The skills we have!

Have you ever been told: "You're just a waiter/server!" LMAO!!!!

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn Son!!

Firstly, no!

Secondly, I bet you ain't walked a day in our shoes nor would your ass last a week! The skills we have obtained through sweat and blood are as follows (but not limited to):

Patience.

Mannnnnn.....oh MAN!!! The number of times I wanted to throw out complete brats or had to work with incompetent colleagues...Breathe and continue...it'll pass and pass it does! If you're religious, you can ask your God/Goddess/Gods for patience to put up with the mother****er because if you grant me strength, murder will happen!

Acting.

Remember those extremely difficult customers or absolute brats that we have to deal with and still be professional whilst we've found 14 different ways to stab their thighs in the space of 3 seconds? All that going on INSIDE of you while your face and voice showed nothing but professionalism. That my friend is nothing short of GREAT acting. I'm very certain the more experienced of us can give Holywood a run for their money.

Remaining Calm.

It does tie in a little with the above-mentioned so I won't go over those again. We work in a high-stress level environment, with many things to be doing, and staying on top of it requires us to be calm...not at all suited for those mentally weak.

The ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment & work well under pressure.

Survival of the fittest is tested here to the extreme, the weak won't stay! There is rarely when you have "one job"...taking care of tables, drinks& food orders, allergies, recommendations, the way you speak to different people, the kitchen needing food served out, you're running out of cutlery, another table needing to be cleaned. This is base level, soon it becomes second nature and you get it all done without realising.

Excellent communication and problem-solving skills.

Assuming you are in a great team, no doubt you'll have all come together after a shift for a few wind-down drinks or have a small meeting highlighting problems that have surfaced during the previous service, what was done at that moment in time, what was the result and if there are any suggestions to prevent or solve it in future. This also incorporates the skill of listening, a very important but usually never learned skill. You'd want to stay in touch with these guys, this level of inclusiveness and respect for each other as human beings in a team is rare.

The ability to be resourceful in difficult situations.

Sometimes we have to make do with what we have! This attribute is closely tight in with problem-solving skills. The best examples I can give was from a few years back, the kitchen was having one of those days where they couldn't get into their rhythm and was missing things left right, and centre...naturally, the front-of-house folks got the brunt of the abuse from customers. One particular table couldn't get the food served at all in a timely manner and was extremely upset and becoming difficult. I explained that we are very sorry for the unusual service as we are extremely busy, if they needed to leave, I can give them another round of drinks free and comp the drinks they've had but will require payment for the food that did come out (which was a couple of starter items). As they finished the drinks and paid what little food they had, I gave them £40 voucher with no expirery date should they ever want to give us one more chance. A mumbling of thanks and off they went. The other situation: there was a customer in a party of 4, poor girl was allergic to a ton load of things and basically everything on the menu. So I asked her what could she have and what flavours was she looking for...now because i was on good terms and good communications with the kitchen, I knew exactly what we had that day, so I ended up making the customer something like a vegan friend Poke Bowl with ponzu dressing and a mizo soup on the side. She was very happy to got something especially made for her and ate EVERYTHING. In both instances, I only utilised what I already have or made something within my boundaries of free reign without costing the place of work anything. Sure it seems like I gave free things away for the customers in the first example but they have since returned many times over and are fairly generous with their tipping...I count that as a win.

Develop excellent organisational and time management skills, as well as an understanding of food and beverage preparation and service.

If things aren't set up to maximise efficiency then how can we maximise the efficiency of our work during our allocated time? Again, we have LOADS of things to do, knowing when to do certain tasks, how to do those tasks and who best to do those tasks are high-level organisation skills, especially when a team member calls in sick. You know your team members inside out, who does that best and the next best if the choice person isn't able to do it. Who can take on a more tedious task that takes more time whilst giving out other small but crucial tasks to a high-speed performer. Excellent organisational skills = excellent time management skills!

Body language reading.

Knowing how to interact with new customers is a must-have skill, and I use it all the time. But before I even start talking to them, I make sure to check out their body language to see how comfortable they are. Stuff like their posture, facial expressions, eye contact, and smile can give you a pretty good idea of what they're feeling, are they ready to engage in conversation, have questions to ask, or are ready to order.

If they seem more reserved, it might be because they're confident or just a little shy. These folks usually like to be left alone while they eat, and they prefer to keep things professional. So, I try to adjust my approach to fit their style.

By paying attention to all these nonverbal cues, I can quickly figure out how to best connect with each customer. It's important to remember that their mood might change during their meal, so I try to keep checking in with them to make sure everything's cool.

So yeah, I'm not "just a waiter", you're NOT "just a waiter". We have skills obtained or beaten into us through experiences of our own or from others. Heck, you could be the hero that changed the customer's day from terrible to bearable

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