You hear it all the time – “Everyone needs to work in the restaurant industry at some point in their life”. This statement, I couldn’t agree with more. The time that I spent as a server and bartender have changed the way I view and approach life. Walking into my first restaurant job I was this young little thing who was scared as all hell about being in a social setting. I hated public speaking and making mistakes (which are both obviously extremely common in the industry) and didn’t want anyone to look down on me. These workers get such a bad rapport from the general public because we are “serving them”. We are often looked at as not important because others are paying us to do something for them. I hated the idea of someone talking to me like I was their slave and not feeling any remorse for yelling at me if I were to do something incorrectly. Little did I know how much I was going to learn from my time working in restaurants. I have worked in many different places and each one has provided me with some valuable piece of information that I will cherish forever. If you have worked in this industry then I’m sure you can agree with most of the things I’m about to say. If you haven’t, no worries, there is always time to work that one serving job you’ve always wanted to.
It has provided me with so many life skills. There are so many things you learn in this world that you don’t find in books or lectures. Patience is probably the biggest skill I have learned to accomplish (although my girlfriend might not agree). While working in this industry you are thrown into so many different scenarios. You might have to pick up extra tables because a coworker is out sick, or you might have to take that annoying party of 20 all alone, or deal with that one customer that everybody wishes they could 86. Knowing that this is my job, I learned to be calm and patient because I knew these things were going to happen. I couldn’t get angry at my bosses or the customers because it would affect how I’m perceived and overall, paid. Countless times I’ve had customers yell at me or complain to a manger about something they claim I did/didn’t do, but very quickly I learned to take it all with a grain of salt and move on. I’ve learned to tolerate the people that don’t appreciate what we do and just understand that this is my job and I’m getting paid to help them with whatever they need, because, say it with me “The customer is always right”. (Even though they aren’t).
Not to mention, my multitasking skills have gone through the roof. I attribute the weekend to this success (Friday-Sunday, not the singer). Between the hours of 4-11, there is never a dull moment on the weekends. You’re swamped with table after table & bar guest after bar guest and you don’t even have a minute for a drink of water. I had to balance all my guests, their orders, the time, and so many other key factors in ensuring they had a great meal and experience. In the beginning I was manning 2 tables at a time and writing down every little detail about what they wanted. By the end, I was never writing anything down, memorizing 5 tables’ orders at once all while running food, making drinks and attending to problems. Multitasking is one of the most important qualities you can have in life and perhaps the most important one for working in restaurants. You won’t survive without it.
I’ve gained friends for life. When you walk into your first restaurant job you feel intimidated. Everyone else there is making fun of each other, laughing about things they did on their day off and overall, acting like one big family. You walk in feeling like the long lost 7th cousin that no one ever knew existed. But, that’s also the great thing; this family takes you in understanding you have to be a part of them in order to succeed. They show you the ropes, give you tips and pointers, and make you feel loved by involving you in after work drinks and bowling sessions. You quickly become one of them and it’s the best time you could ever have. You make jokes all shift long, make bets about who will do better and plan what y’all will do afterwards. I was very fortunate to have people at each job I went to make me feel like one of them. They’re people you share everything with because that’s just the way it is. The trust is 100% and you know they will have your back for life. I’m lucky to have met the people I did during my years.
I’ve learned empathy. If you are a bartender or a server you’re living off of one thing – tips. In order to obtain tips you know that you have to go above and beyond for your customers. So, when it’s extremely busy and the food or drinks are taking a bit longer, there’s nothing you can do. You go over to your guests and let them know about the tardiness and they immediately blame you. “Well if you got my order in earlier this wouldn’t be happening”. These people are typically the ones that 1) have never worked in the restaurant industry or, 2) look down on us like we’re doing a terrible profession. Being on the front lines and seeing that these things are inevitable has taught me to empathize with these workers. They are doing everything in their power to make sure we have a good time and it’s not their fault. Every other customer is experiencing the same issues that they are, so the server/bartender doesn’t deserve this wrath people put on them. Try to remember this and don’t yell or look down on your servers/bartenders, they want things to run just as smoothly as you do.
I’ve learned the importance of working hard. Every industry worker knows that in order to go ahead you have to get ahead. This means busing down your tables, running food and being a team player. You want to be able to get the best tables or work the best shifts and this won’t happen unless you put in the time. No matter how much experience you might have, if you go into a new job you will be treated the same as a 16 year old rookie. You have to prove yourself worthy. Good shifts and better tables = more money in your pocket. I’ve had to grind at every job I’ve had in order to ensure I could reach those levels. Now I’m able to use this same mentality and apply it in my current job. I prove myself to my boss and it results in a promotion. It’s almost second nature to me now to go the extra mile and do something before it even pops into my boss’s heads. Working hard is a lifelong skill that you need to have, and I can’t imagine a better place to learn it than the restaurant industry.
There are thousands of more reasons why working in the restaurant industry has changed my life for the better. I can’t explain most of them to you; you just need to experience it. This industry provides you with endless possibilities for life, and I will always cherish them.