My First Official Night

Since this is my first post I suppose an introduction of some sort would be appropriate, but I haven't really got the time. To keep things short, I just graduated from college, am trying to escape the country and continue my education, I freelance, and--on a whim--I just got a job as a server. Aside from working my college's equipment cage and one day at Hot Topic I've only worked as a freelancer (mostly telecommuting), so I thought I would chronicle the experience. It may not be terribly interesting, but this is the age of the blog--might as well!

Last night was my first time officially working dinner at the Japanese restaurant I was hired at. Technically my first night was Saturday, but that was pretty much all training (and boy did it get scary). I and the other new server followed one of the top servers--the one who had been training us--one last time before being sent out on our own. We both made plenty of mistakes, but nothing too bad. One of the owning family members tried to take my table away as soon as she realized I was copying orders from the chef's ticket onto mine in the back...which is what I've seen almost everyone doing. So I started writing everything down at the table and she was very happy with the way the night turned out. Figuring out how to write things down in a timely manner, getting familiar with exactly what is offered (especially regarding alcohol and other things I've never ordered there), and knowing exactly the best way to approach all the customers is going to be the most challenging thing for me. My first really busy night "officially" working is going to be frightening, but hopefully I'll be ready for it. I've learned how to open for dinner and how to close both outside and kitchen, so I guess I've just got bathrooms and lunch opening/closing left to learn. That and a heck of a lot of practice. They feed us at the end of the shift (though I don't eat the beefy meal, opting for just soup and rice so far) and we tip out at the end of our shift, as well.

From what everyone has said the job is pretty easy once you get accustomed to everything and that the family (the owners) are the hardest part to deal with. At dinner they take 55% of our tips from us. That seems like a lot, but I know it's so the other staff can be tipped (chefs, busboys), so I'm fine with it. I came out with only about $15 last night. I know that this practice varies from place to place, That said, it's time to get ready to go to work, so I'll be posting about lunch after I get back.