Welcome to The Waiting Game of Oakland County

“IT” is not too enticing. Certainly isn’t a white-collar career. You don’t even need a degree.

 

It’s not knowing how much you’ll bring in on any given day. A slow week could mean late or even unpaid bills. It’s adding insult to injury- tipping out a chunk of what you make every day to other workers who may not have done anything for you, and then having to pay for parking as well. It’s having someone order $165 worth of food and then stiff you on the tip, or better yet having someone dine and dash. Little do they know, although it is illegal for a company to do so (at least in MI), the restaurant may make the server cover that tab out of their own pocket.

It’s putting up with people’s attitudes, and trying to not have one yourself- from parents with ill-disciplined children and needy Gucci-toting yoga moms to dealing with the rudeness in other cultures. It’s having to greet that last table that walks in 5 minutes before the kitchen closes, and then being stuck at work for another two hours.

It’s just like the movie…with the exception of messing with the guests’ meals.

It’s sexual harassment. It’s working at a private restaurant with no superior to the chain of command. It’s being blacklisted from any other serving job in the city if you open your mouth to file a report because the owner has the Chief of Police in his pocket.

It’s mind games.

It’s learning to shit or get off the pot.

You need a thick skin, because something as silly as this can leave you a very hardened person. The stress can boil you down to be nothing more than a mere eggshell, too fragile, expected to crack at any moment. You've got to learn how to juggle, and let what's not important just roll off your back.

It’s a stepping stone, a place to keep your balance long enough before you leap onto something bigger and better in this life.

Then again, it could always be worse. This is the world of waiting. Welcome to a day in the life of your average server.

My hopes in this blog are to offer a little insight from the person taking your order...perhaps anecdotes, a lesson here or there, maybe even what to keep an eye on as a customer- or just some humor.

-LM

img. taken from www.sarcasticreviews.com