By TIGER TIMES EDITORS February 17, 2022
It is estimated that 12.1 million Americans work in the food service industry. Over the last few years, these jobs have been hard to staff. Bars and restaurants faced closings early in the pandemic, and for some time they also had to deal with lower demand. On top of that, many jobs in the industry are both very strenuous and don't always pay well. Anyone who works in food service knows that it is some of the hardest work for low wages. We interviewed students who work in the industry and here are some of their experiences - and much of it is harsh!
“As an ex-employee in the foodservice industry, work can be stressful yet fulfilling. Working to get all of the pieces of an order correct is satisfying when done successfully, but can quickly devolve into madness if a mistake is made. Everyday that I worked, there wasn’t a second I was off my feet. I was constantly ringing up customers, restocking items, cleaning up, or preparing food. At the end of a shift I’d be exhausted and covered in some form of debris that I accumulated throughout the day, counting down the seconds until close. The people I encountered were generally nice, other than the couple vexatious customers who tested my patience as if it was their only duty in life. For instance, when I first started working I was unfamiliar with the register system and needed help from a coworker. While most understand the struggle of getting acclimated to a new job, the customer did not. The customer repeatedly sighed, told me to “hurry up”, and even said that I should “consider finding a different job”. How did I respond to this? I gave the items she paid for and told her to have a good day and sorry for the inconvenience. The only thing I was thinking about at that moment was the check I was going to receive in 2 weeks time.”
“One of the biggest things that happened to me is when I went to the bathroom - for a normal amount of time - my manager yelled at me and threatened to fire me. I was told it was not acceptable to be away from my job. I knew that it was ridiculous - I was fifteen at the time, but I knew this was ridiculous. Not long after that, my manager called me that I would not have a regular schedule any more, and I decided I might as well quit.”
“The bartender at the restaurant had a son who worked as a busboy who simply did not do his job. He wouldn’t wipe down tables and clear them and blamed his bad work on others. Whenever he did actually do his job, he did a half assed job and rushed through. For example, he would rip bread rather than cut it. On top of that, he would complain about other people even though he was the worst worker. It seemed like he was only there because his mother worked there.”
“I have been working at a restaurant as a busser for a few months. The kitchen is always busy and there are a lot of people who are always keeping tabs on you. I was learning how to run food out to customers - you have to hold it in a specific way. Apparently, the napkin I was using to hold the hot plate wasn’t folded just right and the chef yelled at me for what felt like ten minutes. I was sent home and really considered quitting, but I need the money.”