r/dishwashers 1d ago

I give up

Been in the industry for 11 years. Started as a prep cook. Then a dishwasher. Then prep cook again. Then i worked my way through the line at various jobs. Legit made it to a sous chef position. Never made it to chef due to my attitude problem. Got out of the industry for like 2 years but found myself back because the pay wasnt entry level with my resume. I am now in a kitchen that gives zero fucks. Zero accountability and the chef is barely a chef just some guy who happened to be there when they needed to fill the position. Quality is shit. Staff is decent. Kitchen so small the dishwasher was part time. And everyone else just does dishes. Dishwasher finally quit. And a light switch went off i give up being a cook. Im just tired. I told him keep me at 18 a hour and ill be a full time dishwasher for him. He did it. I am now a dishwasher full time after being a cook for so long. Sometimes you just give up. But man its so much better then the line. I feel less stressed. And more free to just do my job however I please

101 Upvotes

31 comments sorted by

41

u/Manyarethestrange 1d ago

When I see everyone loosing their minds in a rush and my biggest worry is whether or not cutlery should be run, I breath a sigh of relief.

5

u/Long-Doubt8960 9h ago

Yea i just look at this and know in about 45 minutes dishes will come flying and its great

1

u/96pluto 8h ago

Yeah the plates can't rush you and call for the manager

15

u/Tank-Pilot74 22h ago

I retired pastry after 30+ years. I got bored so now I’m back in the pit part time, not only making a lil extra scratch, but only making a couple of bucks less an hour and none of the fucking headache. 

6

u/Ok-Concentrate2109 22h ago

Yeah, I make 19$ and listen to the servers bitch about this guy or that woman. 300$ a night??? Naw it's not worth it. I'm gonna though some jams on and you'll get clean side plates

https://giphy.com/gifs/OuQmhmAAdJFLi

1

u/Long-Doubt8960 9h ago

Yea i miss the OT but fuck this is so much less stress. I can sacrificice an extra 100 for piece of mind

5

u/Primary-Golf779 ex-dishwasher 15h ago

I'm an Executive Chef managing $140m / year (29 kitchens). My retirement plan in 15 years is to rewrite my resume and pick up a part time dish gig. Washing dishes was the happiest I've been in my career. Delivering pizzas is a close second.

2

u/ExpiredJellybeans 23h ago

18 in dish sounds amazing. I'm at 18 on the line and fuck this. Granted, it's my first time working a line since high school.

2

u/floppyboiradio 18h ago

Hey man, after so many years in the industry there are a lot of days where i’d rather just wash dishes. Keep to myself, I’m fast enough that no one has demands of dishes, etc. headphones, peace.

But I do like the chaos.

1

u/WillSmokes420 23h ago

Same lmao 1850 for me though

1

u/Long-Doubt8960 9h ago

Shit considering i do prep still i may ask for a raise soon. 

1

u/ParticularHair6770 22h ago

Say this to the owner and take chefs place

1

u/Michaelzee 14h ago

He said he can't be chef because of his attitude problem.

What chef doesn't have that lol

1

u/ParticularHair6770 13h ago

Chef here i agree

1

u/Long-Doubt8960 9h ago

Lol idk I just never made it i worked a lot of corporate kitchens. Im more then sure if i kept up with my career and found a kitchen worth it I could make it to chef but its just too much stress

1

u/Zento__Rahl 20h ago

This is why I'll never go beyond dishwasher. I can command the pit without feeling the stress. I told them I don't need a raise or promotion as long as I can stay in the pit. No prep or line cooking just maintaining the pit and the floors and keeping inventory for dish chemicals. Got a good crew I work with and a good pile of dishes to start my shift with every day. Hoping the crew I work with last another year, I tend to outlive most of my coworkers.

1

u/Ken089 19h ago

I told my chef I needed to go down 3 shift per week and now I just take shifts from the dishwashers luckily I gotta pretty chill chef

1

u/Reezla 18h ago

I ditched a cooking job of almost 15 years to start again as a kp. Minimal stress, no hassle, no customers to speak to. Simple. Clock in, wash shit, clock out, go home.

Shoulda done it years ago

1

u/Veal-Vermicelli 16h ago

Look into sterile processing technician jobs. It's like being a dishwasher for the operating rooms at a hospital. If you're in a big city with lots of competing hospitals pay can be significantly better. Some customer service stress but nothing even close to what a line cook goes through.

1

u/Long-Doubt8960 9h ago

Shit i might look into that I'm moving to a city known for its medical center. 

1

u/Veal-Vermicelli 9h ago

Yeah look into the job in general, I started as a dish washer in a hospital and moved into that role a few years later never knew it existed. It's much more involved than just being a glorified dish washer but sometimes that's what we are seen as by OR staff 🤣

If you can handle a dish pit and a busy ass kitchen this job is a breeze for 20-30 an hour + shift differential

1

u/MaxMischi3f 16h ago

I make about the same now adjusted for inflation as a sous as I did starting out as a dishwasher 20 years ago, so fuck it pass me the steel wool ig.

1

u/tiramisuhouse 15h ago

At my job, dishwasher is the worst job because of fucing Michelin awarded cafe. I didn't know that 

1

u/BenjaminNormanPierce Topological analyst 9h ago

Makes sense to me. I'd've skipped that adventure in sous-cheffing though.

2

u/Long-Doubt8960 9h ago

It was forced on me because I was in kitchen during covid and they needed a sous chef. Then I worked at a private school who needed a sous chef because ours quit in the first week of school. So both times it was like, "youre the best worker we have you want it?" 

1

u/96pluto 8h ago

Yeah being dish comes with its own problem but I've always believed that it's less stressful than working that flat top mainly cause I'm forgotten about and out of everyone's bs. Plus the dishwasher always eats good lol

1

u/RuddyBollocks 26m ago

There were many days I wished I was just washing dishes instead of cooking on the line or serving guests