Server
(Female, Age 36) from Salt Lake City, UT
This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Female aged 36 who works as a Server in Salt Lake City, UT. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.
At a Glance
Current Job
Basic data on your current job
| Job Title | Server |
|---|---|
| Salary | $28,000 |
| Other Compensation | None Set |
| Hours/Week | 48 |
| Company Size | (not answered) |
| Location | Salt Lake City, UT |
| Years Experience | 7 years |
Career Ratings
Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)
| Years in Career | 0 |
|---|---|
| Education | (not answered) |
| Income Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Interest Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Work-Life Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Fulfilment Rating | 0 / 10 |
Current job Q&A
Describe the type of organization you work for.
Middle Eastern restaurant. Two locations with one casual and the other sit-down.
Describe your job role and responsibilities.
Answer phone, take orders, keep customers happy, clean, stock and refill, balance till, make sure everything runs smoothly and food is on time, make tea and coffee, be happy the entire shift, split tips equally and honestly, cover my section and half of the other server’s section because she is too slow, keep employees happy.
Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
free food 🙂 no insurance and definitely no paid days off. I am able to leave work to see various performances by my kids at school.
Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
undercompensated. Two servers are forced to split tips with the kitchen
Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
I love working with others, but i dislike very much working with slackers. I do not want to be the one doing all the extra work and the other person still gets the same amount of money.
Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes
Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes
Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.
I love our location. It is about 8 shops/restaurants in the middle of a neighborhood. We know all our customers on a first name basis and everyone adores the owner. I make everyone feel as though they are my friend and i go out of my way for each customer. We pride ourselves on our service and friendly atmosphere.
Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 5
Benefits: 2
Hours: 1
Co-Workers: 3
Supervisors: 4
Job Title: 8
Level of Responsibility: 7
The Actual Work: 6
A day in the life of…
Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:
| 5am to 6am | |
| 6am to 7am | |
| 7am to 8am | I am just getting the kids dressed for school. I make sure everyone is wearing uniform, has eaten enough, and has brushed their teeth. My 6 year old doesn’t want to start school today and my 5 year old is mad kindergarten isn’t starting today. The arguing never ends. They aruge on the way to the bus stop. They all stop when we come to a raspberry bush. They look forward to picking raspberries every morning. Yum…. |
| 8am to 9am | I run home to take a shower and eat breakfast. I leave home at 8:10am because i volunteer at the school before i go to work. When i get to school i find out that the entire staff is having a meeting and i will be watching the kindergartners have an hour recess. Luckily, another mom showed up to help. My little boy found a katydid and impressed all the kids. They all took a turn holding the bug. I let him take it home. |
| 9am to 10am | I was still helping at school. I found out they need a teacher assistant so this is good news. All four of my kids go to the same school so this could be great. The principal is really pushing for me. A little boy brought in Shrek 3 to watch. We wondered where he had gotten it and told him it was illegal. Why would his mom send a movie on the first day of school?? |
| 10am to 11am | I arrive at work. I am always the first one and am never late. I do most of the opening. I start the coffee, make the special tea, make homemade limeade, cut lemons, start a bleach bucket. Then i get the tables ready by putting clean tablecloths on and wiping down the glass. I also sweep the entire restaurant. My boss is a clean freak. Nothing can be out of place. |
| 11am to 12pm | I opened the restaurant. People call to order even before we open. Too bad the cooks don’t start cooking until 11am. I was stuck on the phone taking to go orders for a while. This puts me behind in my section. I have to remember what everyone wanted to drink and then check to see where the food is. A customer came in with his family an i saw his daughter throwing up outside. I couldn’t help but tell him she shouldn’t be in here. He said i couldn’t prove anything. They sat in my section and i was friendly as always and tried not to breathe by their table. They left me a big tip. |
