Working as a waiter: a description of the profession, pros and cons

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

One of the most sought-after professions, especially in the summer season, is the waiter. His duties, rights, etc. depend directly on the place where the employee is employed. Such workers are needed both in small cafes, even street-type ones, and in elite restaurants. They serve the ordered dishes on the table, serve visitors, and must treat the customers of the institution politely and courteously. The salary can also vary, from about 50 to 1.5 thousand dollars.

History of the profession

This profession has quite a long history. On the territory of our country, it arose only with the advent of restaurants that corresponded to European fashion. The first place that required a job as a waiter in Moscow appeared in the middle of the 19th century. This restaurant was called "Slavianski Bazaar". All other establishments were considered ordinary taverns, just of varying degrees of quality.

Each employee who received this position was required to wear a tailcoat, bow tie, white vest and gloves. In addition, he was required to monitor the absence of bristles andcut your hair in a timely manner. But this applied only to restaurants, in taverns employees who brought food were called sex workers, they were only required to have a white shirt. Moreover, most of the sex workers were peasants, and in order to get to this position, they had to go a long way from the janitor and dishwasher. For four years they studied the profession from the outside, learned how to communicate with customers, make payment calculations and correctly bring an order. The most interesting thing is that at the beginning of their career, the sex workers had to pay extra to employers for their work. That is, they were not paid a salary, but they. And they took all the tips to the buffet, where they then equally divided among all the employees.

How to get a job

Employers generally do not require a formal education, but if an applicant has one, it may give him an additional chance to get a job as a waiter. Vacancies usually imply that a person will have to undergo training already at the place of employment. Sometimes it is indicated in advance whether special customer service courses are required.

Skills

Waiters must be able to set tables, study recipes and special ingredients of dishes served, know the specifics of serving dishes in a particular establishment, know etiquette and understand the pricing system. In addition, they may be required to know how to combine drinks and food, and in some expensive establishments, the ability to speak fluent English is required.

As for personal qualities, to get intolarge cities, including St. Petersburg, to work as a waiter, you need to be attentive, patient and sociable. A good memory, friendly and friendly communication, good physical endurance are very important. The employee must be neat, stress-resistant, have a good sense of humor, have a presentable appearance and clear diction.

Responsibilities

The most important functions of a waiter are fulfilling the orders of the institution's customers, settling accounts with them, setting and cleaning tables, and preparing them to receive new visitors. If necessary, his duties include changing napkins, tablecloths, as well as participating in decorating the hall if a celebration is held there. He is obliged to correctly and tactfully answer even the most provocative questions of customers, if necessary, advise them on dishes and drinks that are on the restaurant's menu.

He deals with the formation of the final cost of the order. And also the employee is financially responsible for broken dishes, damaged furniture or the order of the client he served if he left without paying. The most important job of a waiter is to serve the customer in such a way that he leaves the restaurant in a good mood and satisfied with the way he was served.

Features and salary

In general, workers in this field are not paid that much, but this is due to the fact that a professional in his field always receives a tip. Moreover, depending on the quality and prestige of the institution, they may exceed its monthly earnings. To master the skills of working as a waiter, you need to study from aboutone to three months.

Most often, before entering a job, a person must pass a probationary period, which can be from one to four weeks. The work schedule is much longer than that of office workers, up to 12 hours. And a tray on which an employee is required to carry three dishes can weigh up to ten kilograms.

Professions of the profession

Probably the most positive quality of this profession is its demand and availability. Even a waiter without work experience and any training courses can get a job, everything will be taught on the spot. The main thing is to have a pleasant appearance, be sociable and sociable. In addition, the attendants have a fairly free schedule, and there is always the opportunity to ask a colleague to take the shift instead of themselves. Thanks to this, many students can combine such work with their studies. And of course, tips are the biggest perk of the profession.

Their size can vary significantly depending on various factors, ranging from the high cost and prestige of the institution where the person works, and ending with the type of visitors. Not every job can bring in extra cash besides salary. Especially such financial support is very helpful for young people who are just starting to live separately from their parents. Well, the last advantage that comes with working as a waiter is the opportunity to have lunch at work. With a good relationship between the service staff and the kitchenit is unlikely that an employee will go hungry, and the more prestigious the establishment, the more expensive and tastier the food will be.

Cons of the profession

The main disadvantage of such work is that the employee is responsible for almost everything. Any broken plate, glass, or customer not paying the bill will result in a payroll deduction. Plus, there may be fines for other oversights, depending on what rules the owner of the establishment sets.

The second disadvantage of the profession is constant stress. Working as a waiter implies that you need to constantly communicate with a wide variety of people, regardless of how polite or pleasant they are in communication. Many customers may find fault with employees just because they understand that they still have no right to reciprocate and should treat them with respect.

The third drawback is that the general characteristics of the service do not completely depend on the waiter, but he is responsible for all the shortcomings. So, for example, the kitchen is in no hurry to prepare a dish, the dishwasher has gone about its business, and there are no clean dishes, or the bartenders are too busy to hand over the order to the waiter in time.

Free schedule can only be on regular days, but weekends and holidays are usually busy. In addition, there is a high probability that there will be night shifts, because people usually visit such establishments to take a break from work in their free time. Working as a night waiter implies that you will have to forget about ordinary meetings with friends and birthday celebrations or very strongly adjust the schedule and negotiate withcolleagues.

Prospects

Despite the fact that this job is in the service sector, career growth is possible even to the boss. Immediately the employee is promoted to a senior waiter, then to an administrator. If an employee graduates from special courses, he can be promoted to head waiter. If a person got a job in a network company, then the experience of working as a waiter will give him the opportunity to rise to the director's rank in five years.

Conclusion

The demand for this profession is very high, both in large and small cities. And the flow of employees who choose this job as an additional and intermittent income leads to the fact that new vacancies are constantly being vacated. Having settled in a decent restaurant, you can safely count on a large wage and an impressive tip. This profession does not take long to learn, in most cases, employers accept students with no experience and train them on the spot.

But at the same time, work as a waiter is unstable and unpromising, especially in cheap or seasonal cafes. In most cases, people simply use such a position as a part-time job for a short time, because it does not allow development, does not teach anything new and does not allow them to reveal their potential. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the constant moral and physical stress. Employers do not care if the employee has a headache or is in a bad mood today, customer service must be carried out smoothly and at a high level.