It is pretty common to have some sort of part-time job while growing up, but there are various avenues to take. Not everyone goes the food service route, probably because they don’t want to deal with the prepackaged food or the demanding customers. While I understand that aversion, working a food service job can be so beneficial, especially during a young adult’s formative years. There is so much to learn outside of latte art and frying chicken.
Teaches you patience.
One of the most important lessons to learn through food service is patience, and knowing when to give up in a conflict to protect your peace. Customers can often become irritated or angry if they don’t get their food in time, if there is something wrong with their order, or… honestly for many other reasons. On top of this, there are some times when a customer will get angry at you personally, even if you didn’t do anything wrong. It is very important to be patient in these situations, because truly, it isn’t worth it. Â
I don’t fully align with the sentiment that “the customer is always right,” because there can definitely be moments where someone crosses boundaries or starts becoming threatening. In those instances, it is important to alert a manager or coworker and deal with the situation as best as you can.Â
However, if everyone is safe, it is usually best to be patient with an irritated customer, politely correct them if need be, give them their order, and send them on their merry way. I have worked at coffee shops in the past, and there were many times when a customer got angry at me because they assumed I wasn’t doing my job right, even though I was. I knew that I would probably never see this person again, so I protected my peace, did my best to serve them, and said good riddance.
Teaches you to do necessary things you don’t necessarily want to do.
Working at a coffee shop, slinging espresso, and pouring beautiful latte art sounds like a really fun and easy job, but there are other parts of the position that are equally necessary. There is cleaning to do (lots of cleaning), there are constantly dishes to wash, there is food to restock and make sure doesn’t expire. These tasks are not the most fun part of any food service job, and possibly not what you thought you would be doing, but they need to be done. Working in food service teaches you to balance the fun parts of the job with the parts that demand someone (anyone, please!) to do them. Personally, it also taught me to look for extra cleaning and organizing that no one else has done, but I would want done if I was a customer ordering there (for example, the oven. I’d prefer my food to cook in a clean oven).
Teaches you to be a kinder, more understanding customer (and human).
I believe that customers who get angry easily — and toward a young worker — have never worked a food service job themselves. Once you are on the receiving end of such scrutiny (often undeserved), you learn that the workers are really just doing their best, and you gain a new sense of respect for what they have to deal with. They don’t know everything about the company, they don’t have the power to give a customer coupons or freebies, and they are simply not paid enough to comfort a customer when they blow up. There is so much more going on behind the scenes that the customer is not aware of, and it is so important to just be an understanding human being.Â
I truly think if everyone worked a food service job for a time in their life, customers would be much more respectful toward the kids behind the counter. Working a food service job is such an eye-opening experience, and you gain a new perspective on how to be a considerate customer and all around human being.