At first I was very against going to work in restaurant, for many many different reasons. I didn’t want to be put in between a person and their food. I was afraid of people getting mad at me for messing up their order, making their food wrong (even though I’m not the one who actually makes it), or being that annoying waitress who hovers over the table the whole time to make sure they are OK.

Now that I’ve been working in food service for about a year, I couldn’t be more happy. I love working with a variety of different people who come into the restaurant. I've learned a variety of different skills but here are the things I am most grateful for and what I find are the most important things I have learned.

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1. I always have good conversations with different customers.

It’s surprisingly easy to connect with the different people I come into contact with. They always ask about school, about my job, about what I like to do and, of course, the weather. Surprisingly, it calms me down and reminds me to take a second and breath.

2. It has shown me patience.

Working in a restaurant is very stressful. A majority of the time customers are (very) indecisive even though they have been there a thousand times. They say they want to order something new but then order their usual 20 minutes later. Then they love to spend an hour at the table before paying. People, you’re ruining my turn times but as long as I get a tip, I’ll be OK.

3. It has shown me how to be efficient.

I never learned to never walk over to a table table empty handed or walk away from one without something either. I’ve learned that cleaning up the table as I go helps me clean it faster at the end and gets me sat again faster.

4. It has taught me how to work as a team.

Working in a restaurant is all about teamwork. Everyone needs help whether it be following them with additional plates or asking them to help bus your tables when you’re busy. If you don’t work as a team, the place is a shit show. Maybe not all the time, but it happens every once in awhile.

Working at Friendly's has taught me so many amazing skills I didn’t know I wanted or needed. I will always be grateful for the things I have experienced over the past year. I was not necessarily a people person, but working in food service has really helped me become a better people person (even though I’ll get a table that really gets on my nerves and makes me rethink this whole waitressing thing).