I’ve been employed as a waitress for nearly two years now, but needless to say, I have some stories. I love how waitressing is so unpredictable; each table yields a new experience. Some customers are more fun than others, but all in all, waitressing is what you make of it.
If you are thinking about getting a waitressing job, here are some things you need to know first.
- Hourly Pay is Terrible
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The first thing I learned as a waitress is that our company pay is awful. I knew that servers relied on tips, but in the state of Pennsylvania, we really rely on tips.
I make $2.13 hourly and I’m required to report my tipped earnings to the government as taxable salary. My taxes come out of my paycheck so at the end of the week, my paycheck from the company is usually less than ten dollars.
Thankfully, my tips are paid out in cash every night; I know exactly how much I made that day.
- We Have to Tip-out Other Employees
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At some restaurants, servers are required to take a portion of their tips and add them to a pot distributed to bartenders and bussers. My restaurant requires this, so on a good night I can lose up to thirty bucks to tip share with other employees.
Bussers and bartenders absolutely deserve to be tipped out and paid well, but it shouldn’t be at the servers’ expense (at least in my opinion). Now, when I go out to eat, I keep this in mind and tip more than twenty percent. This way, my server gets a fair tip even with tip-out.
- We Are Our Own Cash Register
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When I began serving, it was a huge shock for me to learn that I had to bring my own “bank.” I’m not sure if this applies everywhere, but I’ve always had to bring my own money to make change and break big bills.
When a customer needs change for a hundred-dollar bill, I die a little inside. Most of my coworkers bring a standard bank of $25, so it’s difficult to bum bigger bills off of them too!
If you’re serving and you run short on cash, you might have to ask someone with access to a register to break a big bill for you. For me, this would be a To-Go Specialist, bartender or manager. I try to avoid this at all costs, though. It’s timely and they usually aren’t happy to take time out of their day to do it.
I usually don’t carry big bills, but when I do, I make sure to leave them at home when I eat out.
- We Have Chores and Side Work
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Side work is also a task that varies from restaurant to restaurant. Some servers come in and have the sole responsibility of serving. Others require their servers to do side work.
At my job, I have a few side tasks I must complete before I get to clock out. We are required to roll a minimum of 50 pieces of silverware, vacuum our section’s floor and pre-buss our tables as we are serving.
At my restaurant, the servers clean the table of plates and bowls. Silverware, napkins and glasses are left for the bussers. It makes a huge difference when a table stacks their plates for me!
- Looks Matter
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Yet another shock: customers will judge you based on your appearance.
If you’re on server Tik Tok, you may have seen some waitresses trying out different makeup looks and hairstyles to see if they get better tips.
I can confirm, I tend to rake in more tips when I have my hair in pigtail braids.
Makeup is your best friend, too. There was one day in my entire serving career when I did not wear makeup because I was running late.
I kid you not, I was bullied by my table. I wasn’t tipped, either. It was a table of teenage boys, so I didn’t take it too personally. But still, I always make sure I have my makeup done now.
I’ll be the first to admit, serving is not the most glamorous job. Despite this, I think the money is well worth it. If you think serving might be the right fit for you, be sure to give it a go! You learn so many life lessons, meet new people and will always have a fun story to tell about your most recent crazy customer.