What to Do When You’re a Server for a Morning

What to Do When You’re a Server for a Morning

            A Social Science teacher would always say to us in Philippine History class, “expand your horizon of understanding!” The main character of a favourite movie said, “let us try to open our minds to a new idea.” Right. It’s so thrilling to be always right because you’re the customer, but what if you’re the one talking to and reasoning with the customer who’s always right? It’s much more thrilling, to tell you the truth.

            Your reasoning and speech power are not the only ones at stake here. Yes, you have to reason well, talk politely, and compromise, but you have to do it in such a way that your customers will not feel they’re being shortchanged. In short, reason well but not well enough that your customers think you’re on top. And keep that ridiculous smile on your face, even when you’re in a ridiculously tricky situation.

            And that’s exactly what it is, a situation. Imagine you’re a young server catering to the needs of an army of teachers training for the new curriculum. You have your serving tray with you which is stacked with sandwiches, and a fellow student server accompanying you who handles the juice drinks. Here’s what I did, and what I suggest you do if you’re ever in a situation like this. (If you do have better ideas, then don’t hesitate to put them to action!)

1.      When you have started serving the customers (albeit awkwardly since you haven’t been properly trained for the three-day job) and then one of the customers say, aren’t we included? (And they’re definitely not, because you’ve been categorically directed to cater to the teachers who have a meal stub that says LNU Cafeteria, and not the other catering service.) And this customer is just about as hungry as a hippo because now he’s bargaining with you (How much is the sandwich?) and practically making puppy dog eyes at you to make you agree. But he’s the wrong customer. What would you do? I just smiled, and moved on to the next table.

When one of the trainers do ask you this aren’t-we-included question, which I think is both an innocently phrased command (I’m the customer. Now come over and give me some of that food) and thinly veiled insult (Can’t you see I’m one of the participants? What are you doing trying to skip me?), smile (again) and give him/her his share (and the other trainers’ too). The manager will worry about it for you later. (Please do tell the manager about this incident, he/she might wonder why the food wasn’t enough to serve everyone, and where did it go.)

2.      When one of the customers, who is apparently not happy with the ‘disorganized’ way you have of serving, suggests a better idea (which by the way, you have already been practicing without her noticing it), smile, thank her for her thoughtful gesture, and reassure her that you’ll do it from now on.

3.      And of course, the classic customer question: may I have something else [insert name here] instead? Like when you’re handing out orange juice drinks and the customer wants pineapple juice. If you have what the customer wants, then give it, if you don’t, try to give a little sales talk and convince him/her that this drink is just as delicious, sweet, and healthy as the other one.

Or the other classic Filipino customer question: may I have more? Since the customers are at their charming best when putting out this question, I suggest you politely, but firmly, say No. (You’re going to be responsible if there’s one other customer who doesn’t get his share just because you gave in to this innocent demand.)

4.      And one more thing, when you realize that it’s a really small world and one of the teachers recognizes you as a former student, Why ever did you choose to shift? I thought you were learning to teach! What to do? I suggest you patiently explain and banter, I am learning to teach. This is part of the training.

            Michael Hammer was right, “Serving the customer is not a mechanical act but one that provides an opportunity for fulfillment and meaning.” Fulfilment because it gives you that I’m-a-good-human-being feeling that you’ve served somebody else other than yourself, that you’re actually not as selfish or as proud as you thought. I mean, teachers sure serve humanity unselfishly, and we all know that, but you’ve got to hand it over to the servers, the waiters and waitresses, the utility and the other people who serve you and wait on you, nang walang anumang pag-iimbot, pasubali, o hangaring umiwas, to use the Filipino terms. At least teachers have a semblance of authority inside and outside the classroom, but what about these guys who are inferior (in the Indian caste sense)? These are the people we don’t notice and often affront, just because they are visibly under us in a servant-master relationship. If Shirley Chisholm was right when she said that “Service is the rent that you pay for room on this earth”, then these guys have paid the rent twice or thrice over.

            If only for that feeling of fulfillment, I would do the serving job again. But it has its other perks too, for me. I get to wear slacks and high heels, a rather formal outfit for a serving job, if you ask me, but hey, one still has to look good, decent, and presentable even when you’re only serving. Plus, we get our share of snacks too. Pretty good pay for a two-hour job packaging the snacks and distributing them.

            You’re gonna have to serve somebody. Yes indeed, Bob Dylan. You just have to do it armed with a stack of polite arguments, a smile, and a sense of humor. (Oh, and one more thing I learned, no one likes the Dashing Dalandan flavor of Oh My Juice!, and I don’t know why. It tasted good when we were given it for a snack, because, yes, no one wanted it.)