I’ve been in the food industry since I was of legal age to work. I’ve worked in cafes, diners, banquet halls, hotels and restaurants. The locations and pay rates change, but the one thing that doesn’t change is the type of people working in the food service industry alongside you. Here are some of the people you’ll meet if you take up a job serving food.
1. The one that complains about everything.
No matter how easy or hard the "side work" is (the work servers have to do in the kitchen, other than serving your food) this person will find something to complain about. They can usually be found frowning all throughout the kitchen because they want to project their unadulterated anger to everyone else and make working at the restaurant a living hell. Sometimes, you may even catch them complaining about other servers practicing a bad habit that they themselves do, like complaining about everything. If you bring it up to them, they’ll just get angrier.
2. The creepy line cook.
There’s always one. This is the guy that wants to marry every female server and will often call you his “girlfriend.” If you need something from the kitchen “on the fly,” (term for entree that is needed ASAP and will be made first priority, above any orders that were put in before it) it’s good to be on this guy’s good side because he will always do anything to make your job easier for you. But word of caution, do not give your social media name to this guy. I repeat, do not let him find you on Facebook.
3. The one who’s always at the restaurant.
Every time you come into work, they’re there. You start to wonder if this person has a life outside of the restaurant and how much they’re raking in every week. They seemingly live at the restaurant and though you like making money, you’re grateful you’re not this person because you like to have hobbies outside of work.
4. The one who’s never at the restaurant.
You maybe see this person once a week, maybe less. You wonder how they even pay their rent, bills, or student loans. They’re constantly trying to get their shifts covered, because they’re always “sick” or a relative is in the hospital. When they do decide to show up, all they talk about is how broke they are and how badly they need money to pay off their debt. In your head you’re screaming “why are you never at work?!”
5. The senior server.
This person thinks they’re better than everyone else because they’ve been working at the restaurant for longer. While in fact, they may be strong servers, the amount of time you work somewhere does not indicate how good you are at your job. Serving is about quickness, a positive mentality and the ability to recover from your mistakes. Just because you’ve only been working at a new restaurant for a few months doesn’t mean you don’t have years of experience from other places. Don’t let this person get in your head.
6. The one who can’t handle the pressure.
Being a server means dealing with some nasty, mean, crude guests. They may say things that can hurt your feelings, even if why they’re unhappy is not at all your fault. When people go out to eat, they just want food, but they only see the faces of the host and server, yet those are the two people who have nothing to do with what their food comes out like and how it tastes. People will always find a way to blame the server though, and some servers can’t take it. This person will cry after every bad tip, rude comment or passive aggressive attitude by a guest. When you first start out at a restaurant, this is probably you because you’re adjusting to the clientele. After a couple months though, you should be used to it. You really need a backbone to work in the food industry.
7. The manager that nobody likes.
This is the one who won’t let the servers eat “dead food” (an entree that was put on the line, but never taken out to a guest, because it was ordered or made by mistake.) They’ll bark at you to get off your phone, even when you have no tables and all of your side work is finished. They’ll make mountains out of mole hills and threaten write-ups for easy to fix errors.
8. The manager that everybody likes.
Everyone is happy when they get to work a shift with this manager. They make closing shifts much smoother because it is pleasant to be in their company. They’ll let you eat dead food because they understand that just throwing it out is a waste of time and money and they understand what it’s like to work an eight hour shift with no break. This is also probably the manager that goes out to the bar with the servers after a chaotic Saturday night shift.
9. Everyone’s gay best friend.
This is the perfect person to work with and a great friend to have. Not only are they a riot, but they’ll help you find your inner sass when dealing with annoying guests. They’ll help you out with a table when you need it, but they’ll also help you with guy problems. They may avoid side work like the plague and pay off a server to clean their tables because they’re too anxious to hit the club after work, but they’ll always point out the hot dads in the restaurant.
10. The host that wants to be a server.
When you start off in a restaurant, you may start off as a host, especially if you don’t have any experience serving. This is helpful because it gives you time to get acquainted with the menu. Eventually though, almost every host wants to be a server because servers make cash tips and take them home the same day, as opposed to getting a check every two weeks. Also, hosts can feel left out of the shenanigans and gossip that goes on in the kitchen amongst the servers and so naturally, they want to be let in.
I could go on and explain in the depth about the one who takes their job too seriously, the manager that needs to get laid, or the vindictive bartender, but this is just a sample of the types of people you’ll meet in a restaurant. Being a server is not the most glamorous job and it’s often a stepping stone to a better full time job, but I guarantee you whether it’s a casual chain or a five star restaurant, these people will be there.
