I have been waitressing for almost three years, and throughout those three years, I have seen a huge improvement in my social awkwardness. I have extreme anxiety when it comes to talking to people, especially people I’m meeting for the first time. In the waitressing field, you get to talk to all kinds of different people, and it’s OK if you’re awkward with them because who knows if you’ll ever see them again. And even if you are awkward, who cares? You’re getting paid to be awkward and take people’s orders and bring them their food. I hate talking to people and being social, but being a waiter or waitress forces you into socialization. Recently I began a job at a family-owned Italian restaurant in Selinsgrove, and I can happily say that working at Isabella's has helped me improve my social skills dramatically.
Having a waitressing job also helps you build good relationships with coworkers. When you’re a waitress or waiter, it’s almost like you’re on a team. Your coworkers are looking out for you, and you need to communicate with them or something will get messed up. Since working at Isabella's, I've grown such good relationships with my coworkers and managers. If it had not been for me starting at Isabella's, I wouldn't have met some of my now closest friends. I was petrified when I started my first waitressing job, mostly because of my social anxiety, but after my first year I blossomed into this social butterfly. It also helped me transition into college because I could communicate with my peers better and didn’t just keep to myself.
When you’re in the restaurant business, you also learn how to deal with conflict and difficult situations. There will always be that one person who complains that something isn’t right with their food, so you work with them and come to a solution on the issue, whether it be giving them a free meal or ensuring them that their next visit will be better. Fortunately for me, I have not had much confrontation, and everything is usually perfect for the patron's visit. The more efficient you are in handling uncomfortable situations and meeting your table's needs, the better your overall experience will be with your customers.
To anyone with social anxiety, I highly recommend going into the restaurant industry. There are so many opportunities to build on communication skills. It may not seem like a good idea at first, but the results are worth it in the end. Never in my life would have I ever seen myself as someone who could go from table to table and hold conversations with strangers, asking them about their visit to the restaurant, discussing the different food options with them, and even telling them about myself and hearing some of their life stories, but that’s who I am now. I’m very glad that I chose this path and overcame my social anxiety through a job that I’ve come to love.
