So recently I got a job as a server in a restaurant near my house. Finally... two years of no job is behind me and I'm finally working again. Now before I get into what its like to work as a server in a restaurant let me explain something.

 

I previously was one of those people who mocked servers at restaurants. The job sounds so simple and easy anyone can do it right? I could have gotten a job at a restaurant but i chose not to because I already knew I wouldn't like it and its not a fit for me.

 

I got hired to work as a server in a Jamaican/Caribbean restaurant. I have been working for a few weeks now (which is why i haven't been here on the forums for awhile. I'll try to get active here again)

 

The Basics:

 

One of the first things you need to learn as a server in any restaurant is the menu. The menu is the first thing you need to learn because if you are not familiar with it you will find yourself constantly running back to find a manager or the cooks asking questions because when your guests ask a question you cant answer it. The difficulty in doing this varies from restaurant to restaurant because some have large menus (like mine) and some are smaller. You also need to learn how everything works on the menu. At my restaurant every entree comes with two sides. You need to remember that so you don't forget to give the guests a chance to order them.

 

Your Appearance:

 

Some people don't realize this when they get a job serving food but your appearance is EVERYTHING when you are a server. You are (sometimes) the first face the guests see when they come in and you are the one taking their order. It comes down to role reversal sometimes. When you go out to eat would you want the person serving your food to have bad hygiene? Didn't think so. If you are a guy you need to keep your hair neat and being clean shaven is always a plus. For girls its easier, just tie your hair back or keep it short. The last thing you need is one of your hairs falling onto the plate of food you are serving. Make sure to smell nice but don't overdo it. You want to smell good but not like the Perfume section at Macy's. If you get a position as a server make sure to get a pair of comfortable shoes. Because you will be walking back and forth all day non stop. This depends on how busy your restaurant is but generally you cannot afford to have your feet fail on you. Also, you will have to go into the kitchen to get the food. Kitchen floors in restaurants are very very very messy places. You will pick up a lot of things on the bottoms of your shoes. And it is very easy to slip. Make this pair of shoes your dedicated pair of "work only" shoes.

 

Your Pay:

 

Understanding this next tip will save you a lot of heartache later on. As a sever in most restaurants you are working FOR TIPS. Your salary will be lower than minimum wage. Mine is actually $3.25/hr. When you work as a server the majority of your pay comes from the tips your guests leave at the end of their meal. If you do a good job they will tip well. My first table I ever served gave me an $11 tip. Now this may sound like a bad thing but its actually REALLY REALLY AWESOME. Because at most restaurants you get to take your tips home every night (or whenever your shift is over). And depending upon how busy your restaurant is you can take home anywhere from $40 to $60 on a good service. This is why it is imperative to understand that you must do EVERYTHING you can to make your guests have a good meal and experience in your restaurant. It does happen where sometimes people won't leave tips because "you brought their food late" or something like that. Don't let it discourage you. Its only one table and you still are getting paid. Just today I made $39 in tips on a busy Sunday brunch. Bringing that money home every day you work feels good. And when you get off work feeling very tired and your feet are crying out with pain. It will have been worth it because you worked hard and got a wad of cash in your pocket. Common tips are like $5-7 a table but that all depends on how you do. Do a good job they tip more.

 

Your Duties:

 

It is a common misconception that servers merely "Take orders and run food" that is very very far from the truth. In restaurant terminology servers are the blood of the "Front of house" (the front of the restaurant where the customers are) and servers have to know everything that goes on. Some restaurants have a Host/Hostess that will assist in these duties. This is the person that seats the guests and gives you your table. As a server your primary responsibilities are indeed "Taking orders and running food" but there's a bit more too it. There are some helpful skills ill show you real quick to help you.

 

When you take an order, You will great your table. "Hi my name is ____ welcome to ____". Usually it is the Host's job to give them a menu and silverware but if they don't have any, make sure to get it before you greet them. Secondly, you must make sure you are confident and a people person. If you don't feel comfortable walking up to a complete stranger and starting a conversation there is no way you could do this well. Speak loudly and clearly so your guests can hear you. Before you take their order, direct them to the area of the menu that has the restaurants beverage selections. Ask them what they would like to drink First!! "Can I start you off with anything to drink?" By doing this you have given them some time to glance around the menu if they are not sure what they want to order right away. Go prepare the beverages and return to your table. Some restaurants have a bar and sometimes people will ask for an alcoholic drink you cant prepare. Ask the bartender to make you the drink and wait for it. It is important to note that is ok to serve alcoholic beverages if you are underage. All states have rules on how old you have to be to serve alcoholic drinks. Most have changed the law because most people who are serving food are high school kids aged (16-20). Bring all of the drinks back to the table at the same time!!! Don't run around like a headless chicken. Don't return to your guests unless you give them everything in entirety.

