People learn several life lessons throughout their time at work in every job. It is the same when working as a server. These life lessons include skills which help in other matters of life too. Being a server doesn’t mean that all you can learn about is how to carry trays or several plates at a time, but many other valuable skills for different fields of life.
So, what are the life lessons a person can learn while working as a server? Following is a list of skills most servers learn during their job hours:
1.To Be Kind Even Towards Rude Customers
While working in a restaurant or café as a server means you have to meet and communicate with all kinds of people. Some people tend to be very friendly and kind, while others are straight out rude and disrespectful. Such disrespectful customers often forget that a server deserves equal respect as any other person and that they are not superior to him/her.
These people always make a big deal about any minor mistake and use words that can offend or hurt a server. As a server, you cannot talk back or ask them to behave, as it is your job to keep smiling and be kind towards them. Keeping calm and being respectful in such situations can be a real challenge for most servers; however, they get used to it as time passes. This skill of ignoring and letting go of people’s harsh words comes in handy when times are hard in life. If you are not a server and want to take your kindness to the next level, start working as a server.
2. Accepting the Fact That You Have To Follow Orders Even When They Make No Sense
Most young people opt for a part-time server’s job, and they don’t care much about the restaurant as their dreams are bigger than being a server. It may seem weird to them when they are scolded for a minor mistake. However, they forget that the restaurant means a lot more to the people who run it than it matters to a server. This is why it is essential to accept the hierarchy and follow the rules, as you don’t know why something is important for the management unless it is related to your own job.
Part-timers often learn the hard way that they have to follow the orders even if they leave the job at some point anyway. If you ignore an order from a superior, you are putting your job and his/her job in danger, too, so it’s better to respect what they say and build a healthy relationship with them.
3.Multitasking is The Master of All Skills
Being a server is impossible if you cannot multitask. They have to remember dozens of orders and other things customers asked for in every trip from or to the kitchen. Moreover, they cannot come out with just one plate every time; there are times when they need to carry more than two dishes at once.
As a server, it is important to multitask both physically and mentally. Want to test your multitasking skills? Start working at a restaurant, and you will realize your multitasking ability in just a matter of days.
4. Don’t Try to Figure Out if a Customer Would Leave a Tip or Not
There is no specific pattern or signs of a customer who would leave a nice tip to you. Sometimes people who are friendly and calm don’t even bother leaving a tip; on the other hand, some customers who didn’t say “please” or “thank you” once would leave a tip graciously. You can never figure out what kind of a person someone is, and it is just wrong to make assumptions on your own.
As a server, you should never let your intuition make you have high hopes or vice versa; it would fail you every time. If you drop this “assuming the results beforehand” behavior, you can be free of disappointments.
5. Doing Your Best without Expecting Something in Return is Perfectly Fine
A server’s job is to make sure the customers have everything they need. However, as we mentioned earlier, it is not necessary that a customer will say “thank you” or give a tip even if you have done your job well. Even when you know a customer wouldn’t be happy, no matter what you do, you should still keep up with it and be proud of how you handle such situations.
Being a server will tell you how powerful such a skill can be, either at your job or out of the workplace. There is no shame in doing your best.
6. Be Patient
What’s another name for a server? A waiter. That’s maybe because they have to wait for the customers to enter the halls, take a seat, decide what they want to eat, and then wait for the food to get ready and serve it. It is a lot of waiting and requires extreme patience. The wait doesn’t end here; a server even has to wait for the customers to pay in cash or run their cards. I
If you have enough patience, you can be a great server; however, if you lose patience as soon as things go wrong, unfortunately, the job is not for you.
7. Stay Optimistic; it Will Help You Stay Sane
An optimistic attitude can save you from a lot of problems. Servers go through a lot throughout their working hours, and the stress is enough to make them lose control. However, if you can practice being more optimistic and make it a lifestyle, it helps out a lot more than you may think. Having a positive attitude significantly impacts the customers you are attending.
It’s better to laugh at some problems and mistakes instead of worrying about them too much. There is already enough to worry about, so try not to take small things to your heart.
8. Taking Care of Yourself is as Important as Your Job
Working as a server can be pretty exhausting; the job can drain anyone out of energy as it takes a lot of mental and physical labor. Every server needs to take care of their body, or in other words, you shouldn’t don’t act like you will get a new body in return for a worn-out one.
If you ignore the symptoms of exhaustion and keep working like that, you will burn out at some point. Also, it takes much walking when working as a server, so it is vital to get good shoes with proper support. Moreover, eat well before going to work; malnutrition can become a great hurdle between you and your job.
Conclusion
Remember that people don’t eat with family, friends, or lovers just to be full. They specifically take out time from their busy schedules for the ones they love and have a good time with them. A great server can make this precious time more convenient and perfect by acting nicely. Being a server is not an easy job; however, the lessons it teaches can help people survive different situations in life.
In our perspective, everyone should at least once work as a server in their life.