Reading “Learning to Serve” was cool for me because I work at a country club where I’m expected to be able to move from formal dining to the bar and then also in a more casual setting outside. Since we have many different areas at my job, I’ve had to change the way I interact with the members in each area I’m in. I really agree with the statement “there is complexity and skill required when waitressing” You have to be able to quickly understand what a customer is asking and wanting, then deliver. All while, appearing to be friendly, approachable and willing to provide a good experience for them. It took me a while to learn our menu because we use a lot of words and meaning that are in different languages or are higher level words. It takes a while to learn what the word “béchamel” is and when its used so when people ask you can apply it to what it comes in and where the word originates. Knowing where words come from help also explain the entire meal as a whole. There are major literacy and language skills needed to be a server, no matter where you may be serving. There’s more to it then the receptive and routine side of working in a restaurant. While it can be a lot of routine tasks, interactive servers have to have a least decent to good language skills when handling so many different types of customers. Not to mention when handling more high maintenance or difficult people. You learn as you go in serving positions and a lot of knowledge IS learned through experiencing specific situations, some are even more unpleasant than others. When customers have specific requests and questions, you are required to be able to provide answers and know how to deal with this requests. Not only does a server have to be able to provide answers to questions, but they also have to be effective when THEY are asking the questions. Lastly, being friendly in the restaurant business is a skill that requires some people to put more effort in. This is why the emotional labor of this job is considerable and should be recognized as such. Being able to be seen as approachable and friendly can be more difficult than it looks and requires some practice when you’re doing it all day, everyday at work.