You all may not know, but for the past nine months, I have worked at a take-and-bake pizza place. The job doesn’t suck. I have enjoyed it most of the time. But, the time has come for me to move on to a different job and better opportunity at a different restaurant. Along the way, I have learned quite a bit, so I wanted to share with you the things I learned.
1. The customer is NOT always right, in fact, they’re almost always wrong. Those of you who have worked in food service or any type of customer service may know what I’m talking about. Those customers who walk in all high and mighty. Those are the worst kind. As an employee we may seem to respect you as a customer, but we don’t. Don’t be that person.
2. We will talk about you when you leave. As soon as the lobby is empty and the customers are gone, you better bet that we will talk about you. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but we know who you are and if you’ve offended at least one of us in the past.
3. Making pizza is pretty easy. I mean, think about it. Get the dough, spread the sauce, measure some cheese, and throw on some toppings.
4. I don’t really like to make pizza. I now know that pizza making is not in my future career. (No offense to any and all professional pizza makers.)
5. Working with a relatively small crew – about 13 people – means there is a lot of drama. My crew was all girls and one guy and let me tell you, DRAMA. This is one of the worst parts about the job. If you don’t get along with someone, everyone will know and they will either agree with you or shame you.
6. I still like pizza. I genuinely do. I almost gained a little more respect for different types of pizzas.
7. Some customers will do anything for that $1.00 coupon. Not that being frugal isn’t fantastic, but I don’t know how much longer I could take being harassed about someone not qualifying for a coupon. It really won’t make that much of a difference. Or maybe it will and I just don’t understand. Whichever way, I don’t like being harassed.
8. Customers that are high are the funniest. I’m talking about being high on marijuana. They order anything they see and then they tip us their pot leaf covered money. We think it’s hilarious. Just as a disclaimer, I don’t smoke marijuana, nor have I ever, and I live in a state where marijuana use is legal.
9. We will never, ever spit on your food. Unless you walk in at 8:57 PM (we close at 9) and order three pizzas. Then maybe, just maybe, we will be extremely angry.
10. Music makes everything better. We always have the radio playing and it really makes the time pass by faster. And we all love to sing along and dance when no one is watching.
11. Don’t piss off your supervisor or you will be stuck on dishes for days on end. This always seemed to happen to me. Sometimes I say things before I have the chance to think about it.
12. I’m going to miss working at my pizza place. I really will.
If you have ever worked at a pizza place and I missed something, let me know!
Casually Kristin Clementine 