| 12pm to 1pm | Lunch rush is sooo busy and everyone wants everything right now because they have a limited amount of time. The kitchen messed up three orders today. I just gave them their meal free. The other server working with me had to leave to go to INS. She is here illegally which is another story with me. I was working 16 tables for about an hour. Finally, the owner came in to help me. He doesn’t really help. He stands in the way and just talks to customers. I don’t know why he came. Doesn’t he see he is just in the way 🙂 I took my share of the tips out before the other server came back. Lunch is our biggest money maker and i wasn’t about to let her have my tips. The ownere argued with me because she is his cousin and he thinks we should split tips at the end of the day. I keep track of everything because i do most of the work. |
| 1pm to 2pm | At 1pm we are still busy. I put someone’s to go order on the counter so it would be ready when they walked in. A regular customer had ordered only a sandwich (1 box) and she took off with 3 bags of food. She didn’t even bother to call back. Too bad she paid with a credit card. I documented everything and charged her card. Why do people do this? |
| 2pm to 3pm | It finally slowed down. I got one bathroom break and some pepsi. I stocked everything again and mopped the floors. Everything has to be perfect when the night shift comes at 4pm. This is the cleanest restaurant anyone has seen. We clean the fridge on a daily basis so i got the finished. I made limeade and found out later that i had used salt instead of sugar: oops 🙂 I don’t feel so bad. The owner does it on a regular basis. I’m glad i wasn’t one to taste it. |
| 3pm to 4pm | Finally i am able to eat some food. I eat mazza rice, grape leaves, and hummus. One great bonus is eating awesome free food. With the owner there, i start eating. Of course, i sit down and a customer comes in. Oh well, i take it home. He tells me today that i can have his pathfinder for a small monthly payment since my van is dead. He is such an awesome guy. |
| 4pm to 5pm | I left work at 4:10 and hurried to get my 4 year old from preschool. We also have a parent meeting which i am in charge of. Why do i always take on so much? We are planning a party and field trip for the kids. We each agreed to get a certain amount of donations since Headstart is non-profit. Businesses are usually good about donating. |
| 5pm to 6pm | |
| 6pm to 7pm | |
| 7pm to 8pm | |
| 8pm to 9pm | |
| 9pm to 10pm | |
| 10pm to 11pm | |
| 11pm to 12am |
Table of Contents
How you got your job
How did you get your current job?
I knew the owner and my sister works their as well.
What was the application process?
No application. He called me.
Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
No interview. I wasn’t even trained. He threw me on the job and i made it up as i went along.
If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
n/a
Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
No he did not. He does not know the meaning of “training”.
Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
none at all!
Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
No, but my sister did. I watched how she treated the customers and i mimicked her. Her cheerfulness is contagious.
If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
n/a
If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
It wouldn’t be very hard. There are always jobs available in the restaurant industry. Just not at our restaurant. No one ever leaves. We’ve all been there forever. The owner is completely awesome and really takes care of us.
What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
Must be customer oriented. Also, work quickly and thoroughly. Have a great attitude and work well with others. Be able to do their share of the work.
Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
The average person needs a few months training.
What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Do whatever you can, within reason, to keep the customer happy. Make sure you are genuine with them. People know when you are faking and they don’t appreciate it. If you mess up their order (or the kitchen does) tell them and apologize. Give them a free appetizer or a discount. Go the extra mile for people.
Long-term career plans
Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
No. I would really like to be a dental assistant but will be a server until all my kids are in school.
What are your current career goals?
To be a dental assistant/hygienist.
Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
It’s a lot of work but if you enjoy people it is great. The money is really nice, too. I guess it depends who you work for. I know how good i have it.
Prior work history
Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:
| Title | Length | Salary | Description | |
| Prior Job 1 | Volunteer | 7 years | none | Assist teachers with various assignments. Help children with “centers”. Go on field trips. Doing whatever is asked of me. |
| Prior Job 2 | General Manager | 2 years | 3300/month | Assist clients with gsm phones. Program phones for different clients, ship them, track them, verify return of phones, bill customers, advertising. |
Educational background
Please list your educational background:
High School GPA:3.8
| GPA | School | Degree | |
| College (Undergraduate) or Technical/Vocational |
4 | Salt Lake Community College | Music/ Applied Science |
| Graduate or Professional (Masters or Doctorate) |
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