Being a waiter or waitress can be extremely stressful, especially in the beginning while you're training. BUT you learn a lot of things while serving. While I learned these things waitressing, we can all use some of these skills in our everyday lives.

1. Smile!!

People love when you smile. If I’m walking and make eye contact with a customer, I smile. If I’m taking their order and the customers hand me their menus, I smile. If I’m telling them to have a nice night, I smile. I think smiling makes me feel happier to be at work, and it makes you more approachable (which is very important as a server).

2. Ask questions

It’s always better to be safe than sorry! (Cliché, I know) But also true. When people order a salad, confirm that they want the dressing that comes on it and not another dressing. When people order a sandwich, confirm that they want all of the toppings. I cannot tell you how many customers were relieved when I asked them a clarifying question. Some people gagged at the thought of having lemon vinaigrette instead of ranch dressing.

3. Multitasking

I thought I was good at multitasking before serving, but this job definitely puts my skills to the test. One table needs a refill, two tables want their checks, one table needs a box, and two are ready to order… all at the same time. You learn how to handle situations like this, but it takes a while to get the hang of it.

4. Mistakes will happen

Mistakes are inevitable. Whether you typed in the order wrong or the cook made it wrong, it doesn’t matter. You and your coworkers are a team and everyone makes mistakes. What matters is how fast you fix your mistake and get the right order to your customers.

5. You will meet some of the best people

Some people are just delightful to have as customers. People who remember your name, people who take the time to get to know you, people who tell you they love your smile, people who tip well, people who understand you’re busy and tell you to take your time, people who are just polite.

6. You will sweat

Pretty gross, but true. You’re running around the entire restaurant, only stopping to take people’s orders and put them into the computer. You barely have a second to breathe, let alone take a drink of water.

7. How to be flexible

The shifts start before dinner and end very late usually, so you have to be flexible. You can eat during work if you’re not too busy. Or you can eat an early dinner and be hungry when you get home after running around at work for hours. Or you can eat after work and be starving while running around at work for hours. You'll also have to be flexible with customers. Some are in a huge hurry, lots have specifications on how they want their food, and many have allergies.

8. Help others

When it’s busy and you have a second to rest, help another server in need. Usually, my coworkers and I will help each other out. If I see an order up, I’d say, “There’s an order up for table 11, do you want me to take it for you?”. Or I would look round and see one of their customers needs a refill, so I’d ask, “would you like me to get a refill for table 2?” The other servers definitely appreciate it, and I appreciate it when they help me too.

9. Let things go

When something goes wrong, it’s like I said earlier; we all make mistakes because we are all human. The best thing you can do is learn from it and let it go. Don’t let it bring you down for the rest of the night. You can’t fix the order you messed up, you can’t do anything else about the water you spilled everywhere. All you can do is try your best and learn.

10. It's worth it (maybe)

Dealing with rude customers, being so busy you just want to sit down forever, making mistakes that make you feel the worst, working all the time… it’s all worth it for the lessons you make, the tips you receive, and the good people you meet.