I was no stranger to the concept of being on the receiving end of a terrible customer.  Prior to this I worked in retail at a large chain record store and eventually a high end fashion shop.  Hospitality was one category I was yet to work and I became excited at the thought of who I would meet and what I would say.  I imagined meeting many people who traveled on business which would give me the opportunity to spark conversations that would leave them home sick but comforted or completely uncomfortable and validated their hatred for work travel.

People would be delighted to speak with me and it would allow me to learn more about our wonderful country without traveling to every state.  I imagined asking them about their local produce and to compare the ugliness of our citizens to those in their city.  It is important to know how much uglier people are in other states; not just for curiosity’s sake but also to feed egos and have extra leverage in a never ending argument.  “Oh yeah…well…I heard everyone in Tulsa has questionable amounts of space between their eyes and significant overbites.”

Of course I knew there would also be standard moments of frustration and tension.  Meeting all different types of people meant conversations with personalities that clashed with my own.  I also imagined talking myself down from heated discussions about the city’s large gay population or the amount of liberals allowed to protest the streets in heavy traffic with large signs and bold letters telling us to stop eating our pets and start growing our own vegetables.  I prepared myself for more of these moments than anything else.  I guess that is why I appreciated the pleasant bonding experiences with customers so much more.  These type of coin toss extremes was what made up the unpredictability of being responsible for the comfort of complete strangers.  There were times when people would be wonderfully delightful or make me fear for my own life.

The hotel was a hotspot for gatherings such as weddings and meetings due to the spacious halls and second largest convention center in the state.  About every three weeks or so we would sell out and be overbooked for events such as the National NA conference or batmitzvahs for the overly spoiled and obnoxiously needy.  On these days we were quite busy with lines of people to check in, heavy calls for extra towels or damaged air conditioners, and confusion of who booked when and was discounted what.  It was chaotic but fun because it kept me busy and too tired to notice when someone living by the phrase “The Customer Is Always Right” was verbally expressing their dissatisfaction.

When no events were occurring, time slowed down significantly, and I would even wish for conflict to nudge my brain awake, get my heart beating to heat my blood, pulse it through my veins and energize myself to get through the remainder of my 8 hour day.  On these days I would keep myself busy by organizing the front desk.  I would organize the pile of key cards and key card holders so all images were right side up and faced one direction.  I would even stack cards next to the key card maker in adequate amounts in such a way that when an associate pulled one from the pile no others fell after it.  Eventually this only took me about 20 minutes or so and I was set back to boredom.  Watching people roll their luggage in and out of our lobby, ask for the occasional direction to McDonalds’ and eavesdrop on cell phone conversations to home only took up so much of my day.  I would then move onto cleaning the front desk which included dusting behind computer monitors, underneath keyboards, tossing trash, finding all of the pens to fill the pen cups and sometimes vacuuming our crumb ridden navy blue carpet.  Even if things appeared to look immaculate I knew there was no such thing as an overly clean hotel and an overly OCD front desk associate.

During one of my routine cleanings I was neatly stacking the fresh Daily News newspapers when I noticed a customer satisfaction card tucked behind a key card maker.  We would pass out postcard sized surveys to all customers checking in to fill out and share about their experiences.  They were free to rate us on scales of “1″ being  “extremely dissatisfied” to “5″ being  “extremely satisfied” on everything from housekeeping to room comfort.  They were then asked to return such cards to a friendly associate who would place it into our survey bin and all would be reviewed by management at the end of each week.  I slowly moved the key card maker as to not disturb my pile of key cards and key card holders to retrieve this mystery survey.  Upon doing so I noticed all circles were in the “5s” for “extremely satisfied” along with a stapled piece of paper in the upper left corner of the card.  I walked to the back employee area and tore off the paper, placing the survey card in the survey card bin and finding appropriate light to read.  I looked around to ensure no one noticed I was not working and unfolded it.

It contained one sentence: “I Spooged In The Bathtub”

Just like that.  No additional details, no names, no room numbers.  Just these words written in Catholic school script on this withered piece of paper.  I immediately crumpled it in my hands as if reading it to myself had inadvertently also come out of my mouth and into the intercom that connected to all of housekeeping’s’ walkie-talkies.  When I finally realized that no one had heard me read what I had in my hands I began to uncover  it again and slowly read:    “I…Spooged…”

I held it tightly in my palm and slowly opened the connecting door to the front desk and noticed my coworker was reading in the corner.  I refolded the paper, following the natural crevices created by the original author, and slowly slid it in front of her like a deep dark secret from an exclusive club only she and I were members of.

“What is it?” she asked.

I did not say anything and only smiled at her with laughter in my eyes.  She put down her book and unfolded the note, reading it once, then turning it side ways as if it were written in an entirely different language.  Her brows furrowed and she frowned.  I was fixated on her face when she held it upright again and stared back with the type of look a girl has the first time she see a penis in Playgirl magazine.  I nodded my head and held my mouth from laughing.  She did the same and we both just stood there in silence grinning.  After a few seconds the stares we gave one another were a bit awkward because we both knew we were playing out the scenarios of bathtub spooging in our heads.

