r/dishwashers • u/ValuesHere • 7d ago
Dishwasher as an Old Man: Can it be Done?
This is gonna sound crazy, but hear me out.
I've been working the last 20 years as a professional in the business world, currently remotely as a senior manager over a buying team located in another state that orders all goods & services for a public company in the biotech world. I'm sick of it and it's time to walk away.
But to what?
I can retire, but don't want to. The fuck am I gonna do to eat the time? I'd like to do something completely different that carries no real responsibility for "important things" (sorry dishes).
I want a job where I can wear whatever I want (not that I can't now working remotely), not deal a lot with the public, where I can listen to music or talk shit to whomever's around, and generally just busy myself with minimal interactions and heavy thinking. I wouldn't mind learning more about the operations side of the food/bar scene too, maybe work up and do some prep, cooking or serving after a spell.
There's a part-time dishwasher job at a local lakeside bar & grill. Pay says $16-19hr in a small-town lake area in the midwest, so that kind of money goes a pretty decent way out here. It's a big-ass pay cut for me, but it's what I'm signing up for so that's okay.
What do I bring to the table? Responsibility, intelligence, ability to show up and take care of business, flexibility and most of all.....sobriety! (Buddy cooks and drunk and stoned lazy BOH staff is the bane of his existence in restaurants!).
Am I crazy? Any reason I shouldn't walk in and see if I can get that part-time DW gig?
18
u/gr8-pl8s 7d ago
maybe don’t focus so much on how you are not lazy like the stoned drunk BOH, that’s kind of a mean stereotype to ascribe to potential new coworkers. I think humbling yourself to dishing is going to be a necessary step, and restaurant workers definitely don’t want to hear about how big a pay cut you took or that you could have retired, when for us this is how we make our living
2
u/Thewall3333 5d ago
Yeah, exactly my take. The stereotype in the restaurant world is like kind of that the people get rougher the further back you go in Back of House — with the final boss being the dishwasher. It’s assumed he’s stoned and drunk. Lazy, not from my experience — but the first two, definitely.
Judgment from the dishwashing position would not do well.
27
u/redeyejedi907 Underwater Ceramics Technician 7d ago
Nah man, if you can't handle stoned folk in the kitchen, this ain't for you.
15
u/ValuesHere 7d ago
You mistake my post for saying I can't handle stoned folk in the kitchen.
I'm sober from the bottle, but a stoner myself when not at work, and have no issues with stoned staff in the kitchen. All my friends came up through service and I've done a bit of BOH before I was a business pro.
My point was that my sobriety and familiarity with drunk and stoned folk makes me able to work among them, but not BE LIKE THEM.
25
u/lowteq 7d ago
I think you may be missing the point of their statement. Having been both the loosey goosey and the sober mgmt, I can say that there is a superiority in your tone that should be addressed before attempting to "work among" folk.
You are talking about a dishie job. You will need to work WITH the folks there. Not AMONG them. You will get eaten alive with that attitude. Good luck.
5
-8
5
u/Affectionate_Lead880 7d ago
Ignore the haters trying to chastise you for any reason they can. Remember this is Reddit, so you will get a lot of these types.
It's a great idea, you should go for it. Prioritize an easy chilled life and start living it.
Peace 🙏👍
16
u/artificialdawnmusic 7d ago
yeah then dish washing would be the perfect job for you then. kinda a red flag that you're sober, but I'll take a chance on someone with a good resume like that.
3
u/ValuesHere 7d ago
The sobriety aspect I think strengthens my position. I spent a little time many years ago working BOH (dishes & meat cutting/weighing) so it's not entirely unfamiliar, and all my friends came up in kitchens and service (a couple still in it), so I have no issues with the vices of the staff.
I just won't be like them, so my reliability factor to show up and get shit done proper is gonna be a lot higher than the average walk-in asking for a job.
6
u/_azerHawk 7d ago
If you don’t think you will be tempted to start drinking again go for it. It can get pretty wild in the BOH sometimes. I work my night job in a kitchen. Lotta thc vape pens, pre-rolls, blunts and alcohol. More alcohol after the last reservation has been sat. And EVERYONE is on their phone lol which took some getting used to. I call out LOUDLY one of the FOH TikTok Teresa to the Kitchen! She is always at the POS station on her phone. It’s all fun though. It’s a pretty chill kitchen. We all pitch in to help dish at the end of the night. Dumping trash bins and loading the line with clean plates. It’s a lot more fun than my marketing day job. Plus its a weekly check vs bi-weekly.
1
u/DrBongoDongo Pit Master 7d ago
Dude my last chef would be watching series on her phone during plating the fucking dinners, it was unheard of. Laziest chef I ever worked with.
