Dining services is one of the most important jobs on campus, but one that people like to work the least. You have to have dining halls so that students on campus have places to eat, but no one wants to work these jobs. After working in dining services for two years, there are a lot of things that I've come to expect, but there are still some that even when you expect them are hard to work around.
1. Drunk customers are either really funny or they can ruin your day
Serving college students means serving them when they're super drunk, too. These customers sometimes come in, fumble through their order and then take their food and leave. Or they come in and are the worst customers of the day, especially if you're close to closing when they show up.
2. Some people have the weirdest food requests-- and sometimes, you can’t make those changes
At my job, there is a customer who often comes in and orders a quesadilla without cheese. Since our quesadillas are mixes, we can't physically do this, but they still ask every time. The customers that don't understand what we can and can't change are normally the ones who are the most difficult to work with.
3. Sometimes, you just have to judge the orders
There are some really weird topping choices that people make with their food. Since my job isn't self-service, I not only get to see what weird things get ordered, but I also get to make them. I try and not judge too much, but there are some foods that just don't belong together.
4. Whenever someone who doesn’t work in dining services suggests a change in hours, you cringe
People who don't work in dining services frequently complain that the dining halls aren't open early enough in the morning or late enough at night. Understandably, college students who only have meal plans want to be able to eat whenever they are hungry, but the thought of having to work even longer hours is not appealing in the slightest. Whenever someone says this to me, I ask them if they would work that time, and when they say no, I tell them that's why it doesn't happen.
5. College students are better customers than their parents
College students just want to be fed, and normally apologize to you when they tell you that your food is wrong. Parents show up on really busy days and are shocked that their food isn't immediately ready.
6. When one thing goes wrong, everything goes wrong
When something gets thrown off at my job, five other things end up happening at the same time. Whenever there's a rush, the ordering kiosks stop working, or the second you run out of something, ten people immediately order that one thing. You never know what is going to go wrong, but when something does, it's not easy to ignore.
