Waiting tables sucks.

[UglyCasanova]

I graduated with a degree in finance recently and am on the prowl for my first "real" job, but until then I am stuck doing the same god awful thing that I have done for the past 8 years: waiting tables. It does pay the bills, but at the same time it utterly drains your soul.

Thing thing I am most looking forward to (other than a paycheck) is getting rid of the server dreams. I dream about waiting tables and being in the weeds without ever being able to catch up at least 5 nights a week. In what is supposed to be my most relaxed, carefree state I am still working.

The job will come soon, but until then...ugh.

 

[thomsbrain]

Been there, its a very draining job, physically and mentally.

 

[tatteredpotato]

Yea everyone I know who waits tables HATES it... it's a screwed up situation.

 

[kranky]

Out of curiosity, how much of a difference do the customers make to how you see the job? Would you hate it no matter what, or do how the customers act make a difference?

 

[Brainonska511]

Out of curiosity, how much of a difference do the customers make to how you see the job? Would you hate it no matter what, or do how the customers act make a difference?

Back in HS, I was a cashier at a local grocery store. Most customers were pretty uninspiring - scan groceries, they pay, whatever. A few were nasty - like super special bagging requirements and demanded lots of price checks, rude, etc... and those people could ruin your day or make your day, depending on your mood. Then there were a few exceptionally nice people, and they always brightened my day, which would usually start off pretty crappy because I was a cashier in a grocery store.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Not everyone is cut out to be a waiter. I believe that to make a career out of food service, you have to have the gift of giving service.

 

[Imp]

I bitch about my job; underpaid for degree (still probably double OP) and sit around for days at a time with nothing to do (some would wish for that), so I should shut up...

 

[UglyCasanova]

Out of curiosity, how much of a difference do the customers make to how you see the job? Would you hate it no matter what, or do how the customers act make a difference?

The customers are the mental drain. There is an unwritten social contract here in America when you go out to eat. I give you good service, and you pay me accordingly. It is my job of course to hold up my end of the deal, I provide you with whatever you may need in a friendly manner in order for you to enjoy your meal. When the customer fails to uphold their end of the deal then I feel both cheated and taken advantage of (I make $2 an hour otherwise). When this goes on time after time after time for years on end, one can become a very bitter person indeed.

I do have to fulfill my end of the deal however, and if something went wrong over the course of the meal then of course I wouldn't expect the tip I otherwise would have received. I've been doing this long enough to know damn well what good service is though, and 9 times out of 10 when I get a sh!tty tip everything went fine. The customer says "Thanks, everything was great!" and when I get to the table they left me $8 on a $100 ticket.

 

[Syringer]

I bitch about my job; underpaid for degree (still probably double OP) and sit around for days at a time with nothing to do (some would wish for that), so I should shut up...

Wow you're cool.

 

[0roo0roo]

http://www.amazon.com/Mind-At-Work-I.../dp/0670032824

 

[Gigantopithecus]

"Thanks, everything was great!" and when I get to the table they left me $8 on a $100 ticket.

I can think of eight ways it could be worse.

 

[JS80]

At least you make $50-100k for such a skill-less useless trade.

 

[JS80]

The customers are the mental drain. There is an unwritten social contract here in America when you go out to eat. I give you good service, and you pay me accordingly. It is my job of course to hold up my end of the deal, I provide you with whatever you may need in a friendly manner in order for you to enjoy your meal. When the customer fails to uphold their end of the deal then I feel both cheated and taken advantage of (I make $2 an hour otherwise). When this goes on time after time after time for years on end, one can become a very bitter person indeed.

I do have to fulfill my end of the deal however, and if something went wrong over the course of the meal then of course I wouldn't expect the tip I otherwise would have received. I've been doing this long enough to know damn well what good service is though, and 9 times out of 10 when I get a sh!tty tip everything went fine. The customer says "Thanks, everything was great!" and when I get to the table they left me $8 on a $100 ticket.

Why should they give you more than $8? Hell, why should they give you anything?

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

At least you make $50-100k for such a skill-less useless trade.

Why should they give you more than $8? Hell, why should they give you anything?

Thars yor problem OP, you been waitin' on ATOTers.

 

[KK]

How long did you wait on that table with the 100 dollar ticket? How many other tables did you have at the same time?

 

[BoomerD]

Move to a state that doesn't treat tipped employees like second-class citizens. Many states require tipped employees to get the full minimum wage (plus tips)...not the sub-standard $2.13 (plus tips) that is the federal minimum for tipped workers.

 

[JEDI]

I graduated with a degree in finance recently and am on the prowl for my first "real" job, but until then I am stuck doing the same god awful thing that I have done for the past 8 years: waiting tables. It does pay the bills, but at the same time it utterly drains your soul.

Thing thing I am most looking forward to (other than a paycheck) is getting rid of the server dreams. I dream about waiting tables and being in the weeds without ever being able to catch up at least 5 nights a week. In what is supposed to be my most relaxed, carefree state I am still working.

The job will come soon, but until then...ugh.

why do you hate it?

 

[paulney]

All aboard the tipping thread! Don't forget your flamethrowers and holier-than-thou attitudes!

 

[JEDI]

Move to a state that doesn't treat tipped employees like second-class citizens. Many states require tipped employees to get the full minimum wage (plus tips)...not the sub-standard $2.13 (plus tips) that is the federal minimum for tipped workers.

in Va, you dont even need to be paid $2.13.

just work for tips

at least thats what the waitresses at my local pool hall say

 

[DainBramaged]

lol...OP, I haven't heard the phrase "in the weeds" for a long time. thanks for bringing it back.

Red Lobster vet

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

lol...OP, I haven't heard the phrase "in the weeds" for a long time. thanks for bringing it back.

Red Lobster vet

You're "86'd."

 

[olds]

lol...OP, I haven't heard the phrase "in the weeds" for a long time. thanks for bringing it back.

Red Lobster vet

I thought the same thing when I read that.
<--- Ex worked at Red Lobster

 

[LumbergTech]

When you say 8 dollars on a $100 dollar ticket does that mean the food is expensive or that they ordered a lot of it?

For me, how much I give the person has to do with how much crap they have to haul out to the table and how much maintenance it requires. If they just have to drop 1 or two small meals off and I'm not excessive on drink refills, I don't feel obligated to try to make up for the fact that the person doesn't get paid much.

 

[CraigRT]

When you say 8 dollars on a $100 dollar ticket does that mean the food is expensive or that they ordered a lot of it?

For me, how much I give the person has to do with how much crap they have to haul out to the table and how much maintenance it requires. If they just have to drop 1 or two small meals off and I'm not excessive on drink refills, I don't feel obligated to try to make up for the fact that the person doesn't get paid much.

I gotta agree with this. If people are waited on only once or twice and no refills, etc, its really not going to be quite as big of a tip. If the server is really nice and stuff though I will tend to tip more.

 

[Syringer]

The beauty of what I see in America is that you should, and are able to move up from waiting tables. It shouldn't be a career choice, and not something you strive to be for the rest of your life.

For people that hate it, they have the option to go to school, as the OP has chosen, to move up the latter, or to just find another job. It shouldn't necessarily be a job of glamour or even one that's super high paying, otherwise there'd be little aspiration to try to move up in life.

But, for those with no ambitions or no desire to climb the ladder in life, it's a perfectly suitable job to pay the bills while not having any true skills.