On Farewell Lunches

Whenever an employee joins our team, we celebrate with lunch out. They're always a little awkward, as the new person is never exactly comfortable amidst a crowd of people who already know each other well. It's sort of a lose-lose for the new-comer. Either we all end up talking amongst ourselves and inadvertently leave out the new person, or we pepper them with questions they must answer there at the table in front of everyone. Those of us doing the welcoming still very much look forward to these lunches, as they're always on the company's dime. This doesn't mean I skip right to the surf and turf. At least not every time.

Almost more anticipated are the farewell lunches. These are more celebratory in nature, as the person is usually moving onto a new position or being promoted, and there's both the excitement of new opportunity and the accomplishments from their current role to talk about. Everyone knows everyone, also a plus, and the person departing gets to choose the location of his or her farewell lunch. Most people end up choosing either Olive Garden or the local BBQ joint, and again, these are paid for by the company.

We recently had a farewell lunch for a girl from our Asia Pacific division who has spent the past 6 months in America working on a project. Actually, I have no idea what she was working on, but all of a sudden 6 months were up and I received an invite to her farewell lunch. Not Olive Garden or BBQ, she picked a Japanese steakhouse, and as our entire team sat around the fancy counter in the dimly-lit dining area, we were sort of amazed. Because who knew lunch could be so fabulous? Most of us ordered off of the Hibachi menu, and the chefs came out and did their thing (shrimp-tossing, egg-cracking, spatula-throwing...and lots of fire) on the grills in front of us. I ate every single bite of the meal (a feat that some of the boys could not even accomplish) and the whole time kept thinking not only that it was the most delicious thing I've had in years, but also that the Japanese steakhouse totally kicks Olive Garden's butt.

You do get what you pay for, meaning that while the food was tremendous, so were the prices. I should have been alarmed at her picking such a pricey location, but instead I just felt a little jealous of her style. And that I hadn't thought of it first. At any rate, should I ever have a farewell lunch, Olive Garden is out. (keep reading for a review of Billy Elliott!)