12 Things No One Understands About Working In The Food Industry

1. Acting like I’m inconveniencing you by bringing you another beer is not going to make your service better.

I am literally bringing you another beer that YOU ordered. Stop acting like me putting it in front of you is ruining your night, the least you could do is say thank you instead of giving me a death stare. You being rude for me trying to serve you is only going to make you less of a priority to me.

2. I’m sorry, but I can’t change the price.

I just work here I don’t decide what the specials are, I don’t make the prices and I sure as hell don’t even decide what goes on the menu. I just come to work, do my thing and hope to God I get out early. And I don’t know why it costs $8 for a beer and honestly I’m wondering the same thing as you.

3. Sticking your hand in my face is rude.

Especially when the host of your party paid to have canapé service, like I’m actually just doing my job. You don’t need to stick your hand in my face and shoo me away, you could actually open your mouth and tell me you wouldn’t like any food the rest of the night and I wouldn’t walk your away. And side note, you’re not the only one in the area so don’t think I’m only coming to bother you with a tray of food buddy, other people might want to eat.

4. I can’t make your food come out faster.

I can guarantee the chefs are working as fast as they can in the kitchen, especially when it’s busy. They are working their asses off the make sure your food gets cooked properly and looks presentable, you know, incase you want to take an Instagram photo of it. Pestering me about how long it’s taking won’t make it come out any faster. There is probably a list of other people who ordered before you, making your food not the number one priority. Have a little patience, mate.

5. TBH, I don’t care about your complaints if you’re being rude.

I will always do my best to make sure the customer is happy, especially when it’s a genuine concern or something I did wrong (yes, I’m admitting I make mistakes) but other times you’re just being rude. Like I hear you man, but seriously stop talking to me like I’m an idiot.

6. No, I am not below you because I work in hospitality.

Don’t belittle me and act like I’m not smart just because I work in hospitality while you’re walking around in suit drinking your cheap beer. Hospitality is not my life path, but you can bet right now it helps pay the bills. And if it were to be my life path then that’s cool too. Don’t judge someone based on what they decide to do for their path in life, that just makes you a shitty person.

7. Do NOT go out if you cannot tip.

One more time… do NOT go out if you can’t afford to tip. I’m currently working in hospitality in Australia so we don’t get tips. But I understand the complete frustration when you don’t get tipped because I’ve always worked in the food industry in some way. Minimum wage for waitresses can be as low as $2.35 in America, TIP YOUR FUCKING WAITRESS. Remembering every little thing your customer asks for, especially when you’re catering to multiple tables and big parties can be stressful and challenging, the least you can do is leave a decent tip it’s how they make their money.

8. We are people, too.

Sometimes we get spoken to like we are incomprehensive. We know what you’re asking for, but the kitchen got backed up and we needed to help our coworkers or maybe someone else grabbed us as we were walking away to get more ketchup for you and their need was immediate. Things come up, you know that, it’s life. We don’t mean to make you wait five more minutes, but sometimes other things become more urgent you don’t need to scream at us and tell us how bad we are at our job. It’s not appreciated and it’s just plain rude.

9. We will always have our coworkers backs.

They are the people we work with every day and I’m sure most of us in the hospitality field are friends with our coworkers outside of work, just like you’re friends with your coworkers. We will stick up for one another and we won’t go throwing each other under the bus, that’s not cool and that never will be cool. Chances are if you call one of us out to another worker we will hear about it. Don’t be that guy.

10. Working when everyone else is having fun sucks.

I work nights and weekends, and that’s every weekend. It sucks, especially when all my friends are the ones going out and I have to miss out on plans time after time. Sometimes it gets frustrating and miserable.

11. It helps you build better communication skills.

Some people hate talking to you, but some are over joyed and friendly. Working in hospitality teaches you a lot about people and how to hold a conversation. It also makes you do things you’re not always thrilled about, like telling someone their food is going to be another 5 minutes when they’re already giving you the death stare.

12. We don’t hate you.

At least not most of you. It might seem like we complain a lot, but it’s only because of the couple people who ruin our day. There are a few of you who make me want to rip my hair out just because you lack general human skills, but most of you are great. Most of you make our day and our shift enjoyable. Nothing makes me happier than happy customers who just like to chat and be friendly. Those are the customers I want to keep checking in on and going back to because they’re kind. Kindness is everything in life folks and guess what? It’s free!