Me regional manager: We’re like a family!! My regional manager to my manager when my friend suddenly passed away and I was going to the funeral: I mean...how good of friends WERE they?? Like does he think he’s getting the entire day off?? Keep in mind, in the 5 years working there I had called in ONCE. Thank you for speaking out about “like a family”
My boyfriend is a manager for a restaurant in FL and he lost his grandmother several months ago, after covering for the other managers many times, he was forced to leave the funeral early for his shift that night. The other two managers sat at the bar and drank all evening after they clocked out aka they CLEARLY could have covered for him. It's a disease in the industry!
I love the restaurant industry so so much. As stressful and as shitty as it can sometimes be, it's my fav. There's nothing better than working a 10 hour shift and walking out the door with $700!
My one piece of advice is if someone tells you that you’re not gonna get a tip or you have to earn your tip, don’t work so hard to please them because they probably planned on not tipping you/ under tipping you. Also: the customer is almost never right and your manager will not defend you.
Def do more!! I worked in the kitchen of a small Italian restaurant for 2 years, and I had no idea how aggressive I would have to become. I was so shy and quiet when I started but I had to just develop a whole new work personality because I had to yell and match everyone else's energy to be heard and listened to.
The “we’re like a family” ones!!! Omg that usually means they run shit unprofessionally and get away with a lot more and expect you to be cool with getting your paycheck late because they are giving you snacks in the back or something
I looooooved this!! I only ever worked in one “Restaurant” - yeah it was that bad I’m using quotes. Terrible experience but it’s fine. I was dyingggg laughing when Irene was like “IT IS NOT LIKE A FAMILY” lmao all I could think of is Olive Gardens slogan “When your here your family” and picturing Irene on orientation day being like “Absolutely not, stop lying dude” so good. Part 2 or 3 or 4. Maybe even an installment where you react to other people’s service job horror stories🤷♂️. Another hit Irene!
“Most people are nice” Me serving tables through a pandemic: “Well, only three tables yelled at me today about regulations I didn’t put into place. So I guess it’s a decent day.” 😬
America is so weird dude.. I've worked in the Hospitality industry on and off since I was 19 (I'm now 27) and I've never made under $25/hour. When I was working at Mcdonald's I was earning almost $30/hour and even more when I did overnights, all up I'd make around $950/week. But America's the greatest country in the world, right? :')
Pooling tips makes sense at my job (starbucks) because one customer's experience is made by the person who took the order, the person who warmed your muffin, the two people who made the drinks and the person who processed the payment and handed you the order (I work at a drivethru) so yea, you split tips based on hours. So for the whole week, we gather the tips, then split it up by how many hours everyone worked. At a restaurant, there's ONE person really interacting with a table. If you nail it, you're amazing and the table loves you, you deserve the tips. Especially if you make a server wage.
Pooling tips works alot better at a bar. Or most definatly a place that doesn't have sections or at a minimum expects everyone to attend to any table at any time. And I have worked in many places that are like that that split tips.
Babies pls keep in mind California and the west coast in general is the best region to work in for the service industry but if you live in the part of the US that's conservative and poor trust you will encounter all of the cons stated in this video but none of the pros trust me if you're not in a tourist location do not enter the service Industry unless you genuinely have no other options its brutal and this is coming from an east coast server that had to leave the industry after 9 years of experience cause anti maskers in my area think its rude of me to not want to take my mask off 🙄 so glad to be out of the industry especially as a male poc also worth mentioning as a poc you will be subjected to the most visceral and vile form of racism a hungry racist
I agree with number 5 for sure. I work at a grocery store. Most people are good and nice. Most are understanding of a mistake. I live in a super small town, so most people are friendly and will carry on a quick conversation and ask about your family. I have far more good interactions with people than bad. I have noticed that any bad interactions are with bad customers. It is always the same people every time. Seems like they are always looking for something to complain about. They are just unhappy people looking to make other people unhappy. But, yeah, most people are good. ❤
The last one made me sad. I work for small business and my owner is phenomenal. He never does things without asking his staff. He looks out for you. Gets to know your life. We always have two days off in a row to have a “weekend”. He is always looking out to make sure everyone is making money. Days off and schedule are always easy. Etc. I can go on lol 😂
AnaMarie!!! I love that!! I didn't mean that everyone was like that, that's why i said I know that there are outliars. I am SO stoked that you have that experience. That's awesome!!!
