Employment
2004
I am still working at Touch Pro as a programmer and software support.  I have re-written the parts of the back-end which were the hardest for users to figure out and now I am working on totally replacing it.  I have made it an active study to find how a user interface can be as obvious as possible because our clients often do not have time to spend learning anything complicated.

Building menus is something I often have to do and also something I hate doing.  It is extremely tedious, and, while I understand it fully; it is too complex for the average client to handle, so I end up making modifications for them even after they are set up initially.  I am presently collecting ideas in my head for how this whole process can be simplified and presented to the user in a way that will allow them to make their own menu changes.  It will be one of the largest programming tasks I have ever done.

Several sites are now using my software, and, while we have had some problems, no problems that I could not fix have surfaced yet, and that is good.  I have been constantly updating the capabilities of my graphics toolbox to handle the unforeseen needs that writing software for Touch Pro has created.  In many cases, I am going over code I wrote when I was in 10th grade at my leisure.  I never expected to get this much practical use out of it.

The programmer who wrote the original Touch Pro software is not helping me very much right now, but my boss is working with him.  I would like to be able to get help from him on some low-level tasks as well as give him ideas for his next version.  The software I am writing is meant to extend this existing version since the next version will be a major release and will not be ready for over a year.

2003
I began 2003 cooking at Fridays as normal.  I was at this point working mostly day shifts when we do more prep than cooking.  And, while I enjoy the environment of Fridays and many of the people there, my pay was not increasing anymore since I was making about as much as they could pay me.  The current management did not allow us to work overtime, either.

In February, I received an e-mail from the owner of Touch Pro, a small company that sells DOS based restaurant point of sale systems.
This job was over an hour drive for me and the starting pay was not much more than what Fridays was paying me, but I decided that I could probably advance there past where I was, so I took the job in April, 2003.

I quickly learned the Touch Pro system and I was named "software support", which was normally phone support, but I also started doing on-site calls and also building menus.  While working with the software, I began to realize ways I could make it easier to use which would in turn make my job (supporting the software) easier.

I began to re-write parts of the back-end (where the software is set-up) in my spare time at work, and my boss was always excited about my efforts.

Because the pay at Touch Pro would not be enough to meet my long term financial goals by itself, I also continued to clean the dining room at TGI Fridays, Quakertown 2 and sometimes 3 mornings a week through all of 2003.

2002
During all of 2002, I cooked at TGI Fridays Quakertown full time.  We had several major menu rollouts during this time, and as an In-Store-Trainer, I had a major part in training for the changes as well as helping set up the kitchen for efficient operation with the new products.  I also placed a higher emphasis on having decent hours, and I began working day shift more often.

I also began cleaning the dinning room early in the morning 2 days a week since we no longer have a cleaning crew.  This is helping me with my long term financial goal of having a down payment for a house in 4-5 years.

2001
My return to Quakertown TGI Fridays was a good decision.  I have been much more happy with my job and my income, and I have learned the entire kitchen, which was a goal of mine awhile ago.  I now know Plate/Nacho, Sauté, Fry, and Broil as well as prep, dish, and expo.

2000
By January, 2000, I was thoroughly tired of washing dishes at TGI Fridays, Quakertown.  I started to feel that I had little to show for all the "experience" I supposedly have in the food service business since I was still working most of my shifts as a dishwasher.

In an attempt to remedy this, I learned the sauté position on the Fridays cook line during my dish washing shifts.  This saved them from having to pay me for a formal training shift, which was what I thought was keeping me from being promoted.

However, I ended up applying at TGI Fridays, Montgomeryville, a corporate Fridays (Quakertown is owned by a franchise).
I was hired on the spot as a cook, and I worked the Plate/Nacho station.  This station involves mostly salad and sandwich preparation, and I received recognition for having "the best looking food, even under heavy business".  Since Montgomeryville is a very busy store (more so than Quakertown), upholding standards under busy periods is a prime concern.

While the people at Montgomeryville TGI Fridays were very nice, the store was so busy it started to threaten my sanity.
After considering my options, I decided a return to Quakertown made sense; since it is a slower store, I would still be cooking, and it is less of a drive.  I left Montgomeryville on good terms mid-June to return to Quakertown.  I was given a raise and immediately taught another station as well (Sauté).

I was also given all the hours I wanted, which caused me to place Burger King on leave of absence.

Soon after I returned to Quakertown, I was sent to represent Quakertown at the Metz Culinary challenge, in which all TGI Fridays stores owned by Metz compete to find the kitchen team who goes to the next level and eventually to nationals.  While Quakertown did not win, my food got very good remarks made about it.

1999
By Christmas 1998, I wanted to make a difference at Fridays in other areas besides bussing and crew.  Since I was experienced at dish washing, I asked to be moved there.  With some manipulating, I was moved and given a very nice pay raise to go with it in January, 1999.  All it took was one night of me running the dish area for the managers to love me.  I kept it spotless, even under heavy business, and I kept up with heavy business.

