Many college students prefer to work tip-oriented jobs rather than jobs with hourly pay, and there are many reasons behind this. First of all, it’s extremely rare to find a part-time job that covers the average expenses of a college student. After tuition comes rent, groceries, bills, transportation costs and many other miscellaneous expenses. Not to mention the ever-looming thoughts of student loans in our names. Working for tips is one of the only ways a student can earn extra money quickly and ethically, but this usually comes at a price.
Good Money
I worked as a server during my freshman year of college and, as most of them will tell you, earned hundreds of dollars in just one night. Once I became a bartender, this number practically doubled. I would walk home at the end of the night with hundreds of dollars in my pocket, feeling like I was on top of the world. It was hard work, but I knew I earned that money. When I did my taxes the next year, I realized I had made $15,000 just from working at that restaurant. However, most of this money was made during the summer months. During the winter, when no one wanted to be out, I would go months without breaking $50.
Horrible Hours
If you choose to work as a bartender, you’ll be at that bar into the wee hours of the morning. I usually started my shifts right after class at 3 p.m. and ended them at 3 a.m. The shifts were bad enough, but the schedule was even worse. I gave up almost every single weekend that year to work, as well as covering my co-workers’ shifts during the weekdays. I often had to miss class just to get to work on time. I missed spending time with my family, going out with friends, football games, Thanksgiving breaks and just plain relaxing because my job demanded so much of me. This not only impacted my stress levels, but it hurt my grades too. I knew I could’ve gotten straight A’s that semester had I tried hard enough, but between work, classes and sleep, homework was put on the back burner. I put little effort into my projects and papers, and my grades reflected that lack of effort. By the time I quit, I was completely burnt out and told myself I would never go back.
Meeting people
I’m very grateful for the connections I made while I worked at this restaurant, and I’m still friends with a few of my former co-workers. One girl I worked with became my roommate sophomore year, and another girl who transferred schools still comes back to visit me. I encountered every type of person there is to encounter while bartending and serving: drunks, Karens, kids, creeps, parents, good tippers, bad tippers and even some of my professors. I definitely didn’t like all of my co-workers, but I learned how to work alongside them. And an even bigger plus I would’ve never gotten had I not worked there: some of the bouncers still let me skip the line.
Bad Management
The average duration that an employee would stay at this place was about a month. College kids usually quit because they weren’t properly trained, were forced to bite off more than they could chew and were severely overworked. Because people came and went so much, the restaurant was almost always understaffed, meaning most of the girls would be serving up to ten tables at a time. Our managers did the best they could to help us out, but they too were overworked and very limited by the owner. I tried my hardest to be amiable and compliant, but there were more than enough times that I should’ve drawn the line between unconventional and unprofessional. What really put the nail in my coffin was when I fell out of favor with the owner himself, as was the case for almost every girl who quit or got fired from that place.
Growing Confidence
Constant social interaction with strangers is difficult and tiring for anyone, but especially those who tend to be more introverted. It wasn’t until right before I quit that I finally felt comfortable conversing with people for money. Replacing your negative emotions with positive ones is a large part of providing good customer service. Whenever I was having a bad day and I didn’t have the energy to cover it up, my tips reflected it. I quickly realized that flirting with men was one of the best ways to make tips, though I wish someone had warned me about this. I had many tear-filled trips to the kitchen after my tables got frustrated with me, but I couldn’t linger on those feelings for too long because I had to get right back out there and take more orders.Â
I knew girls who worked at this restaurant and these bars for 5+ years while they received their college education, and I have the utmost respect for them. You have to be incredibly patient and tolerant to work in customer service for that long, especially under those conditions. Our bartenders and servers work very hard, so please always remember to tip!