my frist job was at a fish and chip shop (i live in the UK) and the tips were quite annoying. They based the amount of tips you got on the amount of hours you worked. They would pool the tips together and at the end of three months???????? they would give us our tips. Like??????????????? NO i want MY tIPS i woRK Hard For U!!??? i started when i was 16 and i quit a year ago lol that place can just UGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH
Ohhh I thought it was about serving God, serving in the church lol... oops...well this was in my rec...just passing through. God bless everyone here xoxo
Asking a server to pay for a walkout is like asking a cashier to pay for a shoplifter... that's the WORST practice. Thankfully never happened in my waitress-ing past life.
My word is breakfast, I always spell it wrong... thank you autocorrect for cleaning up my life. Also, when I write wednesday I always say "weDuh nes day" in my head and have since 2md grade, along with spelling doubt.. I always say "d Bout it." 🤷🏼♀️
Omg you guys only make $2 an hour on a servers wage. In Canada you make like $10 (USD, I did the exchange rate) which is like a dollar less than minimum. You still expect to get a 15-20% tip on top of that. I live in the UK right now and as a server you get paid minimum ($12 USD with the exchange rate) and then you usually get tipped 20% on top of that. Are you guys ok? How do you afford living?
I have one to add, from a back of the house perspective (former line cook here): If you don't have thick skin, and a good sense of humor- you wont like working in the food industry. I was usually the only girl in the kitchen- so you gotta be able to deal with the dumb boys, potty mouths, and of course the flirting- DON'T HOOK UP WITH THE KITCHEN STAFF- it usually doesn't end well for anyone lol All of that being said- I LOVED it. I loved the adrenaline rush you get when it's busy- and the late night after work drinks, hanging out with the people you just killed it with! Some of the best times I have ever had were with my co-workers from restaurants.
Omg! Yes, Irene! Preach! I too LOATHE when people gate people, but seek employment in customer service/retail. Like, why? I had this friend years ago, who was not a people person and hated most men. So tell me why she insisted on working at HOOTERS!!!! Lol. I feel like you have no right to complain about any of it, if you willingly choose jobs that involve things that make you unhappy, like it gives you a pass at being a cantankerous bit@h.
I was the worst server ever. EvERRRR. The only reason I made money was because I told everyone it was my first day. The I got a table that was like , “omg! We were your first table! How are you liking it?!” And I was like 🤭😬 and decided it was time to quit. 😂
If your making $2.13 an hour which is typical if your not in California or nyc then you usually don’t get a paycheck because your $2.13 usually barely covers taxes so you don’t get a check if a few dollars.
That salt lamp is GINORMOUS! I love it! I could not work in food, I work retail because its way easier to let somebody know who's being way to extra like hey pipe tf down lmfao
This is soo wild to me, I’d love to hear the perspective of other people in other countries but here (UK) everyone is paid a minimum wage of £8.91 per hour (for 23 years old and over - slightly less for those younger) which works out to $12.44 usd per hour, legally the workplace has to offer you SOME kind of break depending on how many hours you work in that particular shift. I used to work in a restaurant and I don’t think I would have coped if I was just having tips and no break for hours and hours lol. I barely coped as it was
The family trick sucks... (from someone who worked many years in the foods service as well but in the kitchen always)... watching your content is growing in me ;).
This is 100% correct. I did this gig in a few places, all smaller owned "family type" places. Hell no! Never again. Put my ass in college and 2 years later became a Dental CDA. Would much rather have my hands in a nasty mouth then serve food. But thank goodness for great people who do,and do it well. I also feel everyone should do it for at least 6 months. Because I feel it helps make you a better customer.