In the summer, 1999, I began helping as a prep cook at Fridays.  Prep cooks prepare the various vegetables, potatoes, etc. that are served with our main entrees.  We also make and prepare the various sauces that Fridays appetizers and entrees come with.  Since all of our food is made fresh day by day, we usually have a lot of work.

Late in 1999, the general manager sent me to the IST validation at TGI Fridays in Wilkes-Barre, PA.  An IST at Fridays is an In-Store-Trainer.
In this case, I am specifically a Busser IST, even though I no longer work that position.  I am working with the busser manager to make sure I am scheduled with the new bussers we hire, so that they are trained properly.  The bussers we have currently do not bus tables properly or efficiently.  Hopefully, having good training to start will resolve these issues with future hires.

While I am not sure that being a Server is my speed, I have done some food running at Fridays as well.  The food runner just takes food to the table, to help out the server.  I also refill drinks and get anything else the table may need, but most food runners do not.

During all of 1999, I also held a closer position at Burger King, Quakertown.

1998
TGI Fridays was completely different in terms of expectations of employees.  Since it was run by managers, not owners, the quality of work expected was not as high, and therefore employees would do as little as they could get away with.  Since I was taught to do my job in a superior manner, I took it upon myself to do each task given me to the specifications in the employee handbook, and in a neat, clean manner to best present my restaurant.  While the managers generally appreciated my work and efforts, many of the co-workers did not.

Consequently, I wanted cut back my hours at Fridays because my co-workers' attitude towards me was upsetting.  Burger King in Quakertown was hiring, and they offered me comparable pay to what I was making as a busser at Fridays.  I started there in April, 1998 as a crew person.  By summer, 1998, I was moved to a closer position, and given a pay raise accordingly.  Burger King seemed to be a more friendly place to work, and I thrived on the variety of people I met between the two jobs.  Standards at Burger King seemed to be upheld better, despite the crew of teenagers that were constantly being kicked back into line.

Back at TGI Fridays, we got a new General Manager around May, 1998.  He raised the standards considerably, although nowhere near that of Sellersville Restaurant.  This improved my attitude towards Fridays.  Interestingly enough, many of the co-workers that had caused me trouble previously left when the new General Manager started, also improving my attitude towards Fridays.

1997
Circumstances with my newly acquired car in late 1997 caused me to get another job at TGI Fridays in Quakertown.  My starting position was a busser/crew person where I cleared tables and made soups, salads, and deserts.  I held this job along with Sellersville Restaurant until Sellersville Restaurant was sold in February, 1998.

1996
In April, 1996, I got my first "real" job at Sellersville Family Restaurant as a dishwasher.  This diner was family owned and operated, so it did have a friendly atmosphere.  The owners, the Creedens, ran a clean restaurant and insisted on high standards of cleanliness and food quality.  I have not found another restaurant yet that is run so well. Unfortunately, owning a restaurant was stressful to the family, and it was sold in early 1998.  The building is now "Angelo's Diner" and the food there is nothing to brag about, to say the least.

Sellersville Restaurant taught me responsibility by trusting me to get a set list of tasks done.  The owners would compliment good work and/or improvements and they would just as promptly inform me what was not satisfactory.  I value the experience gained here highly.  Had it not been for this job, I would not have as good of a foundation for doing things in an neat, organized, particular way.

During the summer of 1996 I worked at PC WareHouse in Montgomeryville, PA.  Since I could speak English, I was immediately hired as a sales person.  I wanted to be a technician, but I took what was offered me.  While I was knowledgeable about what I sold, and tried my best, I did not sell many full computer systems.  Unfortunately, that is what they wanted me to sell.  And, since I would not work there after school started again, they fired me at the beginning of July.

The whole time I worked at PC WareHouse, they tried to get me to quit Sellersville Restaurant.  I wisely did not, and I am very glad I stuck with it, even though the pay was not too good, the experience and ethics taught were priceless.

1994-1995
During the summers of 1994 and 1995 I helped my dad, who is a builder and runs the business "Dennis S Nice & Son Builders" along with my granddad, Dennis S Nice Sr.  This trade has been in my family for 4 generations.

While I value the experience gained from this experience with the trade, I did not particularly enjoy it while doing it.  The pay was not too good, either.


    Here are some pictures of Dan's clean dish area at TGI Fridays, Quakertown in summer, 1999:

Dan and his friend Robert, showing off the clean area at 5:00pm on a busy Thursday.

Same shot without us in the way....

Finally, the side view:








For those of you considering getting a first-job, I recommend the food-service industry HIGHLY.
No, it is not easy work, but you will learn skills that will help you for the rest of your life:
 

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