Lessons From A Waitress

When you picture a serving job, what comes to your mind? Long shifts, bad hours, terrible pay and ruthless customers? In some cases, that might sound about right. But not always.

I’ve worked as a waitress for over three years. I’ve met wonderful people, both coworkers and guests. I’ve dealt with difficult customers. I’ve built communication skills I would have otherwise learned in a classroom, and I’m appreciative of everything that the service industry has taught me.

When I applied to be a waitress I thought of it as a college gig to help pay the bills and keep my head above water. I didn’t think it was going to help me with a career down the line. After working at my internship, however, I realized how much this college gig has shaped my work ethic and my communication skills. With that, I have the restaurant industry to thank for the following reasons:

1. Working in a Stressful Environment

• For those who aren’t familiar with this a dinner rush, I’ll be the first one to tell you that it is the epitome of a stressful environment. Guests fill the lobby, the kitchen is a madhouse, and the customers come ready to get their money’s worth. All the while, the servers run around the restaurant filling refills, smiling, and pretending their feet aren’t killing them.

• Working in a stressful environment involves time management and patience. In Public Relations, we will encounter situations similar to this. We have to be prepared for the “dinner rush” of the company we’re representing. Stay organized, work quickly and efficiently, and act as a source of knowledge.

1. Customer Relations

• When I’m serving, I’m making sure that my guests get what they ordered, they’re enjoying their night out, and I am catering to what they need. Making guest connections is imperative in certain situations. We check back to make sure everything is going well, and if something could be improved we make changes for their future visit.

• Keeping your customers satisfied is crucial to keeping their business. The same is true for careers in communications. Paying attention to detail, effective communication, and asking the right questions will help you prosper in your career. Side note: a genuine “please” and “thank you” goes a long way on both ends.

1. The Art of Apology

• Picture this: your last table of the night has ordered the sirloin medium-well. When you bring the dinner to the table, your guest is less than impressed and takes it out on you (the server who, in fact, did not prepare that sirloin). Just like PR, a majority of the time servers take the brunt of unsatisfied customers. Every situation is different, but a sincere apology, a generous offer of reimbursement, and a thought-out plan to make their next experience better, will go a long way.

1. Adaptation

• It may be strange to associate adaptation with a serving job, but the restaurant industry is always making changes. Changes for improvement, switching promotions, and even upgrading technologies. The restaurant that I work at is a huge proponent of alterations, and it has taught me to be prepared and knowledgeable of the upcoming changes. If someone has a question, I want to be a reliable source for them.

• Just like in communications and PR, we are going to encounter a great deal of change that we must adapt to. For example, say you are the PR representative of a university who announced to the public that they will be renovating their school – and you are the last to know. Your phone rings off the hook from concerned tax payers and students regarding the budget for this project. This is where preparation and adaptation to change is essential to answer those questions of concern. Of course, an expensive renovation is a little more stressful than the kitchen manager announcing we’re out of tilapia or the computers are down.

So, let’s all take a minute to appreciate these “college gigs” that help keep our heads above water. After all, they have prepared us for the degree we are pursuing. As we get closer to graduation, feeling nervous or excited for our future endeavors, may we raise a glass to the subtle, yet career-changing lessons we have learned from the less-than-minimum-wage service jobs.