I love this video so much please make a part 2! I have worked at a coffee shop for the past 2 years and it's completely true the "we're a family" BS. Its one of the most difficult things ever to get a shift of mine covered. My boss gets annoyed and upset when I can't always help him out so he will schedule me with only people that are new and not fully trained, which is stressful as all hell. He also tried forcing me to play dungeons and dragons with him and I really wasn't receptive so I think he is still bitter about that lol. LOVE YOU IRENE 🧡
That’s true about the hourly wage though. You claim your tips when you clock out (obviously a lot of people don’t claim all their cash tips but that’s between them and the irs lol). So your hourly wage plus your credit card tips are taxed at the normal rate but since you walk out with cash for your credit card tips, the only place they have to withhold it from is your hourly wage. So a lot of times you don’t have a paycheck because it all goes to taxes and for some people, that’s an indicator that they had a good week. When you HAVE a paycheck it’s like ugh I made so little in tips that they didn’t even have to take all of my measly hourly. So getting a zero dollar paycheck is not unusual and not shady UNLESS your manager is rolling back your hours and claiming “it doesn’t matter because you’re not making money from them anyway” or not having any paper trail of your employment period. Those are red flags. But just getting a zero dollar paycheck is not. That’s just how it works out at jobs where you walk out with cash every night.
I'm a server, and I hate people so much lmao. But I'm really good at hiding it and making it seem like I'm a super outgoing, bubbly, people person, so I'm great at my job😂
Still waiting on a part 2 of this, she's freaking spot on! It takes a special kind of person to be in/enjoy the service industry & they're not appreciated enough.
I live in a little town with NOTHING to do job wise and I was almost going to work at chili's being a server for like four dollars and hour, and let me tell you watching this video totally changed my mind, i am hopefully getting a job at a local grocery store in my town which I don't think will be much better, but im trying, and I'm hoping it'll be a good first job and I don't get treated like ish because I've never worked, but I will be trying my best to pick things up quickly and do my best
The only way pooling tips works, is if you have all good servers who care, and have great work ethic. And, that’s hardly ever the case. Lol! There’s alway at least one sh!tty employee with crappy work ethic, and is slow and/or lazy.
The worst way your superior could use to gaslight you is to say I'm not your boss, we're like peers here or "family". DO NOT ACCEPT THAT. I need a boss and a professional setting to know I'm being looked after.
What is your favourite thing on the menu.... I always hated that one because I literally never get to try the food that they make, and it's not like I am going to pay. In my 4 restaurant jobs, I wasn't trained in what was being served so honestly. A lot of times I had no idea what the customer was even ordering, I would go into the kitchen to collect it and I would be confused. A lot of these gave me PTSD ngl, I am one of those that HATES working with customers but had to.
OMG I usually work BOH and literally the no breaks thing and like having a hard time getting to drink water or bite of anything is very difficult. Especially for the shift I work. I work the mornings of a fine dining restaurant as a pastry chef and since us in the morning dont work dinner service we dont get 'family meal' that the service shift gets. we literally get nothing or a time to sit down and have something. It's ridiculous. I love what I do but like some days/weeks it's really hard when I think about how nice it would be to just have like 5 minutes.
I loved this video!! I’d love to see another video like this!! Along with videos just about your stories as a server- like a whole history on where you worked and why you loved it or not, maybe a best experiences and or worst experiences video! My first job was working at my home town restaurant and I definitely loved everything you had to say in here- I had a pretty good experience overall and still visit and talk with my former boss but there are some not so good things in some places! I particularly loved that you emphasized you need to like people and want to help them- otherwise you’ll be miserable! I genuinely just like helping people in whatever way I can and that’s why I enjoyed being a hostess! (I was always scared to be a waitress too much responsibility lol 😂)
this video is exactly what I needed, thank you for explaining everything in such a good/clear while still being lighthearted way ❤️ loving the new background btw and your hair looks stunning today girl!
Very good informational video, glad to know these things, especially for people who haven't been thru these things they might be more "naive" and end up not standing up for themselves!
