3 Things Every Restaurant Worker Has Learned to Deal with:
Restaurant workers are not for people who scare easily. As someone who has worked in the same restaurant for the last five years I can attest to this. I have experienced a variety of different people and situations along the way. I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly and always have a crazy story to tell about my night at work. But I have these experiences to thank for making me the person I am today. I have learned about patience, time management, and of course I have learned how to treat people with respect. It is a job that teaches you awareness. You get to experience what it is like being on the other side of the menu. It makes you think twice before leaving a terrible tip. Here are three things you will encounter while working in a restaurant.
Children: This encounter can be good or bad depending on the child that is eating out. They can be exciting to wait on because they are sweet and cute and cannot stop staring at you in awe. But other times they can be screaming and running around getting into trouble. You will probably have a few regulars and you will get to know them because of how often they come in. And, because of this understanding, you will notice when their kids are acting up. They are also the messiest of eaters, so if you are cleaning up after some children good luck. I have found spaghetti in the weirdest places while cleaning up late at night. But you cannot scream at the kids for running around or making a mess on the table, you have to realize that it is not worth fussing over. They are just kids; we were all in their Velcro shoes once.
Crowds: All restaurants have their rushes, and when working in the dining hall you will learn how to deal with them. If you are lucky you will work well with your coworkers and you will chip in when help is needed. But here is where the time management comes into play. When you have so many tasks at hand you can easily forget that right three asked for a side of mayo five minutes ago. You make mistakes of course but you learn for next time. With more experience you learn how to skip these slip ups. But even if you have worked at the same place for ten years you will still have moments like this. You learn how to brush it off and move on, because you have other tables to take care of.
Complaints: There are some extremely picky people out there, and chances are they have to eat out sometimes. You will have costumers who complain about just about everything. From the atmosphere in the room to the amount of ice cubes in their glass. They will complain to you about other costumers, how their food is (after they have finished it) and how they do not like the renovations you spent thousands of dollars on. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but the attitude that they use can affect how you receive their suggestions. The rude costumers are the worst and come in more often than you would think. Interactions with these kinds of people will truly test your patience because although you just want to walk out there and tell them where they can stick their “soggy” cheesesteak, it is really not in the restaurant or your best interest. Its times like these where you can blow off some steam in the kitchen, cool off in the refrigerator and plaster on a fake smile until they leave. When you encounter costumers like this you learn how to serve your own servers in the future.
There are lots of things to learn while working in a restaurant, this is just scratching the surface. You will learn that every night is different and you will always be kept on your toes. You have to keep an open mind and be kind to those around you to keep everything running smoothly until the end of the meal. There is always something to learn from when you are working in food services.