“Was it an accident?” I thought.  “Perhaps there was a toilet seat jerking moment and the man was standing when he was startled by someone knocking on the door during the finale so he immediately turned and exploded all over the bathtub.”

“Was it on purpose?” I also imagined.  “Perhaps we had a hardcore bathroom BDSM couple that loved the feel of cold porcelain against their skin and being spanked on dangerous surfaces where they teetered on the edge of severe head trauma.”

I had only known my coworker for a few weeks now and had never once had conversations about bodily fluids so I did not know if it were appropriate to discuss the possible details.  Neither of us said anything for the remainder of our shift but I could tell we were both humored and overly suspicious.

Whenever a customer came up to the front desk to check out I would casually smile but over analyze them in my head.  “How was your stay Mr. Paul?” I would ask.  All the while thinking “Was there spooge in your tub Mr. Paul?”

“Did you enjoy your stay with us Ms. Harcum?” I would inquire.  All while thinking “Did you hear anyone ejaculating in the bathroom next yours room Ms. Harcum?”

I even went pretty far as interrogating a customer about their visit.

“Was everything to your liking Mr. Stephens?”

“Oh yes hun.  Thank you for asking.”
“How was the bathtub?  Anything out of the ordinary Mr. Stephens?”
“Oh no dear.  It was quite alright.”
“Oh?  No strange slime of any kind.  Nothing feeling funny?  No extreme stench of chlorine?”
Mr. Stephens stared at me as I searched for his invoice and cleared his payment.
“….No…” he hesitated “Everything was normal.”

Although he claimed everything was normal a spooge filled tub may be Mr. Stephens’ “normal” in all of his bathtubs.  I left him alone and decided to stop investigating through heavy questioning.  Joy juice in the tub may not be abnormal to me but to others it may be the icing on their extreme sexual fantasy cake.  My coworker and I spread the information farther among the other associates and we continued to giggle about it until the day I quit.  We never really uncovered any more details but I told them to immediately call me when someone leaves a note that says “I shat in the closet.”

Jesus gets on better with some Pharisees than others, at least for a time. When a leading Pharisee, called Simon, invites him to dinner, Jesus gratefully accepts.

Simon is rather shocked when Jesus turns up at his house accompanied by an un-named woman with a notorious reputation as a prostitute. Simon sees the lady wash Jesus’ feet for him and then dries his feet with her hair. She then deodorizes his feet with some very expensive exotic perfumes, and kisses his feet too.

Imagine your reaction if a dinner guest exercised a foot fetish ritual at your house with a friend like this.

Simon understandably raises a few objections, countered by Jesus on the following grounds. Jesus argues that a man in debt to a tax collector would feel more respect for the tax collector if his debts were written off and forgiven. Jesus has forgiven the woman for her past indiscretions and she shows great loyalty to him for it. The former whore is forgiven more than a financial debt. Her crimes would normally see her denied entry to Heaven, so divine forgiveness absolves her of the consequences of her past indiscretions.

Jesus is making it clear that he is supporting the under-privilege, criminals, poor people, etc. The big problem here is that the feet washing hints that her profession may well still be being practiced, with Jesus himself potentially benefiting from it, directly or even financially.

Jesus actually criticises Simon, his host, for offering no water, perfume or kisses. Had I been Simon, Jesus would have been asked to leave the house quite quickly.

A few commentators assume this mysterious un-named lady is Mary Magdalene, but she does not appear until much closer to the crucifixion.

Arthur Chappell

Jesus, Christ, prostitute, perfume, Pharisee, hospitality, kisses, Arthur, Chappell, Bible, Gospels, atheism, doubt, forgiveness, tax,

Hospitality is a great virtue, and a guest is always to be welcomed and honoured. But unwelcome guest pose a great problem. They upset the whole domestic routine, and cause great trouble and inconvience. There are a few unwelcome guests who bother us now and then. there visits throw all of us in worst possible confusion. One such unwelcome guest is Mr. Chiman Lal from Ludhiana. He has no consideration for us. He is also very fussy about food and religious routine. He is otten on so-called holly fasts and on such occations he would consume only sweets, dry fruits and seasonal fruits. Besides, he also drinks a lot of milk while on fasts. Sometimes he would com with his family for a week and press my father to take them on sight-seeing in our car. He would freely make use of our telephone, both for local and trunk calls, without making any payment. Such guests are really a headache, but there is hardly any remedy.

        Knowledge of more than one language is extremely advantageous, especially if you want to excel in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry. The ability to speak and communicate in a foreign language, especially French, is an added advantage to flight attendants, pilots, tour guides, and people who have to come in touch with foreigners. Those working in hotels, restaurants, camps and ski resorts overseas can cater to customers better if they are able to converse with the customer in the language they are most comfortable in.
         In the hospitality industry, in particular, knowledge of French comes handy while handling customers in the front office. With the tourism sector growing in leaps and bounds, requirement for language experts, including French experts would naturally grow.
     Nowadays, schools do have an additional class for a foerign language, like French, German, Spanish etc as a part of their syallabus, for young students to learn it as it would be very helpful in their careers ahead. Various private tutors, language learning institutes, are available for one to learn it.
           So, it is always a asset that you are learning or know French or any foreign language, and when you’re filling up a form for your job or any program, and you see a space where you got to fill up any foreign language you know, you would regret why you didn’t learn any.