I work in the retail and service industry and you’re so right about the fact most people are nice or just neutral. It’s so rare you have an actual asshole ruin your WHOLE day (and depending on your mood that 1 person can ruin your whole day despite having total angel customers the rest of it) but you build up a resistance to it with time and being able to confidently look somebody in the face whose being unpleasant is pretty good life experience overall. You’re always gonna come across people you clash with you just gotta be polite and move on with your day :)
Prior to COVID, we had menu meetings (basically where we learned new menu items and sample them). Also Irene love this video.. like you know I work all the time (you mention it every time I see you on patreon lol) love you
As someone in her 50's now but waited tables in her teens and twenties I would also suggest working on building additional skills while waiting tables. Whether that's college, trade school, or whatever; unless you are happy in the service industry for the entirety of your life it will be beneficial to have a deeper skill set. ❤️❤️
I love cooking (and talking), although I don't have very good social skills, but also I've never had a job so what industry do you suggest to start out with? 👉👈
Irene! Be frustrated!!! I am the same as you I'm a bartender and I absolutely love working in the hospitality industry and serving people but the way these businesses are managed is so fucking unacceptable!!!!!!
I loved this video! Would love to see another video where you talk about your worst customer experiences and some of the best. That’d be interesting! Spill the tea girl 🫖
The “It’s like a family” things also runs rampant in small businesses and nonprofits for the same reason, they don’t want to pay you the going rate, and want extreme loyalty. No shade, just a know before you sign on the dotted line.
I definitely want to try serving as my next job!! I would love to know more! Also I agree with the family thing. From other jobs I have definitely been taken advantage of at times. I Definitely need to learn to say no!
About the hourly wage- I'm pretty sure your boss was trying to explain that it wont seem like you're making an hourly wage because the $2/hour you are making that you're going to get on a paycheck will go to paying the taxes you owe for the hours you work. Alot of times servers or bartenders will owe money when taxes are due because the hourly wage doesnt fully cover the taxes being taken out of your check every week. It took me a couple years to understand that, and it's important because you should have some savings incase you do end up owing taxes at the end of the year.
also a thing to be aware of is the amount of partying in the industry, if you’re sensitive to being around drugs/alcohol or conversations about them it’s probably not for you! me at 15 walking in the back seeing the chefs doing lines like 😳
I’ve worked as a server for a long long time and it’s not an easy job. Most places there are no breaks, no matter how long the shift. Also, you never will see a paycheck while getting paid a server wage. By the time your taxes and social security get taken out there is nothing left. But, you can make really good money in a short amount of time and you don’t have to ever take your work home with you.
oh god, pooled tips. i don’t work in food service but i work in competitive retail where in any other company we’d make commission, but at my company we just bonus as a team if we make our monthly sales goal. my sales are twice as high as my coworkers’ and i often work more hours because my manager rides me harder, if i call out sick or take any pto she will threaten to fire me (even though her and my coworkers frequently take time off). when we get our bonus for meeting our store’s monthly goal we all make the same amount, and my manager makes twice as much as we do when we get the bonus. if we made commission it’d be a different story. i imagine it’s a similar thing in food service, i don’t know how you’d stay motivated to keep working hard for tips if they’d be taken from you.
loved the video! i've never been a waitress but i give so much credit to people that do it. Completely off topic idk if you've mentioned this in a previous video but what foundation and shade do you use?! it always looks so natural and amazing
My fiancé went to chef school and right now he is a cook at a restaurant. He never calls out but everyone wants him to take their shifts. They won’t give him a raise after working there 4 years. He is the only one that has a degree. They keep giving him more work and no raise. The new owners fired 2 waitresses wrongly and the restaurant won when they got sued. The owners wife cornered my fiancé twice for something he didn’t do. One of the times he was accused of cheating on me with a waitress when she knew nothing about anyone at the restaurant. Honestly the restaurant business has so much drama and toxic people. Not all restaurants are like that. The new owners that just took over the restaurant are running off their staff because how they treat them. They literally make employees come in sick. My fiancé plans on quitting soon to help his old instructor from chef school at his new business catering and being a personal chef.
Yes yes yes yes yes to the service industry as a whole being a family. It's been over 5 years since I've served but you better believe I pre-bus my tables and always leave a healthy tip... and still have nightmares about being triple sat. I loved being a server and still miss it, just not enough to give up sick time and vacation.
