Good dishwashers (we’re talking about actual people, not a machine) are hard to find in the restaurant industry. It’s a tough and often thankless job. This restaurant found one, but after he spent a month on the job, they figured out the person didn’t actually work there. Yikes.
In a viral video, bartender Davey Francis (@daveyfrancis) tells the story of Coffee and Baybay, the “undisputed, universal champions of the dish pit.” And while BayBay worked at the restaurant with Francis, he was never actually hired.
Okay, rewind.
Francis first met Baybay after coming back to work from a week-long vacation. He asked a co-worker named Coffee (we’re presuming that’s a nickname) about the new guy, and he confirmed Baybay was the new dishwasher.
“I didn’t question it after that,” Francis says.
Francis explains that the dishwasher gig is one of the least desirable jobs at a restaurant but somebody’s gotta do it. Turns out Baybay and Coffee were what he could only describe as a “winning dishwashing team.”
“That dish pit has never moved more smoothly,” Francis says.
For a while, everyone was really happy with the decision to hire Baybay, but no one was 100% sure how he got hired. Then Francis walked in on a conversation between Coffee, Baybay, and the head chef.
Baybay had been working there for a month but hadn’t received a single paycheck. Turns out he never got hired officially. What happened was that Baybay walked into the restaurant asking about a job and Coffee gave him a job without running it by anyone in charge.
Baybay did end up getting hired, and everything was great until “inevitably all good things come to an end.” Baybay was fired after a “series of events” that included him smoking “wet” (weed laced with other drugs) and threatening actor Anthony Mackie.
“The restaurant industry is one of the most dysfunctional places,” Francis says.
The video, titled, “The Dishwasher Nobody Ever Hired,” has more than half a million views and nearly 500 comments as of Wednesday morning.
@daveyfrancis How does one get a job, but not get hired? Good dishwashers are hard to find, but ive never seen it done better than Coffee and Baybay. They were the undisputed, universal champions of the dish pit. ##bartender##bartenderstories##serviceindustry##dishwasher##storytime ♬ original sound – Davey Francis
Several commenters recounted their own wacky stories of working in the restaurant industry.
“Best line cook i’ve ever met refused to use timers. he showed up on mushrooms every day and ‘the food told him when it was done,’” a top comment read.
“I passed out 2x in the kitchen, got back up & continued working. Everyone worked around me and only stopped long enough to get me water & on my feet,” a person shared.
“I worked with a line cook named Bones that got locked up constantly and showed us all (owners included) how to make a jail pocket [p*ssy]. He was beloved,” another wrote.
“We had a dishwasher notorious for taking naps in his car mid shift you had to go wake him up when the dishes started piling up,” a further commenter said.
The Daily Dot reached out to Francis for comment via email.
