Career AdviceCareer PathsFood Service Careers

20 things anyone who's worked at a restaurant knows to be true

Whether you’re a lifer or have moved on to less meaty ventures, these 20 restaurant realities last forever.

By Sarah Haberman and Brooke Zambroski, Monster staff

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:

  1. Your arm muscles are the strongest they’ve ever been
  2. There’s nothing better than taking the menu for a test run
  3. Closing only to open the next morning is a special kind of torture
  4. You have a deep love and understanding of appropriate footwear
  5. You detest the loiterers that stand between you and the end of your shift
  6. You both love and hate your uniform
  7. And no matter how many times you wash it, it will always smell like food
  8. Your fake smile is infallible
  9. No matter how many times you say no, the same person will always ask you to pick up their shifts
  10. ‘Staff-cest’ is a very real epidemic
  11. The night you finally get to pick the playlist is your time to shine
  12. You’ve had to go to some extreme measures to make it through your shift
  13. The first time you spill something you’re so embarrassed you consider walking out and never coming back
  14. There is no place more calming during a long shift than the walk-in fridge
  15. And your fridge at home is solely filled with your favorite menu items
  16. At some point or another, you’ll inevitably bring a customer exactly what they ordered only to be told they 'asked for something else.'
  17. You feel like a ninja and/or superhero when you catch a dish on its way to the ground
  18. You’ve realized you messed up a customer’s order two days later and felt terrible because they were too nice to complain
  19. You’ve become immune to customers with bad table manners
  20. 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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