The Good Life of an Olive Garden Server

So many people I know or read about on the Internet often complain about their job as servers more so than talk about the positive things.  I am going to let you know what I like about being a server.  Now this does not mean that I love what I do, and obviously this is not what I want to do for the rest of my life.  I could write a book about what irritates me to the very core of my being about serving people, but this is going to be alllll positive!! :)

1. First and foremost my favorite part of being a server, well at least at Olive Garden anyway, is flexible scheduling.  My managers are most amazing at working with my availability.  I pick exactly what days and hours I want to work and they work with me and give that to me.  If I want to take a vacation for a week or two, they let me have it!!!  I think being a server is a perfect job for a stay at home mom that wants to make a little extra money.  She wouldn't have to work long hours, and can pretty much pick out her schedule.  I can say Olive Garden is definitely a great place to work especially when you have a great management team like ours! 

2. The money is pretty good. (Tips, not hourly. Which by the way is only 2.13 an hour) Sometimes I am there for maybe three hours, and make $30-$50.  That's around 10 to 16ish dollars an hour.  Not bad. Of course there are times I make more.  A double, well a good double with a hour or two break in between, I can make up to almost $100.   So it's not bad.

3. I meet a lot of  interesting people. Enough said.

4. Uniforms.  The great thing about wearing a uniform is that I don't have to think all night what I am going to wear to work the next day.  It's the same thing everyday, and that's ok with me.  (Even though jeans would be nice.  Staying positive.)  I don't have to spend a bundle of money buying clothes that I would if I worked somewhere that didn't require uniforms. I work 4 days a week, one day being a double, and I have 4 work shirts and 5 work pants.  It's perfect.

5. Serving keeps me mentally alert!!  If you think just anyone can serve, that a monkey could do my job, well you are wrong!  So wrong!!!  It's all about multi-tasking.   I'm back in the kitchen making 3 salads (because I got triple sat), one being with ranch dressing instead of the standard Italian, the next having no onions with extra olives and one tomato, to a salad with Romaine lettuce instead of the iceberg mix with ranch and italian on the side (one person want ranch).  All while I am making this I am told to run hot food. So I have to stop what I am doing to run food.  As I am running the food, I take a quick look at my tables being ever so patient, drinking the last drop of their soda while looking for me.  Ahhh!   I am by no means complaining, I am just giving you an example as to what I mean by multi-tasking while busy.  Serving keeps my brain ticking and feet running. lol

6. Shifts are easily covered or picked up.  This kind of goes along with my number one, flexible scheduling.  If at last minute Dan and I decided to go out of town the day after tomorrow, I can find a server who will work it for me.  If I am running low on money because I just blew all my money while out of town, I can most of the time find someone who wants to give their shift away.  Another one of my favorite things about being a server.

7.  Exercise.  As I said in number 5, serving keeps my brain ticking and my feet running.  I am constantly walking back and forth, carrying heavy trays of food and drinks.  I keep my phone which has a pedometer in my pocket during my shifts, and on a busy day I have walked 6-8 miles.  Even on a slower day I walk alot!

8.  Discount on food!  With all that walking, I get hungry!!  I get a 50% discount within an hour before and/or after my shift. And I get 25% off up to 7 friends and family when dining in. Not only that but I get a discount at other Darden restaurants like Red Lobster, Longhorn Steakhouse,  Bahama Breeze,  The Capital Grille, and Seasons 52.  YUM!

9.  Our beloved bussers who work their little butts off.  I can really appreciate our bussers here at Olive Garden, because they do alot, and to me they get little recognition.  They of course clean our tables, help bus our tables, grab dirty plates out of my hand before I can make it back to dish,  & set the tables.  They do all the side work that at other restaurants servers would normally do like get ice, make teas and lemonades, clean side stations, supply clean dishes. They even help out with the tables sometime by providing refills!! Sometimes I see them along with the host rolling hundreds of silverware before they can go home.   This is just a small portion of what they do!!  So everyday when I tip them out I always thank them for the hard work they put in!

10.  I can make people happy!  I love to make people happy, to see them smile, to enjoy themselves.  So when my guest tell me what a great job I did in serving them and how wonderful the food was, it makes me feel good. A little sense of accomplishment.  Even the little things like when I leave them a little note with their check. I had a sweet elderly couple that was so happy that I left them a note saying how much I enjoyed waiting on them and to have a wonderful day.  She told me she was going to keep it so she could look at it later and smile. How sweet!   Or when a young child tells me that I am the best server they ever had and gives me a hug!!! It's an amazing feeling, and in my opinion makes it worth coming to work even if I leave with less than $20 that day. 

So this is the top 10 reasons I love being a server at Olive Garden!! I hope I didn't bore you too much!!! Thanks for reading!!!

 

Yummy Olive Garden