You never truly understand the food business unto you ACTUALLY work in the food business. It's tiring, it's smelly, it's dirty, and occasionally it makes you want to throw yourself into a swarm of sharks. Actually, working in the food business just about feels like being thrown into a swarm of sharks. People are mean. And when they come hungry, sometimes it's just not pretty.
Working at a restaurant opens your eyes to the real world. You see hundreds of people during your shifts, and you overhear conversations about how Dad's going to move the family to Canada if Trump keeps it up, or how Aunt Claire can't come for the BBQ next weekend because the last time she came for a get-together she got too drunk and mooned everyone while she was jumping on the trampoline. It's quite entertaining a lot of times.
Anyways, working at a restaurant entails a lot, but the people-experience is really what you get the most of. I can say that I have met almost every type of person there is. The types of people you see while working at a restaurant makes you realize that this word really is a crazy one.
Here are the types of people you meet when you work at a restaurant:
The people who complain about everything:
Now, let me help you understand. This type of person could be sitting in a six-star restaurant and still complain that the napkin isn't folded right. These people are the worst because you have to take at least three trips back to the kitchen before the meal even becomes acceptable to them.
The people who come every week:
The regulars are the best. They're loyal, and they don't give you a hard time about much. They know that they're the ones making the choice to come every week and that if they start complaining, they probably won't get any more discounts on drinks.
The people who should have just gone to McDonalds:
"Hi, I'll just have a cheeseburger with no cheese and no bun."
Okay sir, I hope you enjoy your meal that you are wasting your money on. It makes it easier for us, but I'm still sorry that you have just wasted your time driving to a restaurant to get something you could have gotten for a dollar in the frozen food section of Stop & Shop.
Enjoy your meal?
The people who don't tip:
These people should just know that they are terrible people and shouldn't ever go out to eat again. These people have 100% never worked in the food business, because if they had, they would understand that the tip that person was supposed to get was equal to GOLD.
The people who become your best friends:
Sometimes you just hit it off with your customers. That is honestly the best feeling because the pressure is lifted off your shoulders. It's always nice to get a family that can relate to you and understand if you forgot to bring them their french fries. Or to get a family that will give you one of their french fries...
The people who make you feel uncomfortable:
For every friendly, cool table you get, there's always that table that cracks those jokes that make you want to hide in a shell. The jokes that are borderline inappropriate for a public setting. In these cases you can feel the awkward tension with these people all the way from the kitchen.
The people who don't tame their kids:
Listen, if you take your wild children to a restaurant, that is your own fault. Keep them controlled, because its not fun to dodge little children when you're trying to deliver a tray of hot lobster rolls and chowder. I know you want to eat, and you may not care that your child is stealing pieces of food from other tables or fingerprinting with ketchup, but WE DO!
The food business sure is an experience, and it's a great way to make some cash. But sometimes the experiences you face are almost not worth the money you get at the end of the day. SO many life lessons are learned when working at a restaurant, and I am overall thankful I have experienced all of these types of people. Because once you've experienced the worst, you can pretty much handle anything.
