As many of us have worked or should work at least once in the hospitality business, often times the employees are not respected enough for the skills brought to the table. Many think it’s not that difficult to take an order, put it into the micros system correctly and ensure your guests get the best customer service you’d like to receive when you yourself is out for lunch, dinner or whatever occasion. Yet most people forget servers have to deal with the frequent unsatisfied customer who can never be satisfied with whatever you do. Now when I worked in the industry several years ago a waiter would get $2.13 an hour plus tips. It seems crazy to me now that I ever accepted to work for this amount of money, but that’s just the way things were. And getting gypped out of tips is as if you were working in a sweatshop, getting paid pennies to work in harsh conditions ie: getting insulted, disrespected and yelled at with little to no break. Just a slave to provide whatever whim the guest wanted.
Before leaving the States I had a respectable job as the production coordinator and later the design coordinator. Fancy titles eh. In the end, as much as I loved the people I worked with, enjoyed the camaraderie, and respected the work we did, it just didn’t fit me. Simply, my heart and passion was somewhere else. It took 4 years to make me finally realize this and have enough guts to quit despite the rising numbers in unemployment and no job prospect in line. But with no regret, I packed my bags and left for an adventure of a lifetime to Australia (as I stated earlier in my first blog entry).
When I left home I never thought I’d be working in the hospitality business again because it wasn’t as satisfying as some people gloried the pay. Yes on occasion it was worth it, but if you worked at the chain restaurant I did, it was no piece of cake. The ghetto walked in and you just rolled your eyes hoping they wouldn’t sit in your section. Harsh but true reality is that they would barely tip if at all. And for they're FYI...NO 10%-15% is no longer the minimum!!! But my work ethics required me to give the same service as anyone that walked in. Yet nothing seemed to phase these people, that no tip was almost like stealing.
Before I left for Australia, I didn’t know if I was going to stay longer than 3 months much less stay as long as I have (almost 9 months and counting :D). I looked for jobs for a while and received phone calls, but many dismissed me as soon as I said I had a working visa, for the rule is you can’t work for one employer for more than 6 months unless you get sponsored through that company. They were looking for someone more permanent. Super lame! Little did I know that there were loop holes around this little rule. But in any case, I took a job working in the hospitality biz in Melbourne thinking I’d just do this for awhile until I found something better. I applied to more jobs and even at the temp agencies. Come to find out, people in Australia actually valued good service. I got paid the same working as a waitress as I did doing secretary/receptionist roles. I could not believe it! And when I evaluate the situation, I could be sitting in front of a computer all day being bored out of my mind or interact with people all day and enjoy the crazy weather Melbourne had to offer. I even thought deeper and in the future I could be the head honcho of some corporate company, stressed, not have the free time for the things I loved and getting paid insane amount of money or I could work at a job that did not pay as well nor get the same respect as the corporate job, but be happier. Now which would you choose? The happy yet poor or the wealthy and respected? Well it’s a hard compromise because we want it all, but at the end of the day I think we need to take a minute and think do I “love the life I live and live the life I love” as Mr. Marley put it.
As I wake up at the break of dawn, against my bodies will and mental battle of “I need to be at work on time,” I get to work and see this view at 6:45am.
Hardly seems like a compromise, does it? Because for a moment, God makes me realize this is exactly where I need to be right now. And on a side note...the next morning, the sky looked even better! So for those of you working the 9 to 5 grind and are unhappy...think about what you could be doing with your life that is more fulfilling.
Til the next time...
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