The Last Shift

Well, today I clocked out for the last time at my summer job. I am excited to get on with the semester and not have to work lunch shifts every day, but I will miss the members and fellow coworkers that I had the pleasure of working with for the past few months. I learned a lot during my first proper job, and though there is an entire chapter in the works, some of my most important takeaways: 

A Smile Makes a Difference | I will be the first to admit that I suffer from a case of not being the smiliest person out there. At the start of one of my shifts, I decided to try and be as friendly as possible. Not only did this make the experience better for both parties, but it generally resulted in better tips. 

There Is Always Something To Do | One of the biggest things I struggle with is trying to be useful without getting in the way. If I'm in charge of something and know what is happening then it's fine, but in a restaurant, I learned the importance of being proactive with finding tasks. 

Help Too | I really struggled with timing, especially in the beginning. Asking for help has been the most difficult thing, but being there for people and getting help as well is so necessary in the service industry.

TIP | For the love of God, please tip. And engage your waiter/waitresses. After being a server, I have taken a lot more time talking with servers and have gotten better service and a more enjoyable experience since. In a lot of places, between tip sharing and taxes, they actually lose money without tips, so please be a good tipper- you will gain a special place in heaven.

Have a great day!