The Challenges of Food Servers, Essay Example

Food serversexperience many challengesrelated to their jobs. While working in the service industry can be fun and a good way to generate income, many servers face difficulties to which customers are completely unaware and management is unsympathetic. The skills required to navigate a dining room and provide excellent customer service are often underappreciated and go unacknowledged.

The job requirements of a server extend well beyond delivering food to the customer. According the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) (2012), the duties of servers include taking orders from customers, answering questions related to the menu, ensuring the customers receive their bill in a timely manner, and makes sure meals are satisfactory and that the customer have an enjoyable dining experience. Depending on the dining facility, services may include hosting duties such as greeting and seating customers, cleaning tables and work areas, preparing drinks, refilling condiments, rolling silverware, and stocking service areas. In some restaurants, servers also are responsible for preparing food, such as soups, salads, and desserts.

One of the biggest challenges can be working within a dining room. Servers are usually part of a larger team which consist of kitchen staff, other servers, management, and may include hosts, bartenders, and bussers. Each person is dependent on one other. If the food is poor or the kitchen staff is slow, it is not the cooks who are penalized, but the servers. Cooks and chefs are usually paid by the hour; the bulk of income of a service is dependent on tips. According to the United States Department of Labor (2013), the federal minimum wage required for servers is $2.13 per hour. If a customer is rude, cheap, or unhappy, the server can end up working for free. Servers are often pay a percentage of their tips to the bussers, bartenders, and kitchen staff; this practice is known as “tip-out.”Servers are also responsible for the cleanliness of their work stations. Other servers or bussers may assist, but many times, servers must be able to clean the tables very quickly to prepare for the next customer.Speed is a necessity, especially if servers are juggling multiple customers and tables. Everything must be organized and perfectly timed. This usually results in servers working long hours, without being able to take a break for a meal or to use the restroom.

Providing quality customer service is also a challenge. The main goal is to provide the customer with an excellent experience which will entice them to return; food servers are expected to cater to the customer’s every request. However, some customers may take advantage of this situation. Customers can be rude and may have the servers running around, making multiple trips for excessive drink refills, and returning food to the kitchen. The food may be cold, poorly prepared, or it simply may not be to a customer’s liking. Customers are not even required to leave a tip. Some customers either do not realize or do not care that the bulk of a food server’s income is generated from tips. Proper tipping etiquette is usually 10-20% of the meal and in some cases may be 25%. Some restaurants do include a gratuity in the bill to ensure that their servers are compensated for their work. But many times, customers may spend hours at a table and only leave a small tip, if at all.The turnover that a restaurant has is very important to the income of a food server. Customers can avoid rudeness by leaving shortly after the food server offers their check. While there may seem to be no rush, by remaining for hours and not tipping adequately can seriously hinder the server’s pay.

Through all of the challenges, food server must appear calm, competent, and cheerful. Management may not allow for servers to defend themselves and express their displeasure. Even when dealing with irate customers, the food server must always present an air of accommodation.

The organization of a dining room is also important to a food server. Chefs, not just servers want to make sure that when the customer receives the meal, the food is hot and in excellent condition. Some restaurants provide hot plates or panels for the food to rest if the server is unable to deliver the food immediately.If there nothing to keep the food hot, then the location of the tables in relation to the kitchen is very important. Some restaurants are efficiently organized and designed so staff can smoothly navigate their destinations. However, outside dining can be an inconvenience for servers.Some restaurantsservers carry heavy trays up and down stairs to deliver food. If the kitchen is not organized and does not have the meals at a table prepared at the same time, the server may have to make multiple trips. The work station should also be organized, because this is where servers refill drinks, make coffee, or submit orders to the kitchen. If this area is too small, then traffic is created and chaos can result.

Overcrowding in dining facilities is another problem faced by many servers. Carrying heavy trays into narrow isles crammed with customers and tables is not only challenging, but can be dangerous. If the server loses their balance, items on the tray could fall to the floor, on the server, or even a customer. Other patrons may become aggravated when their space is invaded by the server, when they are setting trays down in order to serve other customers food.

Though food servers do face many challenges, many find their jobs to be rewarding. Servers can earn good income and have fun interacting with customers. Problems arise when management and customers treat food servers as servants, as opposed to individuals who serve food. Customers can show their appreciation by being polite and offering a fair tip. Management can be of assistance by ensuring that other areas of their dining facilities are running smoothly and treat their employees with respect. When customers and managers understand the difficulties many servers face, they can be more considerate and yield a better dining experience for all individuals.

References

Greene, A. (2013). 10 things your waiter won’t tell you. Woman’sDay, Retrieved from http://www.womansday.com/life/10-things-your-waiter-wont-tell-you-108363

Jamieson, D. (2012, June 02). Minimum wage for restaurant servers remains stagnant for 2 years under industry lobbying The Huffington Post, Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/02/minimum-wage-restaurant-workers_n_1515916.html?page=1

Parsons, B. (2013). The challenges of in-room-dining. Hotel Business Review, Retrieved from http://hotelexecutive.com/business_review/3129/the-challenges-of-in-room-dining

United States Department of Labor, (2013). Wage and hour division (WHD): Minimum wages for tipped employees. Retrieved from website: http://www.dol.gov/whd/state/tipped.htm

United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2012). Waiters and waitresses. Retrieved from website: http://www.bls.gov/ooh/food-preparation-and-serving/waiters-and-waitresses.htm