I am currently a travelling restaurant manager for one of Outback's concept restaurants. I was a server for nearly two years there (in addition to a variety of other positions), and have worked at a variety of other places. I started out at a restaurant called Cadillac Ranch in Kalamazoo where I worked for about eight months (until right before it closed), and then worked the following summer at the Frankenmuth Brewery in Frankenmuth, Michigan. Working at the Brewery played a large part in me falling in love with the restaurant industry. I was very sad to leave the Brewery and the people there when I went back to school that fall, but it gave me four months of incredible serving experience and a better look into how restaurants run. The following January I was hired into a small-town pub called Rhino's. I absolutely hated working there (I wasn't extraordinarily fond of the management, and I was only part-time) and wanted to find something that I could do more full-time (like I had been at the Brewery) once I was finished with school. I stayed with Rhino's through mid-June, which is when I was hired into my current restaurant for its grand opening in Michigan. I was thrilled for the opportunity to be in the original staff for a new restarant, and ended up absolutely adoring my job. I worked for a couple of other restaurants part-time while I was still just a server and trainer there (Bennigan's and Francois'), but it was always where my loyalties stood.

I've fallen in love with working in the restaurant industry and would love to someday own my own restaurant. The atmosphere is so unique, and every day is different from the last--I never get bored with my job. Serving definitely comes with its own set of challenges, however, and it's not for everybody. In Michigan servers only make $2.65 an hour (a lot of people don't realize that), so we really rely on tips to pay our bills. Some restaurants are highly lucrative for servers (particularly very high end or exceptionally busy restaurants), but a large number really aren't, so every little bit counts. Whenever I go out to eat I am certain to tip roughly 20% of the bill, and often more. Even when I have really bad service I'm not likely to tip less than 18% percent; I understand that there is a lot more to the server's job than meets the eye, and I never know what might be happening behind the scenes.

I could go on for hours about serving, and restaurants, and about dining etiquette, but this really isn't the space, so I'll spare you the lecture...this time *grins and winks*