Balancing trays and schoolwork

There is no doubt that students have a lot on their proverbial plates. But add a tray, a bus bin and a hot plate, and it's obvious the many students who pay for both school and their social lives by waiting tables or serving buffets have a little bit more.

Many full-time students at UB work at restaurants in Buffalo as servers, adding a stressful job to their already packed schedules. But despite the pressures of daily life as a student, most seem to enjoy their jobs as servers for a variety of reasons.

Jill Litfin, a senior fine art major and server at Bennigan's, said it's not always easy.

"My mind is everywhere between paying for school, for my car, and for rent. I try to get as much of my school work out of the way as possible but I work full-time and go to school full-time so that is hard to do," she said.

Susan Henseler, a junior business management major who is also a server at Bennigan's, said that the long work hours make it difficult to get enough sleep.

"It is hard to go to early morning classes, and then to work. After work I am tired and want to go to sleep but I usually have school work to do," said Henseler.

Both Henseler and Litfin said that they work long hours, which in turn pays their bills, but takes away from their social life.

"I usually work Wednesday through Sunday, but sometimes I get Friday nights off, which is a big deal to me so I go out with all my friends for happy hour," said Litfin.

The constant activity and motion associated with a job in food service makes it a tiring line of work.

"Serving is not like any other job," said Jill Powers, a senior history and sociology major who serves at Applebee's. "There is no way you can bring your homework to work. You are always busy doing something whether it's cleaning or taking an order at a table."

Powers said that she tries to get all of her schoolwork done on Sunday nights, even after a late shift, because she works an average of 30- 40 hours a week.

In addition to working with fatigued bodies, servers must constantly deal with the general public, who do not always understand the amount of stress they experience.

"There are so many rude customers that come into restaurants and just expect things for free," said Henseler.

Most people, after serving for a while, learn how to deal with unmanageable guests in their restaurants.

"After serving for so long, you just get used to rude customers and you learn how to block them out. I have had people try and interrupt me while I am taking someone else's order and I just keep smiling because I am used to it," said Powers.

In the end though, servers say that their weekly paycheck makes up for the struggles of waiting tables.

"The money is good and it pays my bills," said Litfin. "The only thing with serving is that the tips are not always guaranteed, some days I walk out of here with $8 and some days I walk out of here with $100."

Aside from the monetary benefits, many say they liked serving because they enjoy working with people.

"I enjoy serving because I like interacting with people and as a server you get to do a lot of that," Henseler said.

Dana LoGrippo, a junior communication major and server at the new Houlihan's in the Marriott Hotel on Millersport Highway, agreed with Henseler.

"As a server you are constantly interacting with a lot of people like co-workers and customers," said LoGrippo. "I really enjoy working at Houlihan's because there is no drama or cliques, it is a fun atmosphere to work in and I am able to talk with my co-workers as long as I am paying attention to my tables and cleaning."

According to Glen Bucello, UB student servers have left their mark on the restaurant industry in Buffalo as hard workers. Bucello has been the general manager of Friday's located in the Boulevard Mall for five years now. Bucello said that there are some reasons as to why students make good hires.

"Students tend to be respectful, dedicated and committed," he said. "I think students learn great skills from serving such as time management, values, a better understanding of diversity and respect for other people's opinions."

Henseler agrees with Bucello, and said that much can be learned from serving.

"Nobody helps me out financially, and I like that because I think that it helps build character," she said. "As a full-time student and a server I get to see what it is like to live each week from paycheck to paycheck."

Both managers and students agree that serving is a great experience for students.

"When students are given the opportunity to wait on different people, who are all different from themselves, they are able to learn different points of view," said Bucello. "This experience as a whole is invaluable to life."