Every restaurant that has been around for a while eventually finds one of those employees. You know the kind. When the schedule falls apart, somebody calls off fifteen minutes before the shift, the dining room fills faster than expected, or the night simply starts going to hell, there is one person you can call with almost no notice who will somehow show up and help put the place back together. They do not spend ten minutes asking who else you called first, what happened, or whether there is going to be some special reward waiting for them. They hear the problem, decide they can help, and come in.

I had Suzie.

Suzie was in college and working toward a PhD in literature. She had a full scholarship, so the restaurant was not paying her tuition or keeping a roof over her head. When I hired her, she told me with complete seriousness that she basically needed drinking money. I appreciated the honesty. There are plenty of people who will sit through an interview and tell you they are looking for an opportunity to grow with the organization when what they really mean is that they need enough money to make it through Friday night. Suzie skipped the speech and went straight to the truth. The scholarship was taking care of the important things. The restaurant was financing the fun.

What I did not know when I hired her was how good she was going to be.

Suzie was one of those employees who learned quickly, worked hard, and seemed almost embarrassed by the amount of supervision some of her coworkers required. She did not need to be reminded repeatedly about the same task. She did not wander around looking for something easier to do when business picked up. She had a good work ethic, took care of the customers, and made very good tips. Most importantly, she never complained.