Slow prep looks like a work ethic problem. It's a design problem. If finishing early gets you cut, nobody finishes early. The fix is in the schedule, not the staff.
The hardest restaurant labor conversation isn't the cut itself. It's the version that lands as a verdict on a person, and what that costs you long after the shift ends.
A reflection on Memorial Day weekend., the wave that lands and restaurants every summer, and the face of the manager who absorbs it for everyone else.
The P&L is a coroner's report, not a vital sign. It's a rearview mirror to what happened, not a plan