The good, the bad

I love my job, I honestly do, although on some days you can’t tell it and you would question why I keep returning day after day. I am a waitress, or if you prefer the PC term, I am a server.

Serving has been about the only job I’ve ever had since high school. I took a brief time off to help out distant relatives with their real estate magazine, and when I moved, I couldn’t find a serving job anywhere in Wilmington, so I gave retail a go. I hated both the office job and retail with a fiery passion and couldn’t wait to get back to waiting on tables.

Some of the same reasons that I have for liking my job can often be the same reasons I hate it. For instance, the biggest reason why I both love and hate my job is people.

Not only in my job am I doing people a service, I am able to get to know them as well as I can within a twenty-minute timeframe. Most customers also want to know about me, which is where I really get to tell them some of the things I’m most proud of – where I’m from, how I got to Wilmington, my major, how much longer I have in school, and what I’m going to do after graduation. A stranger isn’t going to judge me, nor do they really have to know how long I’ve been in school, like most of my family members.

There is the occasional regular that comes in the restaurant and I’m able to share more and more, but I hardly see the same face twice. Every shift is different. People with different faces, different personalities, and different orders; after all, I’ve only had one person order a pineapple and artichoke heart pizza.

People with children also make my shift difficult. It’s not the kid’s fault they don’t know the difference between right and wrong, and if parents allow them to dump all the sugar and Equal from the caddy, that’s fine, as long as they keep that in mind when it comes time to leave a tip.

Sometimes I wonder why people want to come eat at 11:45, 15 minutes before I’m ready to leave. When they do, that puts me behind another half hour, at the least, and for a tip that could barely buy me a soda and a pack of crackers. The only reason I have a job in the first place is to pay my bills, and I can’t do that without customers; however, no one likes to be stuck at work any longer than they absolutely have to, especially with homework to do or parties to attend.

I’m very thankful that so many people do so on a daily bases. My job, although physically demanding, is one of the easiest there is, besides working at McDonald’s, and I truly love what I do. Sometimes, I do wish that the folks who dine out were required to work in my shoes for a day. If they did, long hours would be the only reason I hate my job.