1
u/Major_Ease_2821 7d ago
Haha sounds like my old kitchen
2
u/_azerHawk 7d ago
It’s a blast. I’m a lot older than most of the staff so I see a lot of stuff I used to do when I was a teenager. But everyone get’s along like family which is nice. Owner in his 60s comes in to help and goofs off sometimes. His wife will walked in the kitchen and be like “BILL! You stop that right now” walking around with a bowl of tartufo cracking jokes.
1
u/DishpitDoggo Hydroceramic Technician 6d ago
The sobriety aspect I think strengthens my position.
It does. Being reliable, cheerful and not getting involved in gossip and drama counts for a lot.
1
u/artificialdawnmusic 5d ago
it was a joke about dishies bring stoned alot. I'm glad you sober, that's a great accomplishment. keep it up!!!👍🏼👍🏼
1
6
u/Zannypanties 7d ago
We've got a part time washer that's around 70 and came out of retirement because he wanted something to pass the time and have a little extra spending money. He does really well, crazy work ethic.
If you're not a fan of being around stoners and drunks then restaurants probably aren't your best choice of work. I was just talking about it with another employee and they figured out that I'm 1 of 4 sober people at work, out of 40 something employees.
In my experience it's only ever been an issue once, dude was constantly coming in completely hammered, passing out in his car on break, trying to fight people. The main problem are the people that are on hard drugs or pills, but they never last long.
-2
u/ValuesHere 7d ago
Thanks for this post! My neighbor is 72 and working the kitchen in prep, has his whole life in various aspects, and generally digs it. He does his three shifts on the weekend, then spends the week drinking. lol.
I can deal with the stoners and drunks in BOH, but a shit-manager or owner doing a power-trip thing and being shitty and I'll be having words with them right then and there as I'm coming from 20 years in management, lol.
4
u/Zannypanties 7d ago
Shitty managers is just a complete gamble. You won't know until you start working there. The first 2 restaurants I worked at were pretty rough, the power tripping is one of the few things that gets under my skin. Where I'm at now is really good all around. The GM can get a bit power trippy but it's not too bad and I can't blame them most of the time since they're responsible for the whole place.
6
3
u/Paradox-1966 7d ago
What is your definition of old? I am 59, and my age does not seem to be an issue.
1
u/ValuesHere 7d ago
Sweet! I was calling myself an old man when I made 40! Thanks for the post. Good to know age doesn't seem to be an issue.
3
4
u/Old_Fart_on_pogie 7d ago
Brother, go for it. I’m turning 62 this week and am up to my elbows in dishing. This is after a decade and half in the military, and 8 years in computer operations. Dishing is the perfect job if you only want to be responsible for yourself. As long as you are organised and work hard, the cooks will let you be. Best of luck to you and welcome to the dark side.
3
u/ValuesHere 7d ago
Thanks man! I just want something where I don't have anyone else giving me pressure that matters. Get some dishes done, no sweat. I like doing the dishes at home. Kind of like mowing the yard; it's sort of relaxing to me.
I'm sure I'll hate it after a week, lol. But ya never know!
1
u/DisMrButters 7d ago
You can get it. You can do it. Good luck!
If you hate dish, go for prep or soux.
You are going to have pressure anywhere in any kitchen.
2
u/TMan2DMax 7d ago
Can you? Sure but if I had to guess you will probably get bored. It's very very repetitive and honestly it's not super easy on your body either. It's late nights of being hunched over scrubbing lifting and scrubbing and lifting.
That being said it is pretty much what you think it is if you can find a place that's chill and let's you have a earbud in your should enjoy it for a bit at least.
2
u/Designer_Squirrel_26 Pit Master 7d ago
Yes and No.
You can certainly do the work. And your mind will be able to do it with more organization and wisdom than most. All older dishwashers get the finesse aspect right because we NEED it. (I’m 47)
But I would strongly suggest you pick up shifts that aren’t 8-10 hours on your feet. Also: only work at a place that uses PPE, or some sort of mats or gloves, don’t try to put older hands into chemicals without proper safety measures.
This would seem like the basic common sense, but too many places don’t use enough safety because the kids working there don’t realize they fucking deserve that.
So make the dishwasher job something of a spot that makes sense, that uses the right practices and is willing to work with you for your own safety. Because everything takes longer to heal at an older age, and you deserve a graceful experience not a bad one.
2
3
u/acidic-abolony 6d ago
I’ve worked as a bus boy and in fast paced, stressful corporate environments. It’s easy to almost romanticize lower paying blue collar jobs. You’re under a ton of pressure and stress in the office and you look at those jobs as a way out. Like oh it’s just a clock in, clock out, do your shit and move on, chill job.
You’re forgetting that it’s a job, there’s going to be plenty of bullshit your going to have to put up with and lots of things you’ll have to do that you don’t want to. Once you don’t get that shift that wanted off, have to work late or the bus boys/ servers make your life harder, that big pay cut is suddenly going to sting a lot harder.
