Would You Like Fries With That?
Well, I just started a new job (Memorial Day in America) as a waitress (or "server" to use my older sister's preferred term). It's my first time working in the service industry (previous jobs: student lab assistant, legal assistant, and teacher) but it doesn't require too much training and it's a job I can quit with little guilt if I have to (if I move in the fall semester to pursue a new degree). I can't do that as a legal assistant; an office has to invest too much effort for me to just leave... Anyway, I've just been chillin' these past two weeks in America, well, doing cleaning and other unpleasant chores (my family's clutter never ceases to give me migraines, I may complain in detail in a separate post), and I talked my mom into joining a health club with me so we've been exercising a lot.
Anyway, today was slow at the restaurant -- it's a Sports Bar & Grill -- so I mostly shadowed two of the other servers. They're really nice, partially because everyone at the restaurant knows my sister because she works at a nearby Mexican restaurant owned by the same family and comes to the Sports Bar a lot. One of the servers told me how great of a server my sister is, apparently she's a rare server who can smoothly handle 8 tables at the same time, whereas 4 is a max for a lot of people. (Unlike Japan, American servers are expected to pay a lot of attention to the customers). LOL.
I did wait two tables and it went OK; I got $5 tips from each table. My state doesn't require that servers be paid min. wage so I have to make up my salary from tips (so if you don't tip here, the servers really *hate* you because you're basically robbing them of their livelihood). I don't expect to make much until I get the hang of it and can handle several tables at once. I hope to put away some for school.
All of the kitchen staff speaks Spanish and limited English. I studied a lot of Spanish back in high school and college, so I can get the gist of what they're saying, but my instinct is to reply in Japanese. <.<
So, has anyone on my FL waited tables? Any tips? ^_^
:is really going to make an effort into finishing desynch:
Anyway, today was slow at the restaurant -- it's a Sports Bar & Grill -- so I mostly shadowed two of the other servers. They're really nice, partially because everyone at the restaurant knows my sister because she works at a nearby Mexican restaurant owned by the same family and comes to the Sports Bar a lot. One of the servers told me how great of a server my sister is, apparently she's a rare server who can smoothly handle 8 tables at the same time, whereas 4 is a max for a lot of people. (Unlike Japan, American servers are expected to pay a lot of attention to the customers). LOL.
I did wait two tables and it went OK; I got $5 tips from each table. My state doesn't require that servers be paid min. wage so I have to make up my salary from tips (so if you don't tip here, the servers really *hate* you because you're basically robbing them of their livelihood). I don't expect to make much until I get the hang of it and can handle several tables at once. I hope to put away some for school.
All of the kitchen staff speaks Spanish and limited English. I studied a lot of Spanish back in high school and college, so I can get the gist of what they're saying, but my instinct is to reply in Japanese. <.<
So, has anyone on my FL waited tables? Any tips? ^_^
:is really going to make an effort into finishing desynch: