“Hi! Welcome!”- said with a cheeky smile and high pitched voice by a minimum wage waitress. 

Getting a job and working in the food industry is common for most teenagers. Whether it’s at a fast food joint or a 5 star restaurant, working in the food industry has its ups and downs. 

The busy holiday season brings along difficult situations and customers with bad moods and attitudes. 

Dealing with picky customers is always a difficult task. The “customer is always right” mentality appears at   restaurants across the world, but this can be hard to follow. From complaining without reason to using harsh tones, customers can really dampen employees’ moods. One student, Abby Huhn (12), says “Working in the food industry has changed my perspective so much. I now understand when I go into other restaurants and food places. For example, when it’s really busy and the employees are stressed out, I understand if things go wrong. It’s not always the employees’ fault. You just know what they are going through because you have experienced it yourself, I find myself empathizing with them.” 

Trying to keep up with the fast environment and hustle and bustle of the crowd is quite hectic. 

Some things that can lighten up your work experience are: playing fun music, talking with coworkers (if possible), enjoying your break season, talking with nice customers, and putting a smile on your face.

Putting a smile and happy face on the whole time on your shift is strenuous at times, but it’s part of the job. Sharing positive vibes and happiness while dealing with customers usually can improve the customers and employees day! 

Trying to find the small little positives in the work day always helps me on busy or hard days! Some of these little things include: catching up with my regular customers, sharing updates with my coworkers about things happening in my life, interacting with the kids that come in, and making myself one of my favorite drinks. 

Simply asking someone how their day is going can help make a more personal connection with customers. I love hearing about what they are excited about that day and what they are looking forward to. Also complementing a piece of clothing or hair style can brighten the mood!  

In retrospect, I do wholeheartedly believe that working this type of job is having a positive effect on my life. From customer service to one on one situations, many life lessons have been learned. Having a more positive outlook helps me in the long run.