Being a server is easy...NOT*

I have been told many times, “It can’t be that hard to be a server.” People seem to have the assumption that all servers do is carry food out when it is ready and then just stand around waiting for our guests to be done to take their plates back to dish. It is assumed we never clean our tables because that’s what bussers are for. These assumptions are wrong. A lot goes into being a server; it’s much more than just waiting around for people to be done eating.

Each section at the restaurant has six tables and each server has three tables (two servers to a section). There are usually two to three bussers and two hosts on each side of the restaurant. There is one manager who walks the floor (the whole restaurant) to make sure the guests are taken care of, and the servers have help if they need it.

When I get to work, and once I have been sat, I grab some coasters and a wine bottle, greet the table, and ask what they’d like to drink and if they have any appetizers in mind, and if yes, I put the order in immediately and bring the drinks out. Meanwhile, I have probably been sat another table, so I greet them quickly. Usually after greeting my second table, my first table is ready to order.

Whenever someone is ready to order, I have to make sure and ask each one if they want soup or salad with the meal. Each customer gets unlimited soup or salad with his/her meal, unless s/he gets the “Unlimited Soup, Salad, and Breadsticks” as a meal. After taking my first table’s order, I grab the drinks for my second table and bring them out and again ask for appetizers. I then go to the kitchen, grab the soups, salads, and bread. After dropping these off, I greet my third table, write down their drink orders, then go to my second table and take their food orders.

After taking the second table’s dinner order, I go to the computer and enter the meals of my first table. I always enter the meals in after taking out the soup, salad and bread because this gives them time to eat those things first. After entering in their food, I pour the drinks of my third table, leave the tray of drinks, and go get the soup, salad, and bread for my second table. Sometimes I will take the drinks out to the third table first and tell them it will be a minute to get their order, as well. Once I drop the tray of salads and stuff to my second table, I ask my first table if everything is okay, then either go back and grab the tray of drinks for my third table, or if I have already done that, I take their order. I then go to the computer to enter in my second table’s food and proceed to get the salad, soup, and bread for my third table. As I drop this off, I check on my second table and see if everything is okay.

On my way back, I enter in the third table’s order, and once that is finished, it is probably close to the time my first table’s food is ready. If not, I go out and clear any empty plates. Once the first table’s food is up, I drop it for them, pick up the empty soup and salad plates, ask if they need more bread, refill their drinks, etc. On my way back to refill them, I check on my third table. I try to grab whatever every table needs in one trip. After refilling my first table, I clear plates from my second table because their food will be coming up soon.

After dropping off my second table’s food, I ask them for more refills on anything and before going back I check on my first table to see if everything tastes okay and then stop at my third table to clear any empty dishes. Once I bring the refills out to table two, my third table’s food is ready. I bring their food out, check for refills, and then clear any empty plates from my first table. Usually at this point people may be ready for boxes or dessert.

After checking on all my tables to see if everything is okay, table one is probably ready for their bill, assuming I have boxed up their food and asked for dessert, and they said no. I drop the bill off, along with our famous Andes mints, and tell them I will be back to get them change whenever they are ready. Again, I check to see if my other tables need refills. If I have a few minutes in between my tables eating, I fill ice, lemonades, teas, glasses, or help other servers carry food to their tables.

I then go to my table, grab their bill if it is ready, and tell them I will be right back with their change. I always make sure to tell them I will be back with their change. When a server asks if customers need change back, s/he is more likely to get a smaller tip. It shows the server isn’t greedy or expecting too much to tell the customer s/he will be back with change. Usually my second or third tables need a refill of some sort while I’m getting change to my first table. I get their refills and bring the change out. After dropping the change, my second table is ready for boxes or dessert. I repeat the process with only two tables, and at this time, the busser is cleaning the rest of my table off. My third table is probably then ready for boxes, my first table has been sat again, and my second table needs change. At almost no point during the night am I “sitting around.”

By the end of the night, I’m exhausted. After my last table has left, I can’t leave without doing my sidework, which consists of rolling enough silverware for my section, picking up around my area, setting my tables up, and other assigned sidework. Every server has different sidework, depending on the section. Sidework includes emptying the ice, clearing the side station, emptying trash, filling mints and sugars, spraying the walls, etc.

There isn’t much downtime being a server. If it is a slow night, then of course there isn’t as much running around, but there’s always sidework a manager has ready and always help to give to other servers with too much to do. Next time you think you have bad service because something took a few extra minutes, remember your server has other tables to take care of, as well, before you reduce the tip.