So you want to be a Server?

So you want to be a server? Like many young people, you may have heard about the benefits of working in the restaurant industry. Things like cash tips and a flexible schedule separate this job from other 9-5s. There are difficulties too though. A few include long hours, late nights, difficult customers, and overbearing managers. From my own experience, I will say that serving can be fun and lucrative. Also, despite all the training, serving standards aren’t that different from restaurant to restaurant. I’ve worked in everything from behind the deli counter to the highest in fine dining. Through my ins and outs of the industry, I’ve found that there is one chief characteristic I like about serving- you are the determiner of your income. The quality of service you deliver will directly impact your checkbook.

So why do some servers love their job and others don’t? Why do some guests request the same waiter time and again? Most importantly, how do some make plenty of cash and others struggle to pay the bills? I’m here to help answer these questions in this blog ServingSmart.

Whether you’re working at IHOP or The Cheesecake Factory, I believe you can make money. I believe in certain characteristics that every quality server must have to make it in this industry. The best part? It’s not hard. Frankly, most of it is common sense.

Throughout the next six months, I will add material like: how to interview for a restaurant, how to make $100 in 2 hours (how the math works), and basic knowledge needed to sell beer and wine. I will call on past and current managers, coworkers, and bartenders. I will do as much research as required to make the information accurate and current. The inspiration for this has come from my experience at fantastic companies and the contrast I’ve found with poor management at others. For example, once you’ve worked for Disney, every other job’s training program looks subpar. Restaurants have individual new hire programs but the quality of each is vastly different. Also, they can’t say certain things that I think I will help a server just starting out. I can say whatever I want. It’s up to you whether you think it’s valuable or not.

So, without further ado, thank you for reading and I hope you find something of value in the material that follows. Welcome to ServingSmart.

-Drew