As servers, we come across many things in our lives. Whether you work at Denny's, Applebees, or Flemings; we all have some pretty close things in common. Here are a couple things that every server has in common and lives every day.
1. The emotionally good days
Every server does their best on the days I like to call, the happy days. We come into work ready to have some great customers, great tips, and overall a great night. We do everything in our power to make everyone happy and we go home tired, famished, but satisfied.
2. And of course... the bad days
We all come across the days where we just aren't feeling 'there' and these are the bad days. The days where you really don't want to work, you're feeling down, and can't shake your mood. We come in ready to do our job of course, so we present our happy faces, "Hello, my name is Ayanna, how are we all doing today?" We turn around and then its back to not feeling your best.
3. Good customers
The nice conversations, happy smiles, and thoughtful reviews are what make the customers the best. I don't know about everyone else, but it makes me really happy when the singles, couples, families, and groups are having a good time and you're contributing to a great experience.
4. Racism, sexism, and just plain rudeness
Every now and then we get a customer that thinks it's okay to tell a racist or sexist joke. It's hard to know how to feel about these things and it puts us in uncomfortable situations, so just don't do it. Also, the ones that think it's okay to wave or call me across the restaurant even though I was just at your table one minute ago, it's not okay. It makes us feel like you're snapping your fingers at us to be at your service. Don't worry, we're trying our hardest to get back to you asap.
5. Being so tired
If serving is something you do all the time, then you will feel what it's like to be extremely tired. There are days that your entire body will ache because you spent the last 3+ days working all. day. long. You need a coffee or energy drink multiple times a day to get you through yet another tugging shift and when you finally get a day off, you're not waking up until 5 p.m.
6. Appreciation
One thing every server wants is to feel appreciated. A good majority of people do appreciate the things we do as servers, however, there are also a few people that make us rethink our jobs. Remembering every table's orders, getting the food 100% correct, and making sure everything is lemon squeezy 24/7 is not as easy as it looks. I'll admit that before becoming a server I didn't really understand everything servers had to do, from setting up at the beginning of the day, dealing with rushes, to closing down at night. The list could go on and on forever but now I will be one to let the world know. The biggest thing we want people to understand is that we are servers, not servants, and this is a real job.
7. The family you gain
When first starting to serve I had no clue what I was doing, what to do, where to go, and how to do it. But if you find yourself a great group of people to work with, you feel welcomed in. They want nothing more than to see you doing well, not die in the dining room, and to make sure you feel comfortable. With a great work enviornment, you all become more than co-workers, you become a family.
8. We don't make the rules
Some customers seem to think we make all of the rules and even penalize us for things that are out of our control. Now I can ring your food up fast and bring it back fast as I can, but don't expect your food to come out 5 minutes from when you walk in the door and there was a wait. We also don't make the menus and we cannot make you a personal specialty meal simply because you don't like the main dish, side, sauce, and everything else that comes with the meal.
9. Not knowing when you get off or how much you will make
Yes, as crazy as it seems, we servers also have bills to pay. People can make it really hard sometimes to make enough money for our needs. If I give you my best service then I expect to receive your best tip. If you were working your hardest and your boss only gave you 4% of your expected pay, you would be mad too. We rely on our customers to tip how they should, and if it's about the money, then McDonald's would have been a better choice for dinner. Among the other things that are inconsistent, are the hours we work. You might ask us when we are getting off to see when we can hang out, but truth is; I don't even know when I'll be able to go to the bathroom next.
10. The complainers
We all know the people that come in and have something to say about everything. They give you a hard time and bug you for a manager, knowing that they just wanted to get something free.
11. The regulars
Every place has the people that cannot go one day, week, or month without showing up. The cool thing is is that many of these people have interesting lives that you learn about and it's pretty nice to know some similar faces, the good ones at least. I'm not even going to talk about the same group that everyone tries to pawn off when they come in.
12. Children
All I have to say about the cute little adorable children is please settle down. We're holding pounds of bricks in our hands and when you run around like an airplane, one day a mistake is going to happen.
13. Holidays
Generally, during the holiday's people get more generous for the great work we do. Christmas miracles really do happen.
14. The fake laugh
Something every server has to master is the fake laugh. You wouldn't believe the number of people that come in and pop out the corny jokes. The perfect fake laugh makes your customer feel good on the insides, plus you need can't lose the money because you know they aren't really funny.
15. At the end of the day
In the end, we wouldn't want any other job. There are days for every possible thing that happens in the food industry. The best way to handle it is to love your job, get over the bad days, and make that money.
