IÂ believe everyone should work a food service job at least once in their lives. The skills, lessons, and etiquette you learn from food service are irreplaceable and can transfer over to any other professional career later in life. I have held a job in food service for almost the past five years, and I have picked up skills like time management, responsibility, problem-solving, communication, leadership, adaptability, and so much more. The most important thing that I have learned, though, is restaurant etiquette. This is something that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.Â
Indispensible Skills
A lot of people think food service jobs don’t relate to anything they will do later in life for a full-time job, especially when looking to include things on a resume. I thought this too at first, but it’s actually quite the opposite. For starters, the amount of time you’ve held the same job speaks volumes. I have had the same job for almost five years like I said. This shows reliability, loyalty, and dependability. At my job, I’ve worked with people from ages 15-70+. I have developed amazing teamwork skills, and as I’ve worked my way up the management ladder I have acquired management skills as well. I’ve learned to work with all different types of people, and how to effectively manage a team of people. I work part-time, and most of the part-time employees are kids, so I’ve learned how to motivate people to get things done.
I work at a bagel shop, and we open at 5:30am every day. That means, in order to be open on time, we have to get there at 5:00am. This takes a lot of responsibility, especially when I am the only person at the store until the next shift comes in. We have a drive-thru system, a phone order system, and an inside counter, so I’ve been able to adapt to using all three systems. Serving customers is one of the biggest skills I’ve learned, because this encompasses patience, empathy, respect, problem-solving, communication, and so much more. Whether it’s dealing with complaints, a customer with allergies, someone hard-of-hearing, and everything in between, I’ve dealt with it. Serving customers can be very rewarding, I enjoy solving problems and making everyone happy at the end of the day. Some interactions though, teach me a lot about how to act myself when I am in the customer’s role.Â
Etiquette
Not every interaction I’ve had with a customer has been without obstacles. I have learned that you never know what people are going through behind the scenes, and this can affect how they act. Now this doesn’t excuse rudeness or someone being impolite, but when the customer is always right, there’s not much you can do as a worker. That being said, I always keep this in mind when I go to different food places, because it goes both ways. You never know what workers have going on behind the scenes either, so a little kindness and patience goes a long way. I always appreciate when customers wish me luck when they see it is busy, or tell me that I’ve got this. For workers, you never know what they have going on in their personal lives, or what’s going on behind the scenes at work. Being short-staffed stresses everyone out and adds immense pressure, and you don’t know what other customer interactions they’ve had that day.Â
I would say patience is the biggest aspect of having proper etiquette that I take away from working my current job. Yes, if something is taking an egregious amount of time, it is totally okay to politely say something about it. We are all human, and we all make mistakes. I feel terrible when I accidentally mess something up or forget something, but it happens. Working in food service has taught me far more than I ever thought it would. I believe everyone should hold a food service job at some point in their lives because it builds patience, communication, teamwork, and professionalism under pressure. The fast-paced environment sharpens problem-solving skills, while constant interaction with customers strengthens empathy and etiquette. It’s important to put yourself in the shoes of those serving you, to really understand what it’s like and how you would like to be treated when the roles are reversed.Â