My first day on the job...
It's true! I started working yesterday. It was only a trial run, but last night I put in a 5 hour dinner shift at a pretty busy restaurant in Geneva, waiting tables.
About a month ago I mentioned to some friends that I was looking for work, and my name was passed on to the owner of a local restaurant called Heaven that we have frequented quite a bit since it opened last October. He contacted me last week and told me to come in on Thursday night. I thought I was there for an interview, but when I arrived they gave me a staff shirt and started showing me around. I have to admit I was really not expecting to work, but I dove right in and gave it my best shot. With no training, it was truly sink or swim.
I haven't worked in a restaurant since college, but I was soon right back in the swing of things. There were certainly differences from my old restaurant. The biggest for me was the language barrier. The menus are in French and English, and while quite a few customers speak English, some only speak French. That was a bit of a challenge for me. That, and the fact that I don't know a whole lot about wine. The other big difference was that there were no "sections" for each server, instead we all worked together on all the tables. It was hard for me to keep track of everything at first, since there were over 60 customers and I had to know what each of the other wait staff was doing so I didn't accidentally hand a desert menu to someone who had just finished their appetizer.
But I caught on pretty fast and soon I was having a great time. I even made a 40 CHF (about $32) tip! In Switzerland, tips in general are unheard of... the gratuity is already in the bill, so it is customary to only leave one or two francs no matter how big the bill is, so the 40 frank tip was great! Quite a few tables thanked me for the great service (in general, customer service in Switzerland is a rarity), so I was feeling pretty good about things. The other servers were great too. There were four of us last night, the other three spoke fluent French.
It was a great night for me, but I have to wait until next week to see if I have the job or not. If I don't get it, I'm sure it will be due to my French skills. But if I do, it will be a great place to practice my French! My fingers are crossed...
About a month ago I mentioned to some friends that I was looking for work, and my name was passed on to the owner of a local restaurant called Heaven that we have frequented quite a bit since it opened last October. He contacted me last week and told me to come in on Thursday night. I thought I was there for an interview, but when I arrived they gave me a staff shirt and started showing me around. I have to admit I was really not expecting to work, but I dove right in and gave it my best shot. With no training, it was truly sink or swim.
I haven't worked in a restaurant since college, but I was soon right back in the swing of things. There were certainly differences from my old restaurant. The biggest for me was the language barrier. The menus are in French and English, and while quite a few customers speak English, some only speak French. That was a bit of a challenge for me. That, and the fact that I don't know a whole lot about wine. The other big difference was that there were no "sections" for each server, instead we all worked together on all the tables. It was hard for me to keep track of everything at first, since there were over 60 customers and I had to know what each of the other wait staff was doing so I didn't accidentally hand a desert menu to someone who had just finished their appetizer.
But I caught on pretty fast and soon I was having a great time. I even made a 40 CHF (about $32) tip! In Switzerland, tips in general are unheard of... the gratuity is already in the bill, so it is customary to only leave one or two francs no matter how big the bill is, so the 40 frank tip was great! Quite a few tables thanked me for the great service (in general, customer service in Switzerland is a rarity), so I was feeling pretty good about things. The other servers were great too. There were four of us last night, the other three spoke fluent French.
It was a great night for me, but I have to wait until next week to see if I have the job or not. If I don't get it, I'm sure it will be due to my French skills. But if I do, it will be a great place to practice my French! My fingers are crossed...
posted by Swiss Miss | 10:43
3 Comments:
I thought this day would never come. I bet Obus is thrilled. No visa no problem (I guess).
Awesome, Swiss Miss!!! Keep us posted. This could lead to some great international espionage gigs, I'm sure.
No work visa = hard time finding work... I'm pretty sure this is an U-t-T position, but I'm not sure. It's very hard to find someone willing to sponsor you when there are Swiss, EU, & British (all with work visas and most who speak French) going for the same jobs... but I'm not giving up! :)
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