A Good Education

After my freshman year in college, I took a job as a waitress in the dining room of a local hotel. Prior to that time, my only restaurant and hotel experience had been as a customer. I had never thought about the people, supplies and planning needed to make a hotel or restaurant successful. 

Although I was smart enough not to voice my opinion, I considered myself superior to many of the permanent employees. For me, it was a temporary job; they were permanently stuck in these no-brainer positions.

The manager of the dining area must have heard my unspoken words. She never discussed my attitude, but that summer I got an education I hadn’t planned on. She started by teaching waitressing skills and I learned it took some smarts to correctly “read” my customers and tailor my service to their needs. It took a good memory as well. Soon I was in awe of a waitress, who could take orders for a table of twenty and never make an error, even when the diners kept changing their minds. 

After I had mastered some waitressing basics, the manager expanded her instruction to areas beyond my immediate job duties. I learned about everything from cleaning schedules to finance. An overview of kitchen duties was followed by inventory tasks and a primer on ordering the kitchen and hotel bar supplies. In those pre-Internet days, one couldn’t do an online search. It took a fair amount of time to deal with supply vendors and to compare and negotiate the best prices. I learned that wise expenditures were as important as customers in obtaining a healthy bottom line. 

I came to realize that the absence of even one salad maker or dishwasher could have a major impact on smooth service flow. I began to admire co-workers who reliably completed difficult or tedious tasks, as well as those who remained courteous when dealing with demanding or unreasonable customers.

By the end of the summer, I had a new respect for the business and the people who made it a success. Another manager might have lectured me about my attitude, an approach that would have fallen on deaf ears. I was so fortunate to work for someone, who gave me valuable life lessons without ever resorting to preaching. 

Thanks, Marie.