deep clean that night. Nope. He is clueless. Once I got the memo I went into teacher mode, but holy shit. He doesn't listen. I sound like an old man, but I kind of understand when people say that teenagers are lazy. (We are only five years apart in age).

I started monitoring how he does things. He moves incredibly slowly. He's overly cautious about the dishes and equipment. He's not asking any questions. And it's like he's scared of the dish hose. Don't get me wrong, I was like that too when I started. But I also understood that we could have a rush at any moment. It was luckily a slow day, but I would have been fuming if I had to keep telling him to do things when he was going at a turtle's pace.

I'm a line cook but at a new job and they could only schedule me for dish until I can learn the recipes and get to cooking instead. I've always thought that the dishwashers were the most important people in the boh. Without good dishwashers nothing will ever be clean or getting out on time. The foundation that makes making the food possible. No clean dishes and stuff, no food leaves the pass. That being said, I never realized how hard it truly is so shoutout to all of you even more. I did 2 days on dishpit; my hands are dry and peeling, I was sweating like I ran a marathon and got dehydrated. My hands pruned up so bad that any metal edge on hotel pans and stuff like that would cut me. And worst part is I was so bad at it. I was getting water everywhere, I was soaking wet, and I had to rewash stuff cause I was missing bits of food and realizing it after rinsing the suds off. I couldn't get the grease off of stuff quickly so there was a pile of stuff needing to be washed. I already knew dish was usually the last to leave, but holy crap, I was there hours after everyone else. My manager had to hop on and help me. We left at 12am, which isn't super late but we stop letting in new customers at 9:30pm and start breaking down stations so a good dishwasher would be out maybe 10:30-11pm tops? Anyways thank you for coming to my TEDTalk. You all are amazing and idk you all must have super serum in your veins or something.

I’ve been doing it once all flattened out and again sorted. I’ve been told that’s incorrect

New dishwasher, been here for less then a month, and my feet HURT when i get home. Especially today, after my first 2 double shifts days right next the other. I’m sure eventually I’m gonna get used to it and it will hurt a lot less, but that time isn’t now, so do y’all have any tips/ tricks to help make them hurt less, or lessen the pruning?

Truly, this job might be the best I’ve ever had in my life; all my coworkers are super sweet, I’m seen as a valuable part of the staff, the busiest of rushes is more manageable than the last dish job I had, I live five minutes away from work… by WALKING! Oh and the pay is extremely good when factoring the tips.

Really, it’s great.

But in the next few years, I have to get the fuck out of there.

At my last dish job, which lasted around 6 months, I swore to myself I’d never work in a kitchen again. Really, it was mostly because the head chef was an actual fucking psycho and made the atmosphere wretched whenever he was around. At this new place, it made me realize in retrospect that I actually enjoy the pace of kitchen work. I have ADHD so maybe I like the fact that there’s always something happening, and that naturally, shit will slip through the cracks.

But now, after a cumulative 3+ years in the restaurant business, including a brief stint at a Pizza Hut, I’m not sure how much I have left in me. The hard part is that there’s nothing inherently wrong about any of it… But I want to move on to something that’ll give me more purpose and requires a different type of effort out of me.

I’ve been going to community college and decided that I want to become a registered nurse. I know the jump in careers is a bit odd, and while I’m going through all the efforts to get my prerequisites and eventually get into the program, I’ll keep washing dishes.

It’s a good job, and us dishies don’t get nearly enough respect put on our names.

for context, I'm the only dishwasher they don't have anybody in the morning. They have me come in from 3 to 10 and when I come in typically they'll be a cart full of dishes plus this dish pit is full plus the second sink so the sinks in the back will also be full and I'll have to wash all of those before 5 o'clock because that's when dinner service starts morning service starts at 11 so from 11 to 3 there is no dishwashing coverage so I come in and I have to do morning service dishes plus morning prep dishes plus dinner prep dishes plus dinner service dishes plus the outside bar will bring up a cart full of dishes at 6 o'clock and I'm the only dishwasher I don't really get breaks unless I go downstairs to use the bathroom. I've had to work off the clock because they want me out at a certain time and it would be physically impossible for me to get out of that certain time so I have to clock out and keep working. I have had panic attacks from this job. I've lost 25 pounds I have trench foot I'm not sure if what I did was right I clocked out and I just left out the back also tomorrow they're supposed supposed to have a 250 person banquet and I'm supposed to be the only person washing dishes. I can't do that. oh, and they also didn't give me proper PPE when I first got there so I have severe irritant contact dermatitis. My hands have such bad hyperpigmentation. My hands are so dry that I can't put my hands out fully. And I will literally go an entire shift just eating a chicken strip they also bait and switched me. They told me that I was going to have benefits. That's what the job listing said it was full-time with benefits. I got the job offer. It's full-time seasonal meaning I don't have any benefits no health insurance no nothing.

My manager called and texted me today i haven't responded

63 years old male. New to United States. No so much English. Need a help from community if anyone can help me with this. I’m willing to work weekdays, weekends any shifts.

I’m a server, former dishwasher, who noticed many of the kitchen staff and our dishwashers not properly rinsing off food bits etc before running the machine. Where i worked before and from the internet i gathered that the machine does not wash, it sanitizes, and therefor almost all food bits and stuck on gunk needs to go off beforehand. When I told my manager at my former workplace this, he looked clueless but said I was right.

When I tried talking to the head chef at my current workplace this, she said it is OK as they need to change the water 4 times a day? Thing is, you know your fellow dishwashers, this is *not* happening. And even if it is, like why?
There must still be way more grease and food particles in the water, which i imagine is not totally up to code.

This is APART from the main problem that many of our plates, utensils and kitchenware come back with washed and dried stuck on salad or such.

I should mention that this machine, like the places I’ve worked before is a standard hood

*TLDR*/My question is: is it food safe practice to leave food in the machine if you theoretically change the water more often?

I've worked with water style crews like dish pits for years. My feat love to sweat in leather. I'm flat footed on top of it. So what do I really wear? I love steal toe too just in case something falls on me or it gets stubbed. Once I had a 600 lb barrel fall on my feet and steel toes saved my feet! That's why I am still able to walk! So what is the most sufficient shoe for a restaurant worker that sweats often, flat footed and saves your feet?