Day Two of Michael Mina Employment

Today, we had the stress of finding out which restaurant we would be working at.  They were frantically assembling large binders that they handed out.  They started out by calling the servers for Saltwater, the seafood restaurant.  Two or three of the first servers were not there (How could you miss this?), and I was called up.  I am working at the seafood place with no Kobe beef ribeye, but we do have caviar!  We have Lobster Pot Pie! It turns out that Michael Mina is best known for his innovation in seafood.  It is his claim to fame and his specialty.  Also, this restaurant is a little more upscale than the Bourbon Steak restaurant.  All of the servers come from varied backgrounds.  Many have a lot of fine dining experience, and some don't.  Hell, I came from Famous Dave's and some others came from Applebee's.  It's great that we all get the chance to move into this different realm of serving.  Then, we split into groups and got inundated with information.  There were only eight of us, including the captains.  The restaurant seats between 80 and 90.  So this is an intimate place that won't have scads of open space and servers waiting for tables.  David, the Corporate HR guy walked by and just stopped in his tracks.  He said that we fit the image of what Saltwater was meant to be perfectly.  I hope that's a good thing! Patric Yumul, the Vice President of Operations came up with "The Goldenyr Rule" (read: "goldener") which states "Treat others how they would like to be treated, not how you would like to be treated."  That was pretty much the focus of the whole training.  It doesn't matter who comes in, whether it be high rollers, VIPs, celebrities, people off the street wearing cut-off shorts and tank tops, or anyone else; they are to receive the same treatment. Another big point was that there are no perfect people, only perfect intentions.  As long as you strive to improve every day, you are doing all you can.  And with the fact that the Michael Mina Bellagio has a per person average of $134 (comparison: Famous Dave's per person average is $15) as well as the mention that a group of four can easily drop $6000 on a night out, and I will certainly improve every day! Final note, Bourbon was designed by a Japanese restaurant firm called Super Potato.  How cool is that?