This summer I woke up for work earlier than I ever had for school. I took the short seven minute walk (four if I was really hustling or running late) to the small cafe near my house. As the sun rose, I would unstack chairs, restock the fridges and chip stands, wipe down counters, start brewing coffee and all the other tasks that needed to be done to get the cafe open on time. Soon my coworker joined me, shortly followed by our regular, who would order two large coffees with steamed half and half every day. There was something pleasantly reliable about the routines that came in the morning, but after the first hour or so things would change. The long hours would drag, and when work was slow, I would find myself looking for things to do. I would stack sugar packets neatly to pass the time. Conversely, things got hectic on warm days and instead of being bored I was stressed. I never failed to find coffee and espresso grounds under my fingernails after each shift.
I learned a lot by working this job, my first “real” job, besides the classic babysitting job here and there. I learned so much, in fact, that I think everyone should have some kind of job in the service industry in their lifetime, and the earlier the better. In conversations with my friends who work at Wrigley Field, the Cubs baseball stadium, and at a local movie theater, we talked about the many struggles and lessons of service industry jobs. While I certainly don’t have expertise in all service industries, my experiences and conversations with friends have led me to thoughtfully reach a few conclusions about service industry work.
Why it is important to do this work early on
These kinds of jobs serve as great introductions to the workforce. You can walk into many of them having no experience, you learn a lot about what minimum wage jobs look like and you set yourself up for other opportunities later in your life. While they may not be great introductions to the specific career you are looking into or what major you are studying in college, they teach valuable life skills, especially in terms of empathy and communication.
- Empathy
-
When you work in the service industry, you begin to better understand the constraints of hierarchies that are built into these jobs. As a result, you are able to understand what kinds of things are possible for employees to provide when you are a customer. Asking for a baby high chair, no problem, but expecting your special booth to be reserved every time you enter, not so much. Additionally, there are so many things that are out of a lower-level employee’s control: there are levels of management and you learn that what a manager can grant is simply not possible for a regular employee. Working in these kinds of jobs allows you to see the other side of the service and understand the many factors workers are constantly juggling.
Similarly, there are many things that you may never have thought about if you have not worked in these kinds of jobs. As customers, you see such a small slice of the employee’s day, so you may not see the kinds of things that wear on them throughout the day. For example, even standing for hours on end or keeping a cheery appearance up can be particularly hard, especially after a week of long shifts. Working in these kinds of jobs allows you to gain respect for the people serving you, and you will think twice before being annoyed by a server who didn’t immediately smile at you.
Also, you truly cannot understand the importance of tips until you have worked at some of these jobs. The system for pay in the U.S. is hugely dependent on this, and while it may not be the best system, many employees do not have any other option. I became more aware of this after working in this kind of job. Even a small tip can go a long way.
- Communication
-
Communication is huge! First, since you are not able to pick and choose which kind of people you work with or serve, you have to learn how to deal with conflict in a peaceful way. There is no way to avoid dealing with it, especially if you work in close proximity for a long time. This is a hugely important life skill and if it is not developed early it can be hard to understand how to work things out in more serious situations than a summer job.
Secondly, you may have to learn how to communicate with coworkers and people you are serving who do not speak the same language as you. I encountered many delivery drivers who had very limited English speaking skills and I was able to learn how to get important messages across. Similarly, many of my coworkers were bilingual, so learning how to communicate across a language divide allowed both of us to stretch our language skills and find new ways to communicate.
Lastly, learning how to advocate for yourself is a huge part of service industry jobs. Whether it’s small things like sharing your availability with your boss, or big things like communicating that you are not being treated fairly, self-advocacy is an integral part to these kinds of jobs. While there can be a lot of employee turnover, it is important to make sure your managers and bosses know what makes you an integral part of their team. Communication is such an important life skill no matter what kind of job, so learning this early in a lower-stakes job allows you to make mistakes and learn so that when it comes to big career decisions you know how to advocate for yourself.
- Skills Learned
-
There are so many random, yet helpful skills you can learn from service industry jobs. How to cook, how to fix things, how to balance five plates in your hands, how to sweep and many more skills can benefit you during adulthood.
Additionally, you will learn endurance through long shifts or difficult conditions that range from standing outside in the hot sun, getting up at five in the morning for work, being on your feet for eight hours and more.
I may not want to work as a barista for the rest of my life, but the lessons and skills I acquired from this job will undoubtedly help me in whatever I do. I have some niche skills and the people I met at my job continue to be close friends that I visit whenever I return home for a break. The service industry includes a wide range of people from all walks and stages of life, so it really is for anyone and everyone. You can meet so many people who you would never typically get to know and form close friendships. Even though some of the early mornings and long shifts were exhausting, I would not trade my experience working at the cafe for anything. This experience opened my eyes to a world that was right in front of me. While simply paying more attention could have taught me some of these lessons, nothing quite replaces actually doing the work yourself. Work in the service industry—you can learn a latte.