Did I ever tell you about my first job?
The summer after I turned 16, I got a job as a server at the local Hilton in my town. During the summer, the outdoor pool wasn't just for hotel guests, but local residents who wanted a pool club. I was a seasonal waitress at the outdoor patio bar and grill. My cousin got a job lifeguarding at the pool, and a few other friends worked both poolside and bar side. Not only was it fun, but I fell in love with hospitality that summer.
I didn't just love spending my days outside. I loved meeting new hotel guests every day, building relationships with the local "club" members, and creating new friendships with the other staff. And… I was good at it!!
Sure, I had the formal training on how to use the POS (it was Micros, since you asked), memorized and was tested on every menu item, learned how to make the perfect roll-up, and how to "marry" the ketchup bottles.
I even survived the hazing of being the new girl. Word to the wise...if you're ever asked to take a cement truck "shot," the bartender is working on... Just say no…Trust me, I learned the hard way. 🤢
But you know what no one taught me? What I figured out on my own? That a smile goes a long way. Asking someone's name, and then remembering it, goes a long way.
Learning little details about families and food preferences goes a long way.
The dentist who came every afternoon hungry around 3:00 after closing his office early for summer hours? Club sandwich, no tomato, iced tea. I fired that order at 2:50 before he even arrived.
The parents who brought their kids to the pool after camp every Tuesday? Chicken nuggets and fries were pushed to the front of the pass. (Even at 16 I knew to prevent “hangry” children).
How about greeting every table (or pool chair) with ice-cold waters before anyone had to ask. Did I do that to be nice? Sure. But it also just made my job easier, and on a 95-degree day everyone appreciated having something refreshing right away.
I didn't do those things because someone trained me to, but because it's who I am.
And because it's exactly how I'd want to be treated.
Funny enough, thirty years later, there's now data to prove what sixteen-year-old Julie instinctively figured out. A recent Toast article found that 48% of guests say being remembered by name or by their usual order is what makes them feel most valued at a restaurant. The article also stated that “guests who feel recognized are 80% more likely to try new menu items, and 77% tip more—with 46% leaving an additional 5–10% and 37% leaving an extra 10–15% or more on top of their standard gratuity.”
People don't just remember the food, they remember how you made them feel. And they will reward you for it!
You know what the unexpected Bonus was? I got great tips. Excellent tips. Double my co-workers. You know what I didn’t expect? The day I was called into the manager’s office. Why? Well, I guess it was so crazy a server could be that good at their job, that I was accused of stealing tips! Apparently, it seemed impossible that a 16-year-old server could consistently make that much in tips.
Let me tell you, being accused of something you absolutely didn't do at 16 years old is something I've never forgotten. Especially because I was doing everything right.
Of course, once I explained everything and had guests and coworkers back me up, it was all cleared up. In fact, they offered me a raise, invited me back every summer, and even told me they saw management potential in me. Not bad for the new girl who almost drank a cement truck, right?
But here's my point. In hospitality, you either understand that you're serving food...
or you're serving people. Those are two very different jobs.
Today, restaurants have incredible technology. POS systems are smarter. AI can predict demand. Guest profiles remember preferences. Loyalty platforms know birthdays. Kitchen display systems move orders faster. Handheld devices speed up payments. There are tools that can make servers more efficient than I ever could have imagined back when I was balancing a tray of Ice Teas and club sandwiches.
But don’t forget the human side. Remember I talked about that last week too. Sensing a theme here!?!
Technology can tell you what someone ordered last time…. But it can't make you smile, it can't teach curiosity and it can't remind you to kneel down and ask a five-year-old about swim camp, or remember that Dad likes extra lemons in his iced tea.
Those things still belong to people.
That’s what great training should really focus on. Let’s spend less time teaching employees how to do the job but why the little things matter.
Looking back, that summer job taught me a lot more than how to carry three plates at once or survive a bartender's practical jokes. It inspired me that being a server job is not just about taking orders but making people feel remembered.
Almost 30 later, I still believe the best technology in the world doesn't replace that. It simply gives great hospitality professionals more time to practice it. And thankfully, I've never been accused of stealing tips again...but if someone hands me a cement truck shot, I'm still saying no. 🤢
