I have been to a lot of Cracker Barrel restaurants over my 18 years in life. I have been to bad ones and I have been to good ones. When I got the job, I was excited but also nervous. I kept on being worried that my co workers would not like me or would not accept me, but they did. In my unbiased honest opinion, my store, store 494 in Alcoa, Tennessee is the best representation of the Cracker Barrel brand and stores out there. I hope you enjoy this article as to why I love my job as a hostess specifically at Cracker Barrel Store 494.

1. The regulars

I normally work shifts that are in the afternoons and nights and normally I am by myself up at the host stand for at least an hour of my shift. During that hour or more, it can either be a busy day or a slow day. Whatever kind of day it is, I always seem to smile when I am up at the host stand or am walking back up to the host stand to see the regular customers who faithfully come in almost every day and have that certain type of table that they like or that certain server that they like. For example, there is the sweetest and most adorable elderly couple who this week, she has been having health problems so she writes the to go order do for him to bring in. There’s another couple that always remembers my name and always forgets that I am a hostess and not a server but, I don’t mind. There is the couple who like either table 245, table 235, or table 225 because it is a big table in the second dining room against the wall. There’s another couple who requests table 353 and walks a lot faster than I do, when I should be walking faster than them! If you think I am complaining about their different requests, you are wrong. Instead of complaining, I am just showing you how each of these couples requests are now forever embedded in my brain because of how I see them everyday and no matter how bad or wrong my day is going, I always smile when I see them because I know they are faithful customers. When I first started, I tried to talk to each of the customers,on a personal level but now, I try to when I have the time in between featuring our feature meal. If you work at Cracker Barrel, the regulars are going to be a big part of your time of employment there no matter what job you have because they are the faithful ones who come in every single day and customers are how Cracker Barrel keeps the business going, so to the regulars who come, thank you for keeping us in business and being some of the nicest people around.

2. The Co workers who have become not just coworkers but friends who are more like family

I remember when I went to see my dad at his job at Lowe's almost 10 months after he started, and when I asked at least three coworkers where he was, they all said he didn’t work there and then I finally found one person that knew he worked there. It was a weird thing for me because when dad worked at home depot, everyone knew who he was and most of them knew me. I had always hoped my job would have people like that, and I was scared it was just a fantasy. But, in just one month I got to know so many of the servers on more than just a co worker level but now that I have been at store 494 for two and a half months, they are more friends and family than just normal coworkers. I have walked through the different areas of the restaurant with things going on such as an alley rally (I’m still not sure what that exactly is), singing and dancing, and so many other things. I do not consider these servers as friends/family because of just their fun sides, I consider them friends/family because they are real with all of us. Between the things that have happened including (but definitely not limited to) someone walking up to the host stand to vent or to let me vent, someone messing with my technology (sometimes taking the Ipad), to me forgetting a server's request to have time to eat and double seating him just as he gets his food, no matter how many times I mess up or anger them, I know these people are real people who actually do care about me more than just the person who gives them a table to serve, they care about me more than just the girl who stands up at the host stand but as the girl who is a co worker, friend, and part of the big happy family that the employees of store 494 is. When a new person comes in for orientation they realize it quickly, and then they join this crazy family. We all lookout for each other and try to help each other whether it is them seating people for me if they have a chance or helping me learn all the tips and tricks of the position (You know who you are and I appreciate it) , to the guys wondering whether that guy I ate dinner with was my boyfriend or why I was , to everyone who was excited to see me and hug me on my graduation night when I came to eat there (even when there was a huge party of thirty). I definitely would not like my job so much if these people were not my coworkers.

3. The Managers

The managers at Store 494 are awesome! From the GM to the Shift Leaders they all work hard to help make the business run smoothly and they use our mission statement, “Pleasing People”, for its true purpose. They help me and even when I mess up, they know we are all human and we all make mistakes and have bad days. They help us to remember to smile through it and do our job because like the mission says, cracker barrel is all about pleasing people

4. The Acceptance of my personality, mess ups and sass

I am human, but I make a lot more mistakes than I would like to admit. Over my two months of employment, I have dropped silverware, had a panic attack, couldn’t open the blinds, couldn’t light the lanterns, and so many more things. No matter what happens and what I do, all of my employees and managers accept me and know that I am a human being who will mess up from time to time. They also know that I have a big personality and a lot of sass. And I am grateful enough to have people who accept me no matter the flaws, sassiness or bossiness. They sometimes make me mad so I boss them around and tell them to clean their tables or they won’t be seated, but I love that they accept me, my sass, and my bossiness even though I am trying to tone it down.

To sum this up, thinking of leaving store 494 to go to college and work at the Lebanon store or even just to go to college all together without working with this wonderful group of people is breaking my heart. After getting to know these people (cashiers, retail, other hostesses, managers, grill cooks, servers and dish) I have become sort of attached to them because I feel accepted for who I am, no matter whether I am acting like a teenage jerk or an adult woman, they know that I will do my job and do it well just like I know they will do theirs. They support me, help me out, and teach me that I can do more than I thought I could. If I do have to leave, I will probably stop by every time i come home to visit because even if i do go to the Lebanon store, the Alcoa store --store #494 will always be my store. I could not have picked a better place to begin my employment history than cracker barrel and better co workers to start my first job with. If you are near the Alcoa cracker barrel I suggest to come try us out so we can show you how great our store is and our employees really are.

If my coworkers are reading this, no matter who you are, you all have become a big part of my life and like another family to me. I do not want to think of working anywhere else than store 494 or working with better people. You all will always have a special place in my heart and I am forever grateful for the time I have spent and will spend working with you. No matter when my time ends at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, I know that I have made so many friendships with so many people that I hope to keep in touch with over the years.