"Dining out has become a form of entertainment, so it's up to the server to put on a good show," says Matthew Geary, a waiter in Minneapolis.
For an experienced fine dining waiter like Geary, this means knowing what his customers want even before they know it themselves.
"The biggest part of the job is anticipating the customer's needs and wants. The main reason I'm here is to make sure the customer has a pleasant experience," says Geary. He adds that he tailors his approach to suit different customers.
"A good server will know within a few seconds of arriving at a table whether his customer wants quiet and discreet service, or whether they want the server to be really friendly and assertive."
Geary hasn't always been serving food in the finest places. "I started out in greasy spoons and diners -- the kind of places where you check your silverware before you start eating," he says.
But as Geary's experience increased, so did his job prospects. He went from making minimum wage and small tips to a higher base wage and amazing tips. "There are some nights when I come home with $300 in my pocket," he says.
Geary is currently working in a French restaurant. In addition to serving French food, he has also served Indian, Japanese, Mexican and plain old American food. He says working in ethnic restaurants provides a good opportunity to learn about new foods, as well as new customs and people.
"In each of the ethnic restaurants I've worked in, I've worked with people from that culture, so it gave me an insider's perspective," he points out. "It's a real learning experience."
While he's learning, Geary admits there's lots of work to be done. For instance, at the restaurant he's currently working at, Geary's day starts with stocking the bar, preparing coffee and making sure everything is ready for the evening.
"I do all the things I can to make sure my service runs as smoothly as possible when the customers arrive."
Even though Geary does all he can to make sure things go off without a hitch, he says it's never that easy.
"On most nights, something goes wrong -- the chef is out of something, I drop a tray of glasses, an order gets lost, or a bus person doesn't show up." Geary says you just have to learn to deal with these things and go on with the job.
A typical evening for Geary is a hectic balancing act of greeting customers, taking orders, serving food, presenting wine, and keeping the customers happy and satisfied. He says this isn't always easy in a society that views servers as second-rate workers.
"People tend to think you don't need to be skilled to do this job," he says. "In Europe, being a good server is considered an art. In America, people assume you're doing this because you didn't finish high school.
"There are always some people you can't please," he adds.
Joanne Kringly agrees there are some patrons who never seem to be satisfied, but she says that doesn't keep her from trying. "I almost always find if I'm friendly with people, they're friendly right back," says Kringly, who works at a deli counter.
She admits there are people she can't please but says for every grumpy customer, there are at least five nice ones.
"I remember one day I was serving ice cream to this man who asked me to give him an extra large scoop," she recalls. "When I told him that would cost extra, he got upset and started to yell at me. Right away, the other people standing in line started to speak up and told him to leave me alone. I could've handled it, but it was nice to see people go out of their way to help me."
It takes real diplomacy to deal with difficult customers, especially when things pick up. Even though the deli she works at is small, Kringly says it can get really busy at times.
"Just yesterday, I was here by myself and there must have been about 10 people in line. I was slicing meat, scooping salads, dishing out ice cream. I thought I was going to lose it! But the rush didn't last too long."
Kringly says that's typical. Her day is usually a combination of crazy rushes like the one she just described and slow times, where she wipes things down, restocks supplies, gets pick-up orders ready and basically gets herself ready for the next rush.
Kringly hopes to open her own catering business some day. She feels her experience at the deli will help her build the skills she'll need.
"Dealing with the pressure and all the people is part of this industry, so the more practice I get, the better."