Blog #5: My First Job: A Struggle and a Lesson

An Educational Rant

This post is going to be a little bit of a rant, so please bear with me. I had just finished reading Tony Mirabelli’s work Learning to Serve: The Language and Literacy of Food Service Workers and his discussion on both the treatment of waiters and waitresses by customers and their techniques to handle customers reminded me of my first job as a storefront associate at a bakery.

                Although I had community service experience serving homemade cookies and brownies to customers back in high school, there was still so much of a difference between that and my bakery job. I needed to learn about a plethora of different bread, cake, and drinks on our menu. What they looked like. How they’re prepared. What allergens were in them. How much they cost. I needed to be prepared at any time to answer any questions a customer may have had about a particular menu item. It felt like I was taking another class with all the studying. It was grueling, but somewhat fun at the same time.

But onto a more challenging level of education, I had to learn how to communicate effectively to handle customer needs, and to cooperate with my coworkers. There are many times when I had customers demanding certain drinks, but desired special preparations not normally included on our menu, like ordering a smoothie, but adding espresso shots into it as well as brown sugar instead of regular sugar, etc. There are also times when a customer asks for a flavor of bread but gives a vague description of what they’re looking for taste-wise. Getting customers to both understand and accept the limits to what the store can provide for their “appetite” was the most difficult part of the job. Like Mirabelli mentioned, I had to learn how to read the “private appetites” (Mirabelli) of a customer, but also communicate in a way that is both negotiable to their desires, yet still profitable for the business.

The skill I learned in order to negotiate with customers was using words and mannerisms in order to "control both power and authority in a conversation" (Mirabelli). Eloquent language and an enthusiastic attitude is key here. If a customer were to have doubts on a particular menu item, I would sell it by using a colorful vocabulary to describe it beautifully, smiling excitedly while discussing it to raise its appeal until I finally win the customer over and complete the purchase. Although the customer holds absolute power and authority over the employee to what they shall order, I feel accomplished when I can win them over to what I decide their purchase shall be.

To cooperate effectively with my coworkers and maintain a discourse with them, I had to learn to read their emotions. While working through a long rush of customers, stress levels are high among all areas of the store. During these times, I pay close attention to how my coworkers are handling everything. How’s their work pace? Tone of voice? Are they making weird gestures? Are they sweating profusely? If something feels off with them, they don’t even need to ask. I step in to assist them in their work. Sometimes I suggest to the manager if I can switch workstations with them, so they can take a break and handle something easier for a while. There are also times that I am the one in this position, and my coworkers back me up instead. It is necessary for coworkers to have a natural feel for teamwork and reading others’ emotions. Each day is a battle, and we must all work together if we want to survive.

There are a few stereotypes associated with servers at a restaurant. The definition of stereotyping means to hold a general or fixed belief or notion about others without proof or validity. Servers are stereotypically thought of as lowly workers who have failed to get a degree of higher education. They are also sometimes seen as very whiny in the work they must perform. In Mirabelli’s article, he discussed a rant left on the Bitterwaitress.com website by a customer, which mentioned that server work is not “a REAL job,” does not “make a real contribution to society,” and does not require “any marketable skills or useful knowledge.” (Mirabelli) This is me ranting, but as a fellow food service worker, this comment angered me deeply. It is easy for customers like this commenter to talk high and mighty without ever working in this position to begin with, ignorant of the circumstances we face.

These stereotypes, however, were quickly debunked with this article as proof. Not only were some degree earners on the website discovered to be servers, but also Tony Mirabelli himself, an English major, had experience as one, and fully analyzed the languages and literacies of server work while doing so.

Servers however are not the only ones who are troubled with stereotypes. All workers, from janitors to doctors, face stereotypes both good or bad, in the jobs that they do. When I graduate from school as Computer Science major, I will face my share of stereotypes as well. Computer scientists are stereotyped as geeky, introverted, night owls. While the major is looked upon with respect, it is also overestimated. People stereotype CS majors as math geniuses, who can solve any tech problem thrown at them like they are walking computer manuals. Any technology bug like a broken TV or a glitchy phone can be fixed by a computer scientist. As a future computer scientist, I can already tell you the answer about why we know so much: Google!

Most people, myself included, cannot help stereotyping different kinds of jobs at least once without experiencing these jobs ourselves. However, researchers are able to avoid stereotyping or at least getting used to not stereotyping by practicing what Tony Mirabelli did himself: research. By becoming more educated about a topic, a job, or even a person, you can prevent yourself from making any ignorant insults or praises. Sometimes I wish my rude customers could take a step in my own shoes for a day, then just maybe, they would be easier with me. Rant over.