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Career

Things You’ll Understand if You Have Worked in the Service Industry

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at ODU chapter.

 

 

Anyone can drive you mad. Doesn’t matter who it is: a rude customer, your annoying boss, or the person that cut you off on the way to work. It can be difficult to keep your cool when chaos is all around you. Personally, I didn’t realize that I was a hot-headed person until I started working in the service industry. You would not believe the true colors of some people that come out during a rush or a trying time at work.

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You get really good at running around a small space. Most restaurants use the biggest space possible for the customers, so the kitchen/back area can get super cramped. When I worked at Arby’s I tripped over everything, all the time. Watch out for all of the crap surrounding you!

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People who order delivery won’t always care about putting you in danger. You would think that when there was a huge storm that everyone would stay home and eat the food in their house, but it gets overwhelmingly busy. And then you get mad all over again because customers are putting you in danger for food.

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After a while, nothing really fazes you anymore. A screen full of orders? Done that. Somebody cursing you out for not having a cold cut Italian sub? Been there too. Service workers see the craziest things and they keep on keepin’ on. They are real troopers for taking people’s unnecessary anger and I respect all of them. 

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Your personal life disappears and nothing else matters but what’s right in front of you. This may be different for some people, but work is almost like a therapy to me. I can escape the trials of my life for a few hours and make food, fry food, serve customers, or drive with my music blasting on the way to my next delivery.

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You will end up dating a coworker. Or at least have a crush on one. Since all kinds of people work in the service industry, you tend to work with a lot of different characters. Some of those people end up being attractive, and… things happen. You will try to avoid it and end up giving in.

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My name is Danielle (Danni for short), and I am a transfer student here at ODU! Before I came here I wrote for Her Campus at CNU, and I was studying Computer Engineering of all things! I'm majoring in Graphic Design now, and minoring in Spanish. I also work as a delivery driver at Domino's. Besides writing I also enjoy photography, cooking, and dyeing my hair dark red!