New Start

The Food and Beverage (F&B) industry is a completely new path for me. I embarked on this journey without any knowledge about how the job is executed. All I knew then was that I wanted to bring a smile on people’s faces by providing them with the most essential need of survival; food. Food gives me happiness and I appreciate good food. I have always liked the connection between food and happiness. And I want to bring this happiness to people. Delivering happiness and seeing happiness brings joy to me.

Being in the industry for a month now, I have to say that a server’s job is not an easy job. It is challenging and demanding but it is also a highly rewarding job as it gives you a sense of satisfaction at the end of the day.

Customers play a vital role in the service industry as they are the ones who roll the money in. Therefore, customer service is really important. Giving good service to customers not only makes customers happy but it makes servers happy too. When customers show you appreciation, it truly makes your day. However, honestly speaking, only 1 out of 5 customers in a day will actually “notice” you. 4 customers will just place their orders, eat their food upon receiving it and walk out of the restaurant after that. However, there will be that 1 customer who will make you feel that your job is fulfilling. He will smile at you, talk about the food, ask you for recommendations, thank you and tell you how happy he is with your service. They notice your presence and make you feel important. This makes me feel contented.

Service is not just about knowing the menu, taking orders, carrying dishes and delivering them to tables. There are other skills involved. Firstly, a good memory skill. Customers make requests and call for you one after another. Even before you have accomplished the first task, you have a few more in hand (especially during peak hours). Imagine a customer asking you for an extra cutlery, followed by another customer asking you for the bill and another customer wanting a glass of wine. You have to remember all of that and not miss out anyone’s request. Secondly, a service is also about understanding that every customer is a different individual with different characters and needs. Therefore, you require different approaches with different customers. It is about studying your customers and understanding them and giving the best service you can. This will leave them feeling happy and satisfied and wanting to return for more.

To sum it all, this is the most rewarding job that I have done in my life thus far.