Have you ever served in a restaurant before? Or wondered what is it like to be one of those wait staff with big trays? How long are they on their feet each day, and do you think they have it easy?

Waiters are very noble beings. They wake up each day with a common purpose – to bring their best service to your table. Many times, we may have taken them for granted, and they really deserve more appreciation and respect; appreciation from customers, and respect from their employers.

We spoke with a few friends in the industry, and have them share with us some hidden messages they wish to share with customers so as to help make their workplace a better one, and for them to be motivated to serving you better.

Here are 5 things your waiter wants you to know:

#1. WAITERING IS A VERY DEMANDING JOB. BE NICE, THEY ARE HUMANS TOO

It is physically taxing and very back-breaking. Waiters have to deal with heavy trays and kitchenware on a daily basis, and it is not as easy as it seems. Imagine having to hold five 1-kg plates on a single arm, or balancing a tray of three bottles of wines on one palm. Imagine reporting to work at 6am for two hours of mise en place, then three hours of non-stop rush hour breakfast service, another hour of turnover before the lunch crowd comes in and keeps you busy for another three hours, and finally another evening of dinner service. This is the daily grind of a full-time waiter, and you bet it is not easy at all.

Be nice to them. A word of encouragement suffice to keep them motivated and to tide them through the long day of work. The next time you meet your waiter, smile and thank them when they bring you your food and cutleries. Tell them you appreciate their service and promptness.

#2 A WAITER DOESN’T GET PAID VERY WELL

They are not the best paid, neither are they the most respected profession. But they are in a noble line of service, and without them, our dining experience is incomplete. While they play such an integral part in an F&B business, they are actually not very well paid, and more often than not, they are the ones to sacrifice their weekends and public holidays to be at your service.

Some may ask, “why not implement minimum wage for the service industry so that they get paid more?”. It is not as simple as it sounds in reality. By implementing a minimum wage of $10 per hour, it puts the worker at risk of losing their job because it would mean additional cost to the company, and in order to keep costs down, they will be sure to terminate workers with poorer performance.

In the long run, will the remaining waiters get paid more than the minimum wage if they become better waiters? What if it takes ten years to raise the minimum wage?

To help a waiter do well in his job and earn more, restaurant owners should invest in equipment and systems that allows him to do more without having to work longer hours. This will increase the profits for the restaurant and a part of these profits can then be shared with the waiters.

As customers, we can give our feedback to the restaurant’s managers to commend good waiters, as well as give constructive suggestions how the restaurant can be more productive, instead of complaining on social media.

Show them your support by tipping them. This is the most practical way to show your appreciation. It brings us joy to give, and it definitely brings sunshine to their days.

#3 WAITERS ARE NOT THE ONES WHO MAKE YOUR FOOD AND DRINKS

Waiters are always the first point of contact, and they are responsible for serving you. They set your table, they bring you the menu, they put your order on the table, but one thing that they do not do is to prepare your food and drinks. Waiters have no control over whether your steaks are cooked to the right done-ness, or if your drinks are well-concocted.

Many times, we see unreasonable guests kicking up a fuss and screaming at the waiters because their orders are not in place, but is it really their faults? Why take it out on them and spoil their days? It is alright to be disappointed and angry when you do not get your order right, but instead of making life difficult for the waiters, why don’t we convey our unhappiness to the chef instead? This allows better communication and parties that are involved can step in to rectify the issues properly without unnecessarily causing unhappiness and demotivating anybody.

#4 WAITERS TAKE ORDERS FROM THEIR RESPECTIVE CAPTAINS

And so, many times when you are displeased with a certain action or lack of, it is actually not their decision. They have their bosses too, and the bosses are the ones to come up with the list of do’s and don’ts’s, can’s and cannot’s.

For example, when the waiter in a Korean restaurant serves banchan (complimentary Korean side dishes), the manager will probably instruct the waiters to give smaller portions so as to save cost as well as to prevent food wastage.

If you’d made a request and it is not acceded, ask the waiters politely what the issue is, understand their predicament and try speaking to the captains themselves instead of making it difficult for them.

