As the warmer weather is fast approaching, and soon enough college students will be on break, I thought I would share a little bit about my experience working in a restaurant. It can be an awesome seasonal job, especially for college students, and make decent money. After working in the restaurant world for three years, I retired my apron, and am going to share in this article what I wish I knew about working in a restaurant before I actually did.
1. No weekends off or holidays
Restaurants are typically most busy on the weekends. As a result, they need more staff. Most restaurants are also open on holidays. Staff is required to work on holidays and weekends for the most part.
2. The schedule isn’t always accurate
This is true in terms of leaving, and when you are scheduled to leave. Due to rushes being unpredictable, and rushes coming in at the most random times, my time out was never actually accurate. A lot of times, they would start letting people leave about an hour to thirty minutes before the restaurant closed. I so wished I had known this before, as I would often try to make plans with friends for right when I got off work ahead of time and was never reliable.
3. It can be a trap
Once you get some experience, on a busy night as a server, you can make some really good money, especially if you work at a nice restaurant. As a result, I found it hard to leave, as I could not make such good money elsewhere.
4. Fast-paced environment and always on feet
The restaurant world is not for the weak, as you literally stand on your feet all day long. In addition, it is a super fast-paced environment, and you really have to be good at multi-tasking.
5. Nodding and smiling through the pain
Customers can definitely be difficult and degrading. Add in some alcohol, and people might say stuff that they wouldn’t normally. Yet, it’s still part of your job to be kind, and caring despite how rude people maybe.