The Truth Behind Serving, Is It Worth It?

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Have you ever had someone curse you out and make racial comments? Luckily, I haven't, but this has happened to servers across the globe. Most people think serving is easy, profitable, and comes with very few problems. In most cases, it's the opposite.


The Good Days

Serving has its good moments. There are days when you'll make 100s of dollars and have no issues. You'll get those compliments that say, "You're so amazing" and "You did a good job." Oh, how I wish every shift was like that. But those are not the only great things about serving. 

What I love about serving is not just the money but the stories I hear from customers. Some servers may think that tables that talk a lot are boring or are oversharers. Personally, I love to have conversations with my customers, and in most cases, the longer the talk, the better. It makes the encounter less transactional and more 

The Bad Days


And there are days when everything will go wrong. Where you do everything physically possible to provide amazing, almost perfect service, and still the customer complains. Or, which is even worse in my opinion, you'll do exceptional work, going above and beyond, just for the customer not to tip you. It makes servers question why they even serve in the first place. 

We asked several servers about all their bad experiences, and here's what they said:
  1. "Some guy threw up in front of me and told me to go clean it up." - Jomy
  2. "Had someone throw up on my shoes because they drank too much and didn't like that the bathroom was a long walk." - Mady
  3. "Tell me why I had a customer complain that the unsweetened iced tea was sweet, literally after she added sweeteners to it. Like, you can't make this stuff up." - Elijah
  4. "There was a night shift where I had a woman complain about not being able to use her Pancoins (IHOP Rewards) when she printed out a picture of the reward, but not the code to go with it. So, as we tell her we can't redeem it because there is no code, she starts screaming at us. And when I call my manager, she screams over the phone to her and forces my manager to give her the item taken off, plus an extra 30% off. These are the kind of people who make me hate my job." - Elijah

Overall, serving has its ups and downs. Some days you'll walk away with money, and others you'll walk away crying, no money, and hating all your life choices. This post was not to make you hate serving, but knowing the pros and cons of serving before you start working there is vital to lasting long in the service industry. 

That's all for now. Teenwork_servers signing off.

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