Things I Like/Don't Like about being a Waitress

Just with any kind of job or career there always going to be things that you may or may not like about what you do for a living. There are many things that I like about waiting tables, the atmosphere is one, and the other aspects of working in a restaurant are another. That being said, here are just a few of the things that I like/don’t like about being a waitress.

Things I like about waiting tables

I get to meet new people every day

One of the cool things that occurs in any type of customer service job is that you tend to meet new people every day.

This is one aspect of the job that I really like because I have met all sorts of people throughout the years. When you go up to a new table you never know the stories that they have, and I have heard quite a few cool stories from different customers.

If it’s slow and I have the time I like to talk to the customers, which gives me the opportunity to learn some cool facts or hear stories that I may have never been able to do in a traditional 9 to 5 office job.

No 9 to 5 thing

I don’t have to go and sit at a desk for 8 hours. I can move around and talk to different people each day, which makes the job really fun.

This means that even though I may have an 8 to 10 hour day, it is usually broken up into different shifts. This way I can take a break and run errands if I need to.

I also go in later in the morning so I can get some things done before I have to go to work. There have been many times that I have been able to make appointments for a break or before my shift in the morning starts.

Set Schedule

Even though I have a somewhat set schedule if I need to switch shifts or work more/less I am usually able to.

This helps when I have unplanned things happen throughout the week, like having to take one of the kids to the doctor when they get sick. I don’t have to take a whole day off, I can just take the morning or evening to take them and still work for the day.

This also makes it easy to make set appointments in advance. If I have to make one for six months later, I know that I can without losing out on a day’s work.

More open to trying new foods

This has been one of my favorite things about working in a restaurant.

There were so many things that I would not have even thought to try before I started working there.

But since trying new/different food at work, I am more inclined to try new foods when I go out with friends and family to eat.

I work with a diverse group of people

One of the cool things about working in a restaurant is that you work with all different types of people.

There are many places that seem to have basically the same type of people that work there.

But because there are many different positions within the restaurant, there are all types of people that come and go. This allows me to get to know people that I may have not thought to talk to in other situations.

Things I don’t like about waiting tables

Graphic for Things I like/don't like about being a waitress

The public

Even though I like that I meet new people each day, I still sometimes don’t like working with the public.

For the most part, people are chill, but there are sometimes when just the sound of a customers’ voice will cause you to cringe.

Not all people are difficult customers, there are some really easy-going people that come into the restaurant on a regular basis.

No weekends off

While I like that I don’t have to be to work super early and can have more time to do things than most people, it sucks to have to work on the weekend.

This is especially hard when there are all sorts of fun and interesting things happening in the area, but I can’t take the kids because I have to work.

Sometimes I can take a Saturday off, but that is not very often, because everyone wants to have Saturday off for various reasons.

Eating the same food

I really like that I can try new foods that I might have not tried on my own. The other side of that is since I eat about one (sometimes two) meals at work I tend to eat the same things quite often.

I work with some difficult people

Even though I enjoy the fact that I work with a variety of people, there are some that can be really difficult to work with. It’s not that they are bad people, they can be really hard to get along with sometimes.

But that is true with any industry that you might work in. There are some people that are really easy to work/deal with, and there are others that are just downright a pain in the ass to work with or even be around some days.

Money is sometimes an issue

There are times when we are really busy and people are tipping well.

There are also times when it is frustratingly slow and even though some people tip well, it doesn’t make up for the overall lack of business coming in the door.

So in order to keep my head above water, I have developed a way to budget my income so that I can still pay bills and manage expenses even when it is slow.

While working in a restaurant may not be the most glamorous or lucrative job out there, there are many things that make it a fun and interesting place to work.

So here it is, the list of things I like/don’t like about being a waitress. What are some other things that you like about working in a restaurant or in customer service in general? Let me know in the comments!