What Waitressing Taught Me

Back in October when I was deciding what to do this summer between graduating from Tech and starting Grad school in the fall, I narrowed my choices to two potential jobs: retail, and working in a restaurant. I quickly decided against retail because I knew I would not have enough self-control to save money (I mean I wanted to work at J.Crew or Ann Taylor Loft - hello, money would be gone in an instant), so I decided that I wanted to be a waitress.

I have a strong belief that everyone should experience certain things in life, such as: witnessing a double rainbow, finding a hobby that you love, and understanding what it takes to be a food server. I decided that this summer was my time to waitress, because after grad school the work grind starts and I will not have the opportunity to do so again.

Everyone goes out to eat, and most of the time we acknowledge our server with little to no interest in them except that they bring our foods/drinks out correctly and quickly. Most people, unless they have been a server before or are just very kind, take little time to ask their server questions or find a deeper interest in them except as a face of the restaurant who interacts with them just a few times over the period of an hour or so during their dining experience. I wanted to appreciate the service. I wanted to understand just what it takes to be a good server, and good employee/co-worker at a restaurant - so I applied for a job, and I am so glad that I did, and here is the good, the bad, the lessons learned from my summer.

The Good:
- Can now carry up to 12 full glasses on a tray balanced on my left hand
- Learned the basics of how a restaurant is managed and successfully run
- Learned how to work as a team to accomplish every little thing that needs to happen throughout the night
- The smallest gestures can go the furthest
- Servers do not just deal with getting drinks and bringing out food
- I never dropped a full tray of food (miracle...)
- I met some awesome people

The Bad:
- Things will break, they just will, and it's okay
- You will burn your fingers on something
- You will get overwhelmed at some point and may have a breakdown (or two...)
- You will get hot, and sweat, and may look disgusting by the end of the day

Lessons I Learned and Will Forever Remember:
- Some people are rude. It just happens. But others are great, and be thankful
- Be patient, we are doing all that we can for you
- Do not ever leave a bad tip. If you do you're wasting their time.
- They can't make your food/drinks/whatever come out any faster
- 99% of the time, any mistakes are not their fault
- People come from all walks of life, appreciate and accept that

It's been a wonderful learning experience and I couldn't have asked for anything better. I wanted to serve because I thought it would make me a more well-rounded person, and it definitely has.

Have you ever wanted to do anything to make yourself learn/understand/appreciate something more?