Your work friends may all smell like caramelized onions, but hey—so do you! Or you did. Whether you’re still carrying a tray today or if hung up your apron for good, you’ll recognize some of these familiar food service scenarios:
- Your arm muscles are the strongest they’ve ever been
- There’s nothing better than taking the menu for a test run
- Closing only to open the next morning is a special kind of torture
- You have a deep love and understanding of appropriate footwear
- You detest the loiterers that stand between you and the end of your shift
- You both love and hate your uniform
- And no matter how many times you wash it, it will always smell like food
- Your fake smile is infallible
- No matter how many times you say no, the same person will always ask you to pick up their shifts
- ‘Staff-cest’ is a very real epidemic
- The night you finally get to pick the playlist is your time to shine
- You’ve had to go to some extreme measures to make it through your shift
- The first time you spill something you’re so embarrassed you consider walking out and never coming back
- There is no place more calming during a long shift than the walk-in fridge
- And your fridge at home is solely filled with your favorite menu items
- At some point or another, you’ll inevitably bring a customer exactly what they ordered only to be told they ‘asked for something else.’
- You feel like a ninja and/or superhero when you catch a dish on its way to the ground
- You’ve realized you messed up a customer’s order two days later and felt terrible because they were too nice to complain
- You’ve become immune to customers with bad table manners
- But there will always be customers who make it all worthwhile
If you miss the familiar buzz of fast-moving restaurant life and your food service cronies, maybe it’s time to lace up your arch-supporting sneakers and get back out there. You can find restaurant jobs on Monster. Bet you haven’t lost your plate-slinging touch!
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