Looking For Waitress Jobs? This Is What You Need To Know

A waitress job is mostly looked down on by a lot of people. They might think that it’s an easy job that doesn’t require any skills or potentials, but in fact, a waitress can be an excellent job opportunity for a lot of women. If you are still trying to figure out your dream career, still a student, or thinking of methods to support yourself, it would be perfect for you.

Working as a waitress would teach you a lot and develop your personality. Besides that, restaurants and cafés are most people’s favorite places, as they contain food, lovely music, and great company. They witness a lot of warm life events; birthdays, marriage proposals, and career promotions. Your role would be completing these happy vibes by serving people and helping them spend their favorite moments. It’s fun, right?

If you’re not convinced enough, here are five reasons why to be a waitress.

1- Physical health improvement

Being a waitress is one of the most jobs that require constant moving. You take orders, moving from one table to another, carrying foods and drinks, and serving them. You’d use your hands, arms, feet, and even your face muscles.

2- Getting to meet new people daily

Your job revolves around meeting people and dealing with them. There are diverse human beings with different personalities and various tendencies. It’s a new adventure every day with exploring all of these individuals and learning more about them.

3- Receiving tips

Your salary is not the only source of cash. The amount of tips is defined by your level of service and your friendliness. You’d always be having cash in your purse.

4- Work-life balance

For waitresses, what happens at work stays at work. You don’t have to bring extra exam papers to correct at home or work on company documents for the next day. Once you take off your uniform, it’s already done.

5- A constant self-development

A waitress always needs to work on herself, to get better tips and offer a better service. You’d never get bored, as you’ll always be learning new things and adding to your personality.
Are you excited enough to work as a waitress? Here are some skills you need to learn or at least have the potential for developing before getting into that field.

1- Social skills

It would help if you learned how to balance between friendliness and professionalism. It’s also essential to know how to start conversations with people and deal with awkward situations.

2- Multitasking

You’ll be taking orders, serving food, talking to customers, suggesting them specials, and trying to be quick, all at the same time. If you don’t know how to multitask, you’ll lose your mind in less than two days.

3- Memorizing

We understand that some people face trouble when memorizing stuff, but you at least have to try. Remembering what’s on the menu makes you sound more knowledgeable and helpful. It would also be great to know the ingredients if any customer is allergic to certain kinds of food.

4- Working with a team

You won’t be working on your own. Other servers help to leave all customers satisfied. Being friendly with your workmates is essential, as you both will help each other whenever there’s work pressure. Smile to your co-workers and be nice to them as you are to the customers.

5- Anger control

Any work has its pros and cons; being a waiter means meeting many customers that might get on your nerves. Some might complain about the quality of food, and others would yell because of late service. You have to be patient and in control of your feelings to keep your job.

6- Creating boundaries

Sometimes we forget about creating boundaries for people in our personal lives, but at some point, we have to learn how to manage that. That also applies to professional life. The art of saying no is not easy to understand, as it comes with a lot of practice and repetitive situations.
Now that you’ve learned about the skills to obtain before starting your job, here are dos and don’ts to help you be a successful and outstanding waitress.

Dos:

1- Be unique and natural

You want to make customers always remember you as a unique character, not just one of the waitresses. That would make them get back to the place to see you and communicate with you. Adding a simple piece of accessories that makes you stand out is a good idea. People will remember you with it.

Try to be natural and be yourself. Customers don’t feel comfortable around fake people. Start the conversation by introducing yourself and never stop smiling. That would break the ice and make clients more comfortable in your restaurant.

2- Make clients feel special

Everyone likes that feeling of being unique. You can do that by personalizing customers’ orders according to their preferences. Ask them about their favorite food, if they have any allergies and if they would like to try new stuff.

You can also talk a bit about the foods or drinks you prefer from the menu and recommend stuff for them. Describe the ingredients of the recommended food or drink. Eventually, leave them a thank you note when getting the check. That would raise your tips.

3- Turn indecent requests down politely

Being a female and working in this field is pretty hard. You would meet a lot of customers who may make inappropriate requests. You have to be ready to deal with that in a way that helps you keep your job and dignity at the same time.

Once you hear that kind of requests, take these steps:

• Act Firm and confident
• Smile
• Take a deep breath
• Don’t say no in a direct way
• You can say something like, “I am sorry, sir, but this isn’t included in my job description.”
• You can also say, “I would report your request to my manager, sir.”
• Something like, “Please leave your suggestion in our suggestion box” would also be cool.
• Change the topic and mention something related to work immediately.

4- Choose suitable clothes

If your restaurant doesn’t offer you a uniform, you’d have to choose your clothes. Always try to make decent choices by selecting simple outfits. They should always be clean and ironed. Hygiene comes first. It would be great if they express your personality and make you feel comfortable wearing them.

Pay attention not to wear any expensive jewelry or watches. That would make customers feel uncomfortable and would make them wonder why they should ever tip you. Keep your jewelry regular and simple.

Don’ts:

1- Be over-friendly

Being over-friendly might give customers a false impression about you and might affect your boundaries. It’s essential to know what to say and when to stop saying it. Please avoid mentioning any personal details. Keep your jokes to the minimum and stick to the appropriate ones.

Don’t communicate physically at all, even if you’re a touchy person in your personal life. You might be invading someone’s space by doing that. It may also represent an allowance for people to cross their lines and make you feel uncomfortable.

2- Deal with everyone in the same way

People are diverse, so you cannot deal with them all in the same way. Some people might need constant checking of you to their tables. Some others wouldn’t like you to be there all the time. Try to understand hints and signs.

If someone isn’t friendly, don’t push them to interact with you. If two people have an intimate conversation, don’t interrupt them. That would be so annoying, which is not helpful or friendly as you intend.

3- Complain in front of customers

Even if your day is pressuring, you have to mask your feelings away from customers; please show positive vibes to people around you. Please pay attention to your facial expressions, as sometimes we don’t know how we express our feelings through our faces.

Try to smile continuously. Whenever there’s a pressuring situation, take a deep breath and try to relax. It’s okay to have too much work, but most problems are solvable, as long as you are calm enough to think and find suitable solutions for them.

4- Avoid self-care

Your job is stressful and overwhelming; that’s why it’s essential to pay attention to physical health, mental health, and personal hygiene.

Try to do exercises daily. You can go for easy stuff like running or practicing yoga. It’s common to forget about your meals, while you’re too busy, but try to prepare them one day earlier or on weekends. Also, personal hygiene affects your health and your appearance. Your job mainly depends on dealing with other people, so you always have to be fresh.

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