Working in hospitality, whether it be in a kitchen, cafe, pub or hotel, should be a rite of passage for British youth. Waiting on tables, pouring pints and trying to do that leaf thing on lattes are all key experiences. I have spent six years working in bars and in that time it has actually helped me develop a lot as a person. I brought me out of my shell and helped me not be so shy (maybe now I could do with being a bit more shy), it helped me mature and see what not to do as an adult and helped me make great friends and meet my amazing girlfriend.
But that’s my experience. I started working in the industry before COVID, and now it is increasingly difficult for people to find consistent work. One in eight young people aged 16-24 are not in work in the UK and that number is rising. Pubs and bars close down daily and there is little security for those that do work in hospitality. Hours are long, treatment can be poor and representation in unions is small. The Kimpton Clock Tower strike in Manchester (the first hospitality strike in the UK in over 100 years and the first ever in the North-West) is groundbreaking, but the strikers were making only the most basic of demands. So why would you want to work in this industry? Well no one really wants to for starts, but…
Hospo work stays with you, I remember all the funny and sometimes harrowing moments I’ve witnessed and experienced on a bar. It can teach you skills that help you out further on in life, how to cook, how to make good and balanced cocktails and how to get away with giving your mates a discount on the sly. All of these can help someone impress friends, family and potential partners. Not only do the skills stay with you but also the connections and the friends; working 12-hour-long shifts can help you form close bonds and connections with people that you just don’t get sat in a cubicle on a computer 9-5.
Knowing what it is to work in the industry it also means you have more respect for other hospitality workers and more insight into what they’re going through. Rather than flipping out a the 19-year-old waitress because your food has taken longer than usual, you will, hopefully, know that this is likely not her fault and she is probably already stressing about it. It teaches you patience and a bit of humanity, something which a lot of customers seem to forget. They see one person tending a bar alone and still are annoyed they have to wait a little for their hazy pale ale.
Also on the flip side you do see the worst of people and you can see how truly mental people are. Drug addicted chefs, alcoholic managers and nutcases are all commonly seen in hospitality. Whether you’re serving them or working with them, learning how to deal with them and seeing them at their worst can of course guide you on how not to live your life but it also builds you. Being sheltered from people in addiction and suffering means you are disconnected from them and are less likely to treat them with any humanity, you see the good in these people too.
I mentioned earlier about it giving you patience with other hospitality workers but I think it, at least for me, has made me much more patient and chill in general. Because nothing will ever be as crazy and stressful as my Saturday nights at Revolucion de Cuba, I find myself rarely ever stressed or panicking about work things. I have had incredibly busy shifts since and had things gone wrong but because I don’t think anything could ever compare to the hell that went on there. I also have learnt to be patient with people in general, some of the slowest and most socially awkward people will walk into a bar, restaurant or cafe and do and say the most annoying things, but with patience you can usually get them what they want, get a smile out of them and call them a moron under your breath.
I think as well, whilst I have talked about the stress and bad side to it, hospitality is a lot of fun. You’re working with mostly young people, it is low stakes and a lot of fun. You can mess around a bit, not get in trouble, mispour a couple of drinks, cock up a few orders and still have a laugh. It is not too serious and unless you work in some fancy hotel or restaurant, most people around you understand that too. Some of my funniest moments have been at work.
You meet all kinds of people too and make all kinds of friends that you would never have normally met. All kinds of people work in hospitality and some of them you will really like and get along with. Some of my best friends have come from my bar work and they are people I really doubt I’d have met and been friends with in any other environment. You get to meet people with all kinds of backgrounds too, a lot of you immigrants or people travelling work in the industry too and talking to and getting to know these people will only enrich you.
Hospitality also gives you better taste, Slug and Lettuce’s decadently sweet cocktails won’t cut it anymore, Madri and Chicken Wine won’t do either. It enriches your palette and gives you an insight into what makes a nice drink, what good food looks like and most importantly what good service and a good place to eat and drink in is. I think this is something people forget, you aren’t naturally drawn to DDH IPA’s or imperial stouts unless really into your beer, but then working behind a bar, pouring them all day you might just decide to try one and you might just find yourself really enjoying it.
I think overall, working in hospitality is important for young people. To meet all kinds of people, experience what it’s like to work in these places and really to improve themselves, mature and improve their taste. Mainly not to be an annoying entitled older person later on in life though, that’s the main reason.
by n8n.
