So, you wanna work in the restaurant industry?
God, why? There are so many easy jobs that you can have and still make enough money to live. I mean, you could get a job working at a bookstore or even be a lawnmower. You could work at a movie theater and get to watch free movies! Why would you want to work a high pace, high energy, not to mention stressful job like waiting tables or bartending?
First, you have to ask yourself if it’s right for you. Waiting tables is extremely stressful. If you can handle a stress-filled work environment, then it’s okay. Sometimes a restaurant job is the only one available. It can be guesstimated that 75% of the FOH (Front of House) workforce in the restaurant industry are students. Students go to class during the day, and they need a job that they can easily get to at night. Most regular jobs close around 7 or 8, so the restaurant is the most viable. Also, if you’re a big fan of quick cash, restaurants are great places for that too. You can make anywhere from $80 to $180 on any given shift, but you also have to deal with the shifts that are so slow you only make $8. It’s a give-and-take relationship people. Also, if you love social interaction then the restaurant is good for you, too. You just have to understand that you are taking shit from people left and right that you don’t really want to deal with, and you have to keep your real feelings to yourself. If this kind of work sounds interesting, and fun to you then sure, the restaurant will be great for you.
A recent study done by The National Restaurant Association listed a 17th consecutive year of growth since 1991. It is expected that the restaurant industry will have a “total economic impact of more than $1.5 TRILLION, and 13.1 million employees in 2008″. http://www.restaurant.org/pressroom/pressrelease.cfm?ID=1536
This means that there are hundreds of restaurant in your area that are looking for skilled employees in ALL aspects of operation. Whether it’s a dishwasher, line cook, food prep, busser, or waiter. Jobs are out there to be had. All you have to do is walk in and fill out an application right? No. Finding the right job for you is rather difficult in the restaurant industry. And just like everywhere else, you have to start at the bottom. If you don’t have any restaurant experience, don’t expect to be waiting tables at Spago in New York. You’re going to start at the bottom, just like everyone else. I spent six months bussing tables at a piece-of-shit deep-fried food seafood restaurant here in town before the incompetent management got on my last nerve enough for me to quit.
So, if you haven’t had any experience, I might suggest being a hostess or busser to get your feet wet in the workforce. You learn the mechanics of the restaurant industry and get comfortable with the way things work in that type of work environment. This type of work is rather menial, and doesn’t take as much effort as waiting tables, but it’s still okay money, and it’s not as stressful. When you feel like you know everything there is to know about being the low man on the totem pole, you can go to your manager and ask to train up to a server. Once this happens you’ll do what we call “shadowing” or “following” one of the more skilled waiters, your “lead”. For the next couple shifts, you’ll team-wait on all your lead’s tables, while the lead explains the more intricate details of micromanaging customers. The bitch part about it is: even if you waited on the entire table by yourself, your lead gets alllll the money. One of the perks of experience, boys and girls, deal with it. Once you’ve had a week or two of on-the-job training, you take your menu test and get shoved into the shitty sections of the restaurant until your manager decides you’re strong enough to move out onto the main floor. The shitty sections can be just as bad as bussing tables, but hey, at least you’re making cash money, honey. You even get to show off that wit and charm you’ve been keeping hidden behind your bus tub. Get yourself some years of experience, and possibly move up to being a key employee, or even bartending in your restaurant.
I thought I might share with you what a regular shift might be like, if you do decide to pursue a waiting job:
On any given busy 4-hour shift, you’ll probably end up walking two to three miles, not to mention quicker turns on your ankles than an ice skater. So, by the end of the night your body is completely aching, begging you for mercy. You’ve probably had to deal with anywhere from 60 to 160 customers, 3 to 6 simultaneous tables, not to mention your side duties as a waiter on the floor. You have to micromanage up to 25 people at one time, making sure that their drinks are filled, table is clean, and their food is making good time in the kitchen. You’ve got to greet tables with a happy smile on your face while you’re half-ignoring them, thinking about the stupid bitch of a hostess who just double-sat you, almost guaranteeing you to be in the weeds (too much work for your head) for the next hour and a half. So, now you have to go enter that table’s order, while you’re being flagged down for drink refills at another table. Grabbing their drinks, you refill them after putting in table 1′s order, dropping off the refills you greet the other two tables one after another. By the time you’ve got their drinks and orders put in, people are complaining their food is taking a while, you’ve got to keep your tables clean of debris and excess plates, and your expediter is yelling at the top of his lungs for people to run his fucking food because it’s getting cold. If you have a side-duty as a waiter, it’s even more shit you’ve got to think about while you’re trying to take care of your tables. Because if you don’t do your side duty, your co-workers are going to be pissed off at you for slacking-ass. Your food comes out, everything is great, you get out of the weeds by the time the doors close at 11:00 pm, and now you have to spend the next hour and a half cleaning up your mess and closing down the restaurant. Staggering out around 12:30 am, you’re counting your take for the night and telling yourself that it’s “all worth it, baby”.
Sound like fun? Get out there and join the workforce. Then you can leave your own comments on my blog like Mermaid, and Cellesta. I love seeing em, guys. Keep reading. 
Word. I started as a busser and worked my way up to head bartender. After that head F.O.H. manager. After a year of that, left to wait tables at another restaurant. Being manager, busser, server, bartender I can tell you within a week of being hired whether or not you’re going to make it. It takes a special type of person to be a great server and understand the game and culture. Everyone else cries in the bathroom and then quits.
That is very true. There was a time when the server who worked with me got fired and for many weeks on end, I had to train several different people who all quit within a week until we finally found someone who had more of a fighting spirit.
square bizness. I worked in Galveston at this mid-level seafood restaurant where I was a server/trainer. I’d get called a**hole for telling the women I trained stuff like, “Being a woman you have an advantage. When you are easy on the eyes, people are more forgiving, especially if it’s a guy paying, but realize flirting, telling guests you’re new and using your good looks will only get you so much sympathy before you piss somebody off and they rattle your cage
So true. I’ve found that serving is a love/hate thing. There are days I love my job and can’t wait to get there. And then there are days I’m ready to get the fuck out of there. And on the very rare occasion, yes, I have cried in the bathroom (usually due to things like working a 15 hour shift with no break, the longest I sat down was to take a piss, and am over-exhausted). But, it’s good, quick money if you’re a good multi-tasker. If you can’t multi-task, don’t bother trying to serve. You will suck and be very poor. There is A LOT of drama in a restaurant. If you can’t take other peoples’ shit, this is not the place for you. If you went home crying in high school because people were mean, you definitely don’t want to work in this industry because it is way worse than high school. BUT, on the bright side, as a server, your social life never ends. Your co-workers really do become close friends, almost family. You spend just about every day with these people, whether you’re at work or not. Anyway, give it a shot…if anything you’ll learn some great lessons for life as a server like how to deal with a dick-head boss/customer to sticking up for yourself, etc. Oh, one more thing, give yourself a chance. You probably won’t make 20% tips often in your first few weeks. Serving takes a lot of practice, and every server has his/her own method. You have to find your own rhythm. Now, if you still don’t make 18-20% on majority of your tables (there will be days when you don’t get a decent tip all day, there will be some you make far more than 20%), you may want to find a different job. Anyway, good luck!