waitressing [ first job ? ]?

Question

I'm 16. and i'm looking for my first job. someone suggested waitressing at my local family restaurant called Kings.

Obviously I've never been a waitress, so whats it like? easy...hard? a good first job? please tell me everything theres is to know about being a waitress. i wana know what it's like, to what you need to know, to how the pay is...everything you can tell me basically. PLEASE and THANK YOU.

tips.hints.advice...anything.
thanks :o)

oh. and what kinds of questions would they ask you at a waitressing job interview?

Answer 1

First off, waitressing is HARD WORK. You need to be very organized, perky, accommodating (the customer is always right,) strong (full trays are a killer on the back,) and above all, a good multi-tasker. There are long stretches of boredom followed by intense overload that can go on for hours. It takes a lot of practice to take care of the needs of everyone at several tables at once without forgetting something, and most customers aren't very forgiving. The pay is lousy, way below minimum wage, because they assume you're making tips. But you can be sure that if you mess up an order or forget something you won't always get much, if anything, in a tip. And then there are the tables that are super high maintenance and order like four big steak dinners and drinks only to stiff you completely on the tip despite your service with a smile.

Bottom line: a waitress can make good money after she's been doing it a long time and she's used to balancing a lot of requests all at the same time. But it can take months to get to that point. And it is heavy, physical work.

I wonder if you've thought about being a retail cashier as a first job. It would get you used to serving the public, teach you how to run a cash register, and you'd make a guaranteed hourly wage and not have to rely on tips. Just a thought.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Being a waitress IS a difficult job.. you have to smile when people are rude, you must not let a small tip get you down. You need a great pair of comfy shoes (you'll be on your feet your entire shift), Depending on the type of restaurant this is you will need to be super careful about your appearance and especially your attitude. The pay is usually about $2.15 and hour, but add tips to that and if it equals the minimum wage per hour, or more, that's what you make. Great tips go to the cheerful, attentive wait staff that goes the extra mile. If your tips and 2.15 don't equal the minimum, the employer has to add enough to bring it up to the min. A good thing about waitressing is that the rest of your life you will appreciate good wait folks, you'll understand what a tip means and you will understand if your favorite waiter/waitress is not quite as thrilled to see you one day out of 100. Oh, and if you have regulars, learn their names...if all you have is a first name, add a title to it, Miss Emily, Mr. Bob...might sound silly - but trust me...it counts!! Best wishes, and may all your tips be 30% !!! P.S.Questions that might be asked: Can you be flexible in your hours?, Can you take and pass a random blood test? How are your math skills? Have you ever been arrested?

Answer 3

The other two responders gave good answers. It is a hard job, but with tips you've got a shot at decent money.

If you are talking about the Kings in the sw PA area, it's a decent place (I eat there frequently), family type, and since they don't serve booze, you won't be dealing with the drunks so that might help some. Might be a better place to start as a waitress than some. Their servers seem to have decent training, and be friendly and competent - at least the ones I've run into.

Good luck.

Answer 4

Maybe they will hire you on as a server with no experience, but perhaps hostess would be a better position for you just starting out. A hostess greets and seats, basically, and keeps a fair rotation for the servers. You get a percentage of each server's tips at the end of the night. It really depends on how the establishment is set up.

If you are looking into serving, there are many things to consider. Are you good at retaining information in a hurry? Are you good at making multiple mental lists on the fly, as well as remembering what is on the menu?

Granted, some of these things take time to acquire, but the reality is that while servers are often looked down upon, they are some of the hardest workers out there. Constantly going back and forth between tables, remembering what goes to who and where, when it was ordered...

You are GOING to make mistakes...you are GOING to drop a finished meal on the way to a table...you will probably spill something on a table if not on someone...and you are going to have to deal with it gracefully, efficiently, and still keep all of your other tables in check.

I became rather disenchanted with the concept, as my first serving experience was at a fine dining establishment (white cloth napkins, actual silver, actual china and crystal glasses, etc.)...one morning, I'd been working in the kitchen and no one showed up to work the morning...and I got in a bus of 40 German tourists, all by myself (with one cook that lost his prep cook to being a server)...tipping in foreign countries is done differently (if at all)...the toaster broke, the first order I put in was the last to come off the line, and all six can openers mysteriously disappeared (I had the cook stabbing it open with a screwdriver)...another time (I believe my 3rd time serving there), I took a tray of champage flutes into the kitchen and met a waiter as he was coming out of the wrong door headon, broke them ALL and was soaked on top of it. Yet another time, the ice clustered at the bottom of my pitcher of ice water (this was as a busser), and I very gently tapped it to break the ice loose, and it gushed all over the table.

I'm not a clumsy person, nor do I lack intelligence...it's just the name of the game. And I was shy, to boot, so that didn't help.

...of course, that is an unusual cirumstance. If the owners have any brains, they won't start you off very big, and you probably won't get overwhelmed. Serving is a GREAT thing to learn because you can ALWAYS find a job with a bit of that under your belt.

My mother has been a server since she was 15, and now at 50 she is making somewhere around $220-$350 a night in tips. However, she made it her career, and is more focused and professional than most others. She's got battle stories and battle scars (sometimes, coffee pots explode, it just happens), but she is well loved and, when she changes restaurants, people follow her and become regulars.

Places like Outback have training courses (paid) that last probably 3 weeks. They drill the menu into you, go over approach tactics, carrying, etc...hopefully, the place you're working at will help you learn these things as well.

If you DO get the job, ask if you can take a few extra old trays home to practice carrying (and actually do so)! Not only will this help you improve your skills faster, but it will show your boss that you take initiative, which is ALWAYS a good thing. Practice carrying with various sized dishes, coffee cups, and

Another thing to remember is that, as a server, you are required to tip out at the end of the night. Any bussers, expos, host/hostesses, or bartenders (bartenders maybe not) each get a percentage of your tips, because their job is making yours easier.

I hope this helps...don't be afraid! I know that I've given you some negatives, but it is NEVER a bad thing to have serving experience, especially if you have owners that are okay with you being new and will take their time with you.

Best of luck - contact me if you have any questions!