We always see the articles bashing on customers and "Things Your Server Wish You Knew" pieces; while all of these are totally true, I can honestly say I love my job. Here are my reasons why being a server is worth it.
1. Gains
As a server, I am always gaining something. With each table I am learning something new, finding out new ways to make myself more appealing as well as making our featured menu item seem more appealing. Also, I am gaining confidence by talking to the tables and knowing that I am good at what I do. Whenever I offer an item and a customer accepts it, I am confident that I can sell that item to at least five more tables that night, and I do. I had my first serving job at the age of 16, I was very nervous and was scared I would be bad because at the time, I was extremely shy. Now I am 21 years old and I've gained confidence in myself. I am more outgoing, and I also have better people skills which will help me in the future when I am interviewing for my "big-girl job."
2. Customers
The words "I hate people" leave my mouth regularly, but I honestly love interacting with my customers. As a server, you need to have that skill of talking to people and actually looking like you love what you're doing. I love getting the ladies who compliment my makeup and the old men who come in with their wives. I can see how much they love each other. And the guy with his family cracking dad jokes. Not all customers are bad; you just have to appreciate the ones who make your day better and hope that you can do the same for them.
3. Co-workers
Let's face it, you won't always love the people you work with. That's why you need to find the handful that you can tolerate and enjoy your time with them to make work as fun as it can be. I absolutely love my co-workers; it makes the night suck a little less and keeps me sane. It's nice to be surrounded by people that you can be goofy with as well as vent to about your current life struggles. Going out to Applebee's after we close is a frequent thing, and it's a good way to just relax and just get to know each other a little better. I have a mini family and I wouldn't trade them for the world.
and the obvious...
4. Money
You will not always make over $100 in tips clearly. Sometimes you might not even make enough to make it minimum wage. But I can honestly say I am never without some form of money as long as I have a job as a server. No, we do not get paid minimum wage; we get $3.65 an hour. A lot of the time, our tips do make up for that. Getting stiffed is part of the job. It happens almost daily for me. But I know I am good at my job and at some point in the night another customer will make up for that one table, and I am always grateful for them.
You will catch me complaining about my job 80 percent of the time, but I can promise you that I absolutely love what I do.
