If you are looking for a sign to become a waitress for part-time or even full-time, here it is. Although many people look at waitressing as a simple job, I can tell you up front that it most definitely is not.
Working as a waitress has its ups and downs, but there are many lessons a person learns while waitressing at a restaurant. I've worked at my local pizzeria for four years now and it's been my favorite job I've ever had. Some of my co-workers have become my closest friends and we always know how to have a little fun in-between the busy times at work.
Waitressing has taught me many useful lessons that I use in my everyday life, and I can definitely say that I would not be the person I am today if I didn't learn things I did while being a waitress.
The first thing that has been useful to my everyday life is learning is patience. The pizzeria I work at has been open for more than twenty years and never switched their phone so they still use a landline with a spiral cord and it can be a nuisance most of the time.
And by that I mean it can be difficult to hear people sometimes when they are trying to place an order, so it's always important to have patience when the customer keeps breaking up or one person can't hear the other. The patience also comes into play when customers can take a while to order.
Another thing I've learned about is customer service.
You know that saying "the customer is always right," well, that's correct to an extent. I say this because sometimes, when a customer is ordering, they think they are ordering one thing, but they actually want another. As long as I know what the customer actually means, I don't have to point out the mistake and can let them think that they're right.
Another component of learning about customer service is how to deal with customers. There will always be people who complain and argue, and it's a waitress's job to deal with these people. It can be rough sometimes and I have some crazy stories, but dealing with these certain people has taught me how to think on my feet.
Quick thinking is required if you become a waitress.
When it's the pizzeria's busiest hour, I barely have time to stop and take a break so my mind is always going.
Along with thinking on my feet, I have also become a great multi-tasker. A large portion of being a waitress is remembering things- people's orders, the names that go along with the orders, the specific way the people want their food made, when the food is done, etc.
My multitasking skills as well as my memorization skills have gone up ever since I became a waitress because there is so much that I have to think about all at once. When the pizzeria is going through dinner or lunch time and there are multiple people waiting to be seated or just waiting for their pick-up, things run more smoothly when I remember everyone's names and orders.
Being a waitress is fun and I've learned many lifelong lessons.
It can be difficult at times but once I got the hang of it, taking orders and bussing tables became easy.
Being a waitress allowed me to become more extroverted since I deal with people all day. I've come to know people just by what they order and this always puts a smile on the customer's face. The times when the local customers walk through the door and greet me by my name always makes up for the times when it's rough being a waitress.
The free pizza helps too!