There should be mandatory service for young people in this country. No, I'm not thinking of military service or community service. What I have in mind is restaurant service. That's right, you should be required to be a waiter or waitress for a certain amount of time before you graduate from college.
I have learned more lessons about life during my tenure as a restaurant waiter than I have in practically anything else I've ever done. The seemingly dull task of serving food to people manages to impart valuable lessons about emotional maturity, grace under pressure, doing your best and perhaps the most valuable lesson of all: how to convince people to give you money.
Before becoming a waiter, I was a difficult customer. On one egregious occasion, I initiated a senseless argument with a Hooters waitress over whether the lettuce in my salad was romaine or iceberg. Looking back on it, I am convinced every picky customer I serve and every bad tip I get is fate's well-deserved payback for that incident.
As I eventually found out, waiting tables can be hard. Each of your five or six tables demands items and expect their delivery with both speed and—if you want a good tip—charisma. You won't always have time to write things down, so you must keep multiple tasks in your mind and deal with them all in such a way that no table feels neglected.
At any given time, you will have to do all of the following things simultaneously: carry a huge tray of food with one hand, set specific dishes in front of specific people with the other hand, handle the details that can make or break your tip (drink refills, extra napkins, Tabasco sauce, etc.), conduct a charm offensive on your customers and avoid crashing into people and spilling things.
Sound exhausting? It is. But multitasking and remaining cool under pressure are vital skills that get better with practice. Acquiring these skills in a restaurant will give you experience and confidence that will serve you well in job situations down the road.
If you can multitask calmly and quickly while still being personable, all the better. Substance is important, but for better or worse, style counts. Don't overlook the importance of personality and presentation for connecting with people and turning their money into yours.
Sometimes a customer will chew you out for something that isn't your fault or something that is obviously trivial. In this case, you have three options:
First, you can remind him or her that there is genocide happening in Sudan at this very moment and that he or she should drop the petty complaints and give thanks for being born into a life of privilege in the United States.
Second, you can submit to your primal instincts and punch the aggrieved customer in the face.
Third, you can listen to the customer's complaint and promise to do your best to accommodate his or her wishes.
Option No. 3 may be the least satisfying, but it is the most profitable in the long run. Remember, this isn't about your pride, but rather your skill at making money. Achieving emotional maturity involves maintaining self-control, choosing your battles and keeping sight of the big picture. Waiting tables is an excellent way to develop your sense of when you should take a stand and when it is to your advantage to play the customer's game.
Finally, on some days you may do everything perfectly but still get a bad tip. This is an example of life being unfair, and it's a truth you just have to accept. No matter how accomplished you are, it's healthy to be reminded from time to time that it isn't all about you. Worry about the things you can control and don't corrode your psyche by dwelling on the things you can't.
So if you're looking to do some service this semester, my advice is to get a real job and wait tables for awhile. It pays handsomely, both in dollars and in life experience.