 

Now that was the easy part now comes one of the hardest parts about being a server, writing the order down. When you take an order you make sure you have your pen and pad ready. When your guests speak to you they will say they want something very quickly and you have to write everything down. Everything you write down is what the kitchen is going to cook. If you miss something the kitchen wont cook it and the customer will wait longer and this will hurt your tips! To avoid this use what is called "Servers short hand" It is in essence scribbling but as long as you understand it, its fine. This is a very personalized art and every server does it differently but ill show you how i do it.

 

Lets say i have a table of two and my guests ordered, a Jerk Chicken with a side of mixed cabbage and rice and peas Curry Salmon with white rice and green beans. If you sit and try to write down everything fully you will make them wait longer than they have to and it makes the situation rather awkward. So using short hand my notepad would look like this:

 

 

Writing it like this saves time and is still understandable (By you at least) and is much faster that writing everything out fully. Most restaurants will have a POS system, a computer where you will put in the order and the chefs in the kitchen will get a receipt print out of what you put in the computer. This way there is no confusion over what you wrote and your handwriting. If the order is rather large don't be afraid to go over what you wrote with your guests before you leave the table. Just say "Ok I got yall down for _______" and if you missed anything you can add it. The most important thing here is to make sure you get everything down before you leave the table. Constantly returning to the table to ask "Did you order this?, Did you want that?" will defiantly hurt your tip.

 

Once you take the order make sure to put it into the computer or give it to the Kitchen RIGHT AWAY! The longer it takes you to put the order in the longer it will be before the chefs start preparing it, and the longer your guests will be waiting. Once you do this there will be a long period of waiting. Because now the chefs and cooks have to cook the food and this takes time. Sometimes you will have to take more than one table's orders and wait for the food for two tables to come out. Its all about multitasking. The thing to remember is to periodically check in the kitchen to see if the order is ready. Don't get caught up in something else and forget about your tables order. If your table ordered an Appetizer it will be ready before their entree.

 

 

When the order is ready it is time for the second and most important part about serving food..... the carrying of the plates. When the order is ready the chefs will place it on a shelf under a warmer usually, to keep the food hot while it is waiting on you to get it. When you get the plate it WILL BE SEARING HOT!!! Make sure to grab a servers napkin before touching the plates. They will be hot and the last thing you want to do is drop the food. Keep in mind the chef's have spent 15-20 minutes preparing this food and the guests have waited a long time for it. Dropping a plate is just the last thing you need. Here a few tips to carrying the plates.

 

 

Most restaurants have very bulky heavy oddly shaped plates to impress their guests but this makes them harder to carry, especially adding in the fact that they are VERY HOT!! I made the mistake of carrying a plate with no napkin and my fingers were burning all the way i was carrying the food to the table. When I was done my fingers were bright red... Lesson learned. When you carry the food to the table place your thumb at the far edge away from the plate and your other fingers at the bottom to support the plate in your hand. The reason for this is because as you are bringing the food to your guests they are watching you like a hawk. They are starving they have waited 20-30 minutes for the food. What you don't want to happen is you bring the food to the table and your thumb is in their food. Because it does happen believe it or not. And once they see that they want a whole new plate made, that takes time and it kills your tips. Make sure you keep your finger nails cut and clean. When you first start out you will only be expected to carry two plates at a time. Sometimes the kitchen will want you to take three or four at a time but if you don't feel comfortable doing that yet be vocal about it! If you cant carry more than two they will just have to deal with it. Because remember, the last thing we want is a plate to fall on the floor. A way to practice is at home. Ask your mom/dad/grandparents if you can practice using old dishes noone uses anymore. (if they are old they wont mind if you drop one and it breaks). But remember if you don't feel confident taking more than 2 don't take more than two.

 

The second part of carrying the food is placing the food in front of the guests. When you put the food in front of someone make sure you do it politely and slowly. Don't just slam the plate down on the table. No one wants to see that. Make sure you are placing the right meal in front of the right person. If you make a mistake its ok they can switch plates but make sure to apologize. "I'm so sorry about that". Apologizing when you make a mistake is a given in the Customer Service industry. It also may save your tips but try not to make too many.

 

Now your table(s) is(are) eating. Here is where you get a bit of a break. As your table is eating you have no food to bring and no orders to write. Stand somewhere out of view for a few minutes and catch your breath. Now you SHOULD check on your table after they start eating but make sure to give them some time. You wouldn't want someone to constantly be bothering you after you have waited 20 minutes for a meal would you? Nah i didn't think so. Walk past their table and with your peripheral vision see how far along they are in their meal. If they are just getting started don't bother them. If they are halfway through their meal quickly and politely say "Everything ok?" If you notice they have an empty glass ask "Can I get you a refill?" If they want one they will let you know or usually the response is "Everything is fine". If they have something wrong this is time to correct it. Don't come back and ask "everything ok?" after they just told you what was wrong. Limit the amount of times you ask "Everything ok?" I usually only do it two times and even that is too much. I ask when they are halfway done and when they are almost done. If you see an empty plate or glass quickly and politely ask "Can i clear the plate for you?". Take the dirty dishes back to the kitchen so they can be washed.

