Rachel’s story:
Daily – I work at Quaker Steak & Lube in Columbus, OH. I started serving there last summer and I’m working there throughout winter break and this summer as well. It’s a fairly large restaurant that attracts all ages and is known for their all-you-can-eat Wing Night and Bike Night. Usually working evenings, I worked for both of these weekly events. Both of these nights are extremely busy and my section is always full. So I’m constantly on my feet and making sure my tables had refills and running back and forth from my tables to the bar and grabbing people their alcoholic drinks. On Wing Nights, you could find me with different wing sauces all over my apron and re-filling French fry baskets for my tables. For Bike Nights, I encounter and serve many drunk adults, which can be entertaining and sometimes just annoying.
Worst Experience – Whenever I get assigned a table twice in a row or assigned a party over 10 along with my section being full. But, a specific time I struggled was getting sat with a party of 19 people and the rest of my section was full already. I forgot to put in two tables orders due to being consumed by my party of 19. The two tables ended up leaving the restaurant! I felt so bad.
Best Experience – Usually on Wing Nights a lot of guys come in to eat. It’s funny to read what they would write on their receipts for me to see. I also would compare the number of phone numbers I received on receipts with one of my friends that is also a server. Another great experience I had was when I waited on people from Norway, which was super random. They happened to be in town for a convention. They were very personable and left me a $50 tip!
Meghan’s Story:
BDubs was my first experience as a server. Of course, I had several jobs beforehand… some in retail, some in customer service at food places, but my longest job was working in the kitchen at a deli. Although the experience definitely made me feel a little bit more comfortable about serving, it didn’t necessarily prepare me enough for what was to come.
I was hired by a woman whose kids went to the same grade school as I did. She and my parents were somewhat friends, so lucky for me, she hired me this past summer.
My worst experience at BDubs, besides the constant overwhelming feeling I get almost every single busy day I work, was the day that I was told I had to retrain. My training process wasn’t done the right way, so one day I messed up an order by not specifying that the table wanted their wings all “flats.” Me, not being a wing eater, didn’t know what this term meant, so I just ignored the word “flats” and put the order in as normal.
When the table was upset and disgusted by their flats AND drums, I had to redo the whole order and give them the meal for free. Needless to say, my manager was not happy. Thus began my retraining. The day in general had just been awful and overwhelming, so this just added to it all.
My best experience thus far had to be when I went home this past Thanksgiving break and served an older couple. They were so happy and nice from the start and every time I would grab them another beer, or bring out napkins, or their meal… they were so extremely thankful and just so talkative. They would joke around with me. And of course, they probably did get a bit drunk after all the drinks they ordered, but they told me they’re asking for me, and only me, every time they come in from now on. They joked about my tip multiple times because they loved talking to me. They asked for my name and shook my hand and complimented my serving abilities, saying I “had a niche” for it. Not only did I have a fun time serving them, but they gave me the courage to keep trying and let me know that I actually am good at what I do.
A daily experience at BDubs involves me clocking into work, looking at the floor plan and serving guests who are seated in my section. If in the dining room, we rotate tables and take turns taking them. If on the sides of the bar or in the “high school” room, all the tables are my own. I prefer being on a side. That way, things don’t get confusing with other servers. When we aren’t busy, I find myself in the kitchen, either helping with dishes or helping other servers carry food to the tables. As servers at BDubs, we bus our own tables. Once we are cut, we must finish off the tables we are serving and then have to do our “outs.” Our outs include rolling all silverware, finishing up dishes, sweeping and mopping our areas and making sure the server sections are stocked.
Overall, I feel like I have become much more comfortable in my work place and I wouldn’t be able to have done so if weren’t for my amazing co-workers.
Photo courtesy of brewbound.com