Food service workers have recently been pushing to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. While this may seem unreasonably high, food service workers deserve far better pay than the $7.00 per hour most of them receive. And, unless you have actually worked in food service, this may be hard to understand.

Putting on your forced smile, moving quickly, and serving quality food is not as easy as it sounds. And, on top of this, most food service workers make slightly above minimum wage, if they are lucky.

After working at three different restaurants, I can honestly say I understand how hard the food service industry actually is. It is so much more than just flipping burgers, and collecting cash.

My first job, In-N-Out Burger, required us to maintain a well-groomed look (hair always tucked behind your hat, pants and shirts must always be sparkling white,) a positive attitude, a smile on our face, and, the ability to serve quality food, while working under immense pressure. Often times, customers yelled and swore at us if their food was not exactly how they wanted it. While this experience sometimes seemed miserable, I am grateful for the learning opportunity it brought me.

Generally, a lot of people do not realize how important it is to tip their server at restaurants. Most servers make about $2.50 per hour, and, they are expected to make the majority of their money in tips. Servers work incredibly hard to always maintain a smile, memorize the menu at their restaurant, memorize the order of their table (and, most of the time, they are responsible for multiple tables) and carry multiple plates of hot food at once.

Servers never know how much money they are going to make in one night. Sometimes they make plenty of money; sometimes they do not make enough money to pay basic bills.

In addition to the obvious jobs food service workers have, most also have to do a certain amount of cleaning. While every restaurant is expected to be dirty, when people leave a giant mess on and under their table, and then smear the windows with finger prints after they have just been cleaned, it makes the food service workers job even harder.

While working in food service is not most people's ideal career, I believe everyone should have to spend at least a year working in food service. Not only does it teach discipline and work ethic, it provides a foundation for how to treat people. It reminds us all to treat everyone with basic levels of respect.