How to Transition from a Restaurant Manager to a Server
Transitioning from a restaurant manager to a restaurant server is by far one of the more surreal experiences in any waiter/waitresses career. One of my coworkers and proud to say close best friend of all time Daniel Nortman has personally embarked and experienced this transition. I naturally am fascinated by the whole process and have my own ideas and thoughts about it, but I thought why not get the inside scoop from the man himself. He agreed to take some time off and sit down with me for this following interview. I have placed the rest of this article in the words of my great friend here for your viewing pleasure, Enjoy.
Humble Beginnings
I’ve been serving for years across many restaurants and have climbed up to manager in numerous of them. I decided to re-evaluate my position and came to the conclusion of becoming a server again. I knew in advance it would take time to acclimate to my new role, but did not quite know what to expect. As a manager of a restaurant I felt that I was missing out on a huge deal of the guest interactions that made me enjoy working in the restaurant industry more then ever. I would have to say the deciding factor was that as a server I discovered that I could leave the restaurant behind at the end of my shift and can once again have an incredible thing called “a life.” I also recognized that guest interactions weren’t always fun and rainbows as I once remembered it to be.
Not too long ago, I have seen a couple of previous associates of mines make this same transition. Turns out their experiences still ended up being extremely close to what I encountered. We all had a humorous banter of funny laughs discussing at the retribution we suffered being subject to politics within the establishment and also policies we once enforced. While everyone is content with the switch, the adjustment period is filled with grueling challenges.
The Mindset to Have
In your best interest I have taken upon myself to make it easier for any other person considering this transition, here are a few ideas I would like for you to keep in mind and learn from me.
Think of it like this…
You just became a child again, at the very least a teenager. Remember all those things that you once felt quite capable of regulating on your own? Well they are now subject to a policy. Where should we begin? There are cell phone policies, tardiness policies, uniform policies, and a countless amount of other rules you are now held to. Many of these were previously subject to your discretion. Now you must follow them along with every other worker in the restaurant. These policies will often times seem silly and ridiculous. But you can bet that the staff you managed felt the same way when you were enforcing them yourself.
Brutal Honesty
No one wants to hear what you know about the business. Have you experienced that server who always seemed to have advice on how you could improve the way you do your job when you were a manager? Didn’t you have a constant struggle tug of war in your mind trying to decide if strangle them or not? Now that you are a server once again, don’t be that guy. If your manager wants your opinion, believe me.. they will ask for it.
Choose your Companions
Because of the fact that you have been a manager prior, you are most likely a tad bit older than most of your fellow restaurant waiter and waitresses. This may seem that you have more in common with the restaurant’s managers than the waiter staff. A crucial thing to remember though is that your fellow servers are the people who you need to count on in a jam. Find some foundation and consolidate with your fellow coworkers.
Take it in stride
You will find reason after reason after reason to question your decision to become a server again. While I would never undermine the difficulties of management, you will find serving tables more challenging than you have had prior. In hindsight we all fondly can recollect how great of a waiter we were in the past. In the present moment, tables will still put you in the weeds my friend. Guests will still demean you. Managers will still enforce absurd rules that you strongly disagree with. At the end of it all, this is the path you chose. My advice is choosing to NOT focus on the negatives. Instead, grow to love and appreciate the positives and remember to leave work behind you when you walk out the door. Now that you are a server again and not a manger you have that new found luxury!
The universe has a funny way of expressing itself when you participate in making this transition. Chances are you will make the transition to restaurant management again one day in the future, possibly even if it is not in the food industry. This is where the universe becomes to take its course and come into play. In the future you quite likely have a staff of employees just like yourself. Extend grace to your new coworkers and managers because one day you will want it extended to you. Trust me when making this transition at least at first you will need plenty of it, but I must say…I don’t regret not one thing along the way.