Like most other college students, I don’t always have time to hold down a job during the semester.
But, I’m very lucky that my job back home allows me to come back during my breaks from school.
Even though it’s stressful, I LOVE my summer job at home. I’ve worked at a restaurant called Maggie McFly’s for about a year and a half now and it’s honestly been my favorite job yet.
I started on support staff, working the host stand and barista station, but this past summer, I started serving.
It’s taken a while to manage my time and energy in this position, but over time, I’ve learned some tips and tricks on how to not stress myself out and make more tips.
Keep on movin’
I’m human and I make mistakes very often at work. The biggest one I make is not realizing that I’ve been seated and greeting my table very late.
A great way to avoid this issue is keep constant communication with the host stand and keep walking around your section to make sure your customers aren’t kept waiting and see that you’re close by in case they need anything.
Keep ’em laughing
When you have a good attitude, most of the time, that energy is reciprocated.
I’m always cracking jokes with my customers and love being personable and real with them.
If they ask me my opinion on a dish option, I will yap their ear off about my opinion (oops).
I always try to read the room/the vibe of the table to see what jokes are appropriate to make.
For example, I had a group of older people sit in my section and they ordered sangria.
Of course, I told them “You guys don’t look old enough to be drinking sangria.”
They absolutely loved that and tipped me at least 30%.
Just make your table laugh. They’ll adore you.
Keep your manager in the loop
A big flaw about me, in general, is being very stubborn. I just don’t like asking for help.
One thing I’ve learned over the course of being a server is that it’s actually better to ask for help than assume you know what you’re doing.
If I’m having an issue with my table and don’t want to stress myself out, I’ve realized that it’s okay to go to my manager and ask for help.
Keep your cool
I’m gonna just say it. Sometimes, customers are flat out mean.
In situations like this, it’s very hard to continue serving them and being nice to them.
You just have to remember that at the end of the day, you were the bigger person and you’ll probably never see them again.
Trust me, I’ve had a large party get thrown out of the restaurant for cursing me out, chasing me around the restaurant (thanks for that, Brenda), pushing my manager and many more (awful) things that I will not bore you with.
But while they were all getting their underwear in a twist, who kept their cool? Well, that would be yours truly!
It’s the most difficult thing to do, especially in the food industry.
At the end of the day, when you stay cool, calm and collected, you get to keep your job.
And I’d say that’s a pretty important achievement.