#5 YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY DINER IN THE RESTAURANT

We all hate waiting, and the frustration from not getting what you want (fast enough) sure isn’t a nice feeling. But let’s face it – every waiter is responsible for a section/ number of tables, and you are not the only one they are waiting on. We cannot expect our glass of water to come immediately.

As diners, we deserve good service, but we have to exercise patience and empathy, too. During peak hours and busy times, give your waiter a bit more time to get to you. Your understanding will be very much appreciated by them, and they will definitely reciprocate with the best service they can give.

Waitering, and in fact, no other job should be a dead-end job. Employers granting respect to their employees and the job means that they should pay waiters fair wages for their work, and ensure that their skills are being constantly upgraded so that they are able to progress in their career.

F&B establishments should also send their waiters to attend customer service courses to equip them with the necessary skills to manage customers who throw a fit. With skills upgrading, it also makes internal career progression possible for waiters so that it does not become a dead-end job and motivates them to do well in their job.

Why should waiters be limited to minimum wages when they can get a career that pays better with progressive wages?

This message is part of a ladyironchef x Labour Movement project where we seek to share with you insights on the different initiatives by the Labour Movement to give workers in Singapore better jobs, better pay and better work-life balance.

When we were in the US, one of the daily happenings that we noticed is the stark difference in service and professionalism displayed by most of the restaurants’ waitstaff as compared to that in Singapore. We can’t help but wonder if the poor service standards in Singapore is due to the lack of a tipping system.

Waiters, by and large, is not a respected profession like doctors and lawyers. In recent years, chefs are starting to get more recognition due to media publicity of celebrity chefs around the globe. Waiters? Not a chance. And the irony is waiters are the frontline staff in the restaurant and they have the ability to make or break your dining experience.

What do you think? Would tipping improve service standards in Singapore? Here, we look into tipping in Singapore, as well as the pros and cons of tipping.

PROS OF TIPPING

The benefits are obvious. Tipping serves as a motivation for waiters to provide better service. It is also the most practical way of showing your appreciation – let’s face it, you would yearn for that too if you were one. Service staff are not being paid a lot to begin with, so leave a tip and thank them for their good service. A small gesture like this goes a long way. Who knows? The next time you return, he or she might make even the most ridiculous request possible – just for you.

In a recent conference, Labour Chief, Mr Lim Swee Say voiced his thoughts on how “it is possible to improve service productivity and customer satisfaction with a lean workforce through the innovative use of technology and business process re-engineering.” Sometimes, it not only about the latest technology, but perhaps making a small tweak to business processes may help to increase worker’s productivity.

Think about it, service staffs will be more motivated to provide better customer service, so that they can get a bigger tip, resulting in fewer customer complaints for the company, and more effort can be spent on developing their business. Sounds like a positive cycle doesn’t it?

CONS OF TIPPING

On the flip side, some restaurants are able to pay higher wages to their staff because of the mandatory service charge. In fact, some upscale restaurants in America are starting to adopt a ‘no tipping’ policy and charging 15% higher prices to cover paying higher wages to staff. On a side note, tipping might cause ridges between the staff – one who did not receive any might feel more inferior to another who had better luck with generous tippers. And this might in turn cause unhappiness, job dissatisfaction and lack of motivation to work.

WOULD TIPPING IMPROVE SERVICE STANDARDS?

While having a tipping system serves as an motivation for waitstaff to provide better service, it may not change the ecosystem entirely. As we have discussed before, service is something that involves three parties – workers, employers, and customers. It is definitely not a one-sided affair when it comes to providing good service; employers and customers contribute to the ecosystem and have parts to play, too.

At the end of the day, businesses need to understand what motivates their workers to improve their services so that they may be more productive at their work. Regardless of the system, we certainly hope that service standards will improve gradually to befit Singapore’s growing reputation as the dining destination in Asia, if not the World.

This message is part of a ladyironchef x Labour Movement project where we seek to share with you insights on the different initiatives by the Labour Movement to give workers in Singapore better jobs, better pay and better work-life balance.