 

 

After everyone at the table has finished their meal one of 3 things will happen. They will tell you they are going to order a dessert like ice cream or cake, they will ask for the check or they will ask for the check and a "to-go" box so they can take what they didn't finish. NEVER NEVER NEVER EVER ASK IF THEY ARE READY FOR THE CHECK!!!!! By asking them if they are ready for the check you are "rushing" them out of the restaurant! They may not be ready to leave just yet, or maybe they did want to order dessert. Always let them tell you when they want the check. If they tell you they want the check follow your restaurants procedure for printing the check. Usually if they have a computer you will print out a receipt and hand it to them on a tray. Once you do this walk away and check back in a minute or two. They will put their credit card or cash into the tray for you to take. Most people these days pay with credit/debit cards. Its faster and easier than cash. But if they do give you cash you will have to make change. My restaurant has the bar for this. If someone wants to pay with cash the bartender will make the change for me. If you have to make change Make sure to give them small bills. If you give them larger bills THEY CANT TIP YOU! If they pay by credit card they will write how much tip you get on the receipt or they will write 0 and give you your tip in cash. (which to me is better)

 

After they have paid and you have given them the finalized check they will sit and talk for a minute or two before leaving. Again, don't rush them. If you rush them they won't wanna come back! Or maybe they will change their mind and order something to go real fast. As they leave make sure to say good bye and come again soon. They will leave the table and on the table will be dirty dishes and your tip. That money is yours so put it in your pocket first before clearing the table.

 

That's all there is to it really. It takes about 2 days to get confident serving food. But once you get a rhythm going you will do well. Sometimes if you do a good job the guests will return and ask for you personally by name. These are special guests you must take good care of them. They came back and asked for you because they liked how you did the last time. And they will definitely be leaving a tip similar to the one they gave you last time or even bigger.

 

Just rinse and repeat this process and you will have around 4-6 tables a day depending on how busy the restaurant is. It is certainly a stressful job it is not easy. You will be asked to clean the tables off, possibly do some sweeping and mopping. Moving the tables and chairs around. One of the cool things i learned while training as as server is how to roll silverware. Its actually kinda fun lol.

 

A Few Pros and Cons:

 

As i stated before I did not want to enter the restaurant game because there are things about it I knew going in i wasn't going to like. But there are many good and bad things about being a server.

 

Pros:

 

Most restaurants allow you to take the tips you make home every time you work. It is a great feeling to be able to do this. You earn money much faster than waiting for your check every two weeks. Not to mention you still get a check plus the tips you make.

 

 

Some restaurants give discounts to employees! Taking your family to the restaurant and getting a discount is also nice.

 

Working in a restaurant is relatively stable work and easy work to get. Restaurants have very high turn over rates. So there is always a restaurant somewhere near you that can use a hand.

 

Cons:

 

As stated before, Kitchens can be messy places. You will be getting dirty every day you work. That is true regardless of which restaurant. My first day of work some sauce spilled on my shirt and pants all the way on to my shoes.You will have to frequently go into the kitchen and you will come home smelling like food everyday.

 

Not all customers are good customers. It is a fact that some people try to get things for free. Sometimes people will come in and start complaining even though everything is fine. They are doing this because they know the louder they scream the more likely the management is to give in and give them what they want. I had a table that said everything was perfect but they refused to pay full price because they claim "they waited forever". The chefs pushed the food out relatively quickly and it was clear they were making it up. You will occasionally get a customer like this and they will not tip you. This is ok but it can be discouraging to work very hard trying to make someone else happy only for them not to tip you.

 

If and when something goes wrong, You (as a server) will be blamed. If the food took too long to come out that is not your fault, The chefs prepare the food not you. But the customers don't see the chefs. So they blame you. Making small mistakes can be used as justification for them not to tip you. As such serving food is mostly about common sense. Don't serve french fries if your table doesn't have ketchup.

 

Your feet will hurt. You will be walking all day long at a fast pace on a hard floor. Most servers actually don't get a "lunch break" because you simply cant afford one. Remember you are working for tips. If you take an hour lunch break ... you have missed an hour's worth of tips. Possibly 2 or 3 tables you could have done.

 

You are expendable and you are competing with your fellow servers. When restaurants need to save money the first people to lose their jobs are the servers. Simply because they can be easily replaced. It is sad but true. But there is a plus side. If you get let go. Don't get depressed. You have gained experience working in a restaurant. Most managers don't want to hire people who don't have previous restaurant experience because they take longer to train. The skills you learn in one restaurant translate to other restaurants one way or another. You are always competing with your fellow servers. Primarily over how many tables you get during your shift. If you get more tables than the other servers you have more opportunity to get more tips. Vice Versa. If you don't get as many tables, someone else is.

 

Most people between the ages of 16-25 are looking for work right now. I implore you to go to the closest restaurants around your area and ask if they are hiring servers. You'd be surprised to know that most are. I hope this little guide helps if you do decide on it!