21 Things Only Servers Will Understand | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post

21 Things Only Servers Will Understand

In pursuit of the 20%...

258
21 Things Only Servers Will Understand

In This Article:

Being a server can be just as rewarding as it can be challenging. The hours aren't always the best or most flexible, you deal with a lot of BS and high maintenance people, but you also have an opportunity to make a lot of connections and meet people that literally become your second family.

From big restaurants to small, these 21 things are relatable to any and all servers:

1. There's no such thing as fun Friday and Saturday nights.

These are THE nights to be scheduled. Obviously the restaurant is busiest on the weekend and you'll make the most money, but you give up some fun nights of your own.

2. People not knowing how to act when you tell them that they can choose where to sit. 

Saying "sit anywhere you'd like" to a group of people causes them noticeable stress. Prepare to awkwardly maze around the restaurant waiting for them to pick a spot.

3. Having an awkward table greeting and then thinking about it for 25 minutes. 

Whether you introduce yourself weirdly, stutter, or forget the specials, a weird table greeting is never the right foot to start off on.

4. "So, what do you recommend?"

The million dollar question.

5. Modifications and substitutions out the wazoo.

"Can I get the salmon? BUT without...*insert 20 modifications*"

Here we go again.

6. Avoiding side work.

When you sure as hell know you're gonna have to do it to leave anyway...why do we do this to ourselves?!?!?

7. Tables saying they're ready to order when they're 100% not. 

You don't have to lie to me— I'll come back in a few minutes.

8. A walk-in 15 minutes before closing.

"Wait, are you guys still open?"

I meaaaaaan.....

9. Silently thinking "not my section, not my section, not my section" when a large table comes through the door and you're busy.

Before you know it, they're in your section anyway.

10. Sharing funny stories with co-workers in small segments in the back.

One story could, in fact, take all night to tell.

11. "Can you split the check four ways?"

Yes, but I don't want to.

12. People who expect everything immediately after they ask for it.

High maintenance tables... a total vibe killer.

13. The flag down.

Please do not wave me down across the restaurant for that extra ranch.

14. Restaurant drama.

Behind the scenes of every great restaurant with close servers is a whooooole lotta gossip! It's how we kill time.

15. Knowing you're getting a bomb tip from your family or people you know.

Mom and Dad want to come out to eat while you're serving? BE. MY. GUEST.

16. The regulars. 

You know exactly where they want to sit and what they're going to order.

BTW, they never get dessert.

17. Dreading a double 3 days in advance.

Yes, it's Tuesday and I'm 100% complaining about the double I have to work on Friday already. It's called mental preparation.

18. The awkward check battle of a table of adult friends.

"Give it to me!"

"No, I'll take it."

"Susan, please, you paid last month."

I'll just awkwardly put the check on the end of the table and you guys can enter the boxing ring.

19. "I'm working."

The answer to every text asking "what're you doing tonight?" or "what're your plans this weekend?"

20. The feeling of a good tip when you didn't expect it. 

Opening up the book after they leave and seeing a bomb tip is for sure the best feeling.

21. Having a second family.

In the end, your coworkers are your family. After all, you're with them more than your biological one—whether you like it or not.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
ross geller
YouTube

As college students, we are all familiar with the horror show that is course registration week. Whether you are an incoming freshman or selecting classes for your last semester, I am certain that you can relate to how traumatic this can be.

1. When course schedules are released and you have a conflict between two required classes.

Bonus points if it is more than two.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

12 Things I Learned my Freshmen Year of College

When your capability of "adulting" is put to the test

2849
friends

Whether you're commuting or dorming, your first year of college is a huge adjustment. The transition from living with parents to being on my own was an experience I couldn't have even imagined- both a good and a bad thing. Here's a personal archive of a few of the things I learned after going away for the first time.

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

Economic Benefits of Higher Wages

Nobody deserves to be living in poverty.

301957
Illistrated image of people crowded with banners to support a cause
StableDiffusion

Raising the minimum wage to a livable wage would not only benefit workers and their families, it would also have positive impacts on the economy and society. Studies have shown that by increasing the minimum wage, poverty and inequality can be reduced by enabling workers to meet their basic needs and reducing income disparities.

I come from a low-income family. A family, like many others in the United States, which has lived paycheck to paycheck. My family and other families in my community have been trying to make ends meet by living on the minimum wage. We are proof that it doesn't work.

Keep Reading...Show less
blank paper
Allena Tapia

As an English Major in college, I have a lot of writing and especially creative writing pieces that I work on throughout the semester and sometimes, I'll find it hard to get the motivation to type a few pages and the thought process that goes behind it. These are eleven thoughts that I have as a writer while writing my stories.

Keep Reading...Show less
April Ludgate

Every college student knows and understands the struggle of forcing themselves to continue to care about school. Between the piles of homework, the hours of studying and the painfully long lectures, the desire to dropout is something that is constantly weighing on each and every one of us, but the glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel helps to keep us motivated. While we are somehow managing to stay enrolled and (semi) alert, that does not mean that our inner-demons aren't telling us otherwise, and who is better to explain inner-demons than the beloved April Ludgate herself? Because of her dark-spirit and lack of filter, April has successfully been able to describe the emotional roller-coaster that is college on at least 13 different occasions and here they are.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments