The Pros and Cons of Front of House Work

Waiting tables is a very popular job as it’s easy to get into and can often be pretty flexible. It is an ideal role for people looking for weekend or evening work, but there are plenty of full-time positions available also. Here’s a list of the pros and cons of working front of house:

Pros:

Fast-Paced Work

Waiting tables is a busy job as it keeps you moving and occupied at all times. Even when it’s quiet in the restaurant, there will always be extra tasks to keep you busy.

Flexible

Working in restaurants can provide flexible work for most people which makes it great for those who are particularly looking for evening or weekend work. It also means it can fit around you and any other responsibilities you may have to fulfil.

Tips

You will receive tips on top of your wages which is a nice little boost and will reflect on your good work.

Learn Transferable Skills

There are so many transferable skills that you can learn when working front of house, such as organisation, communication, and money-handling.

Learn to Work Under Pressure

When it’s busy in the restaurant, you will experience working under pressure. This can happen quite often so you may get rather good at it!

Every Day is Different

No two days are the same when waiting tables. You will meet new customers every day and you will learn a lot about how to interact with people. Remember to take each day as it comes!

 

Cons:

Stressful

Working in such a busy environment can be stressful for some people. Of course, the type of establishment you work in will vary in work load and stress-level but this is something to bear in mind when applying for a waiting job.

Long and Antisocial Hours

Very often, front of house staff will be working long and antisocial hours. When it’s busy, you may not get a break for a long time and you may have to work late evenings, depending on the establishment.

Tips

Whilst we have listed tips as a pro, they also apply as a con. Sometimes customers don’t tip when they should and you can feel disheartened by this. You may find yourself working even harder to try and bring in as many tips as possible, and sometimes the tips you earn go into a pot that’s split between the whole restaurant which can be frustrating also.

Less Promotion Opportunities

In some cases, there aren’t many opportunities to advance in front of house work which is often why people pick up a waiting job as a short-term or additional job.

 

To see if we have any Front of House roles available today, please visit our Jobs page by clicking here.

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