Your Service Job Is Not a Waste of Time

Being a waitress for 7 years prepared me for my career

I’ve been a waitress for 7 years.

I started working in restaurants when I was 16. I still remember when I got my first (tiny) salary that went entirely into my savings. Even then, I had a dream: to be the first of my family to go to university and move from a small, close-minded town to Milan, where I could find the buzz I was looking for.

I was so happy and excited to see month after month my savings grow and my dream getting closer.

But while my long-term goals were happy, I was miserable.

During college, my peers were doing unpaid internships in the winter and having awesome trips and vacations in the summer; in the meantime, I was still there earning 7 euros an hour just to survive. Finding myself on Saturday nights washing dirty dishes in a kitchen way too small and too hot, and often having to watch — from a small window — my classmates all dressed up and having fun, killed me.

In those moments and in many other moments that followed, the only thing I could hear between the cooks’ screams and the cheesy jazz playlist that I knew by heart was just one voice.

That voice would crawl into my head to haunt me and say:

You are wasting your time.

It’s only since I stopped being a waitress altogether and landed a new job at a creative agency in Milan that I came to realize one thing: it wasn’t wasted time at all.

Dealing With Clients While Maintaining Composure

Customers who treated me like crap, clients who called me sweetie trying to hit on me, bosses who showed up for work after doing coke.

I have to say, I’ve collected quite a number of wild stories.

While I hope that it’s not like this everywhere, we all know that working in service involves regularly dealing with annoying customers. It’s part of the job. But then, isn’t it part of every job?

When someone mistreats you, try to put yourself in his shoes. Maybe he had a stressful day. Maybe she’s going through something. Try to have empathy. It’s not immediate; it develops over time. In some cases, however, it’s just not worth engaging and stressing out over other people’s behavior. Focus on the present and on yourself when you feel overwhelmed.

I found this skill very helpful when dealing with clients in my current job. Clients who change their minds every two days get angry even when I do what they wanted me to do. I think out their situation and try to understand things from their point of view. Most importantly, I don’t take it (too) personally.

Whether it’s your boss, clients, suppliers, or coworkers, the ability to deal with bad-mannered people is a precious skill to acquire and will help you in any job.

Quick Problem-Solving

When you’re working as a waitress, you must have eyes everywhere and be alert all the time. One time a client laid a snake on the counter. Alive. He thought it was funny. He was curious to see my reaction. It was certainly different from the usual things you see, like the empty mug of coffee that needs a refill.

Look for patterns in problems that emerge in the workplace. Prepare ahead.

Do you know that a bachelorette party will break some glasses? Keep your broom and shovel close. You know there’s going to be screaming kids running around the restaurant? Set up a diversion to distract them, have at hand some crayons, and some papers to draw on.

Even now, having a short reaction time remains a useful mindset.

Unforeseen situations are always around the corner. It could be a deadline that wasn’t anticipated or materials that aren’t delivered in time.

Once, I went with my company to an event, and the microphone we had for shooting a video there wasn’t working; we ended up recording with an iPhone. From then on, I always brought a spare one with me just in case.

Having the ability to look for patterns in problems and solve them quickly will do you wonders in any work environment. And you won’t get killed by snakes.

Building Relationships

Customers are often the most challenging part of the job, but sometimes they’re also the most rewarding one.

Every time I remembered a regulars order or anticipated their request, I was always greeted with a surprised smile on their part. For example, if they brought their dog, you could ask what its name is, bring them a bowl of water, show some interest. Tip guaranteed.

Give attention. People are no longer used to having consideration tailored directly to them.

It’s the small gestures that can create a human relationship with customers.

Working for so many years interacting with so many different people taught me how to adapt my tone and attitude to them. Now every time in my office that we have to come up with a target for a specific product, I can outline any kind of persona in exhaustive detail.

Learning how to treat different types of people will transform into a powerful database that you can store inside your brain.

Always Be Positive, and Smile

In service jobs, you have to smile, always.

Even when your feet hurt, even after a 10-hour shift, you have to keep a positive attitude.

But how to do that? Remember that even serving tables is an important job, and you can create a relaxing and fun situation for customers. You have the power to keep them away from their problems for a few hours.

Your smile could bring some joy to someone who truly needed it that day.

This is one of the biggest rewards, and it’s adaptable to any situation: you learn how to try and be your best even when you don’t feel like it. You learn how to be positive and keep going even when all you want to do is to give up.

You develop grit.

I don’t regret having served tables for so many years; I’m proud of it. It gave me a solid work ethic, teaching me to juggle between hard work and passions from a young age. The cherry on top is that it filled me with loads of gratitude for my current position.

If you feel stuck in a job that is not your dream one, remember that every experience can teach you something if you want.

The huge difference is that it’s all in your mindset — if you want to learn and grow as a person or if you don’t.

At some point in their lives, everyone has to do something just because, without passion, without enthusiasm.

Why just show up, get tired, and go home?

If you can be your best in a job you don’t like, when the time comes and you’ll be doing the job you were waiting for, you’ll thrive.

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