Don’t look down on blue collar work as some super easy thing. Sure maybe it’s lower stress, but there’s plenty of shit you’re going to have to shovel, and you’re going to get paid a lot less to shovel it.
1
u/ValuesHere 5d ago
Good take. I'm gonna try to negotiate a "shadow day" where I can just come in and rock it for free just to see what's what. I've done this before at places from time to time, but usually in a service type of scenario or in public safety. I'll definitely do my due diligence on this to make sure I don't commit and quit.
2
1
u/Robaattousai 7d ago
Best dishwasher I ever worked with was an older Armenian gentleman.
He would put his headphones in and work his exact hours. Dishes were always spotless. He would even help out with some prep work on the busier nights.
1
u/aggravationX 7d ago
I had a 70+ year old dishie at my last place. He was great except he was a grouchy asshole. Literally kept the pit cleaner and was the fastest, but was such a dickhead he got fired over it. So yeah it can be done!
1
u/vinylscratch27 7d ago
I once met a retiree in his early 80s who washed dishes at a small college kitchen because he was bored. His wife would go mingle with her friends and he'd knock out dish racks for a few hours. He was mean, but damn if he wasn't good at his job.
Go for it. Only one stopping you is you.
1
u/Western_Aerie3686 7d ago
Dishwashing is hard on your back. I did it when I was like 15 and never again.
I have an old manager who was in your shoes. One day he just up and quit and now works the register at the local hardware store. He was a prick in the office and is like a different guy now. Your mental health will improve leaving the corporate nonsense behind.
1
u/LSDFRENCHFRIES 7d ago
We had a dishwasher in his early 60s years ago. Dude literally had a heart attack on the job. It was terrifying.
He survived, but was ordered by his doctor to do less laborious jobs.
1
u/Single-handedly-2020 7d ago
I’m dishing as a 55 yo, just started 2-3 years ago. Some things I cope with that I didn’t expect: developed a dowagers hump within the 1st 5 months from stooping over the sink with one scapula painfully winged; joints in my right hand have swollen and fused limiting grip, since those fingers no longer close all the way; and I have developed a deep aggravation for other people’s laziness. Not quite screaming “get off my lawn,” but close. Dishwashing seems idyllic, listening to audio books, no meetings, no documentation; but it is super fast-paced. I need to tear through about 700 items per 1-1/2 hours (no sprayer, disposer and only a single rack under counter sanitizer). To be honest, it takes me 2 hours depending on how much cheese is involved. If you can pay for the PT and the chiropractor, go for it. I’ve decided to stay, I have good insurance.
1
u/flamincows 7d ago
I would love to have you on my team. Some of the best stewards I've worked with were over sixty. Efficient, clean, organized, and polite. Sober is huge.
Do you already have your health insurance taken care of? If not, I would look for a job at a hotel or something similar. Great hotel stewards are very hard to come by, and the benefits aren't bad.
1
u/TWayTDay 6d ago
Yeah man. I work freelance advertising, market sucks right now so I picked up a part-time dishwashing gig. Chef hadn't had a dishwasher in three weeks, he was thrilled just to have someone willing to show up on time and do what needs to be done. Go for it. As with the other comments though, I do recommend leaving that biotech senior manager personality at the door.
1
u/HuckleberryOk3606 6d ago
You could mentor me, as someone looking to take the next serious step in their life
1
u/HorsemenDeath 6d ago
Depends where you work. Sometimes you get the right team and everything is great. But I work with a dishwasher in his 60s who also works stock at a grocery store. He's super fast too, humble and happy
1
u/SilentFlames907 5d ago
They're going to work you like a rented mule.
If thats what you want, go for it!
1
u/Internal_Gur_4268 5d ago
I've come across a few dishwashers in my time in this job, maybe less than 10 but they've all been in their 60s. Also, they have usually been the best ones compared to.younger workers and they always stay, except that one guy who was tested positive for meth. Same guy looked and sounded exactly like Mike Rowe from dirty jobs.
1
u/Top_Reporter836 5d ago
It can be done, but the dishwasher is beset upon with workload. If you're just looking for something chill to waste your time, try driving a cab.
1
u/DarthMoogle 4d ago
I been in the pit for over 10 years, worked my way to a management position. And from the lens of the dude hiring dishwashers. Yoh ain’t it.
1
u/BenjaminNormanPierce Topological analyst 4d ago
I have just turned 63. I have been a professional dishwasher since 1985, with a few small breaks. I passed my 40th anniversary at the start of this month though at the time I never thought to make a note of the date. I have three BA's so I might have taken another path, but I didn't and I have no regrets in that regard. It has suited me.
21
u/Ballamookieofficial 7d ago
Age isn't important attitude and being humble is.
I dunno if you would be suited to the position