I realize that when I come to America. When it comes to entertaining visitors, Americans are different. Well, they are nice to their visitors but not all of them are so accommodating to the point of letting their visitors eat with them in their tables. I have been a visitor to different American homes but they will never ask you if you already have eaten, or are you hungry or what? But when you visit Filipino homes, they will immediately prepare snacks or drinks for you. Well, there are some Americans who will ask you if you want a drink? that’s all. You need water or juice? There are times that your close friends will ask you to stay with them for dinner but those are very close friends only and this happened very seldom. I can understand that because that is their culture. There are times, that they will eat while you are there watching them. They will not ask you to join them unlike the Filipinos, even if their budget is just enough for them, they will invite visitors to join them, they will prepare plate for the visitor and to refuse an offer is like an insult to the Filipinos. As a visitor, what will you do then? Most Filipinos can not proceed eating while there is somebody just watching. That’s their culture and I am proud of it, as a Filipino.

Most foreigners who have been to the Philippines will really say, they love the hospitality of the Filipinos. They also said that Filipinos are happy people. They are always smiling in spite of their situation. Well, generally Filipinos are lovable people. I am flattered to hear those comments. Typical Filipinos are very hospitable people. There are some nowadays who are westernize and maybe their way of life is adulterated with Western culture but true Filipinos are hospitable and caring people. If you are a Filipino, be proud.

Certificates and Diplomas

Enter the living room and you will be met with an air of pride as you see certificates and diplomas hung on the wall—plaques of appreciation, certificates of attendance, college and high school diplomas, and even preschool diplomas complete with graduation photos. Oh, how heads of families break their backs at work here and abroad to finally look up to these glowing diplomas and certificates on the wall!

The Home Altar

A nook in the living room or corridor is a common place for the home altar. As Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion, you see a crucifix, an image of the Virgin Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the holy rosary and the Holy Bible on the home altar.  This fixture in the Filipino home has remained despite the dying tradition of praying the Angelus at 6:00 in the evening.

The Last Supper

On we go to the dining area and you see an image of the Last Supper. It comes in many forms— large photos, paintings, wood carvings, statues. The image is a reminder that food on the table is a blessing and is a symbol of family togetherness as members share in the blessing.

Imported Goods

In the kitchen, you will see the cupboard full of imported goods for display, and I mean, only for display. American coffee and creamer, British corned beef, Australian nuts, French wine, Italian sauces stand tall on shelves for visitors to see. Approximately one in every three Filipino households has a member working overseas. Sending imported goods to families left behind has become a practice. That is colonial mentality at work, brought about by centuries of Western colonization. Even if Filipinos try hard to patronize their own, majority still look up to imported goods especially those coming from the West as superior. Sad but true.

Soy sauce, Vinegar, Fish Sauce (Patis)

Almost no Filipino kitchen can go without these condiments. Absence of these condiments in the kitchen is a sin! Why not? Most Filipino dishes use these condiments together with onions, ginger and garlic. Adobo, sinigang, kaldereta, dinuguan and beefsteak tagalog are on top of the list. These condiments are also perfect dips for meat and fish dishes especially when combined with calamansi, garlic and chilli pepper. They can turn an ordinary dish into a ravishing one!

Water Dipper (Tabo)

Now, let’s proceed to the toilet. You may wonder what the water dipper is doing there. Instead of using toilet paper, Filipinos use the water dipper to wash their anus with soap and water after defecating. The toilet paper is then used to pat their skin dry. Isn’t that more hygienic and refreshing?

Christmas Lantern (Parol)

You should not miss this as Christmas draws near. It symbolizes the star of Bethlehem in the Nativity scene. Christmas lanterns are hung in front of houses as early as September, the beginning of the long Christmas season in the Philippines. Watch these lanterns blink in bright assorted colors together with Christmas lights in the evening. A delightful spectacle!

This is the Filipino home. It may be a humble abode but it is an embodiment of the Filipino soul replete with its view of the world, values and aspirations. I hope you had a pleasant experience. Thank you for the visit.

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Most people have heard the term Glass Ceiling that refers to the level at which females can no longer advance in their employment status. This is an injustice for sure, however in North America most people of either sex never reach the level of the Glass Ceiling in their employment status. That Glass Ceiling is fairly high up and is not surpassed by many men either. On the lower levels of the employment staircase there are actually levels where unfair practices and values exist in favor of women over men. One such practice is what I call The Glass Closet. If you are a male that works in the retail or hospitality industries and your place of employment does not have designated uniforms you will most likely experience the dreaded Glass Closet.

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What is The Glass Closet? It is that imaginary box that surrounds what is acceptable of a man to wear if he is working at a position in retail or hospitality. This Glass Closet may also exist in other areas of employment, however I am only familiar with it in my own experiences in the retail and hospitality industries. Women are allowed a much freer dress code than men in these two areas of employment. Since it is a short list we will begin with what is acceptable for a man to wear in the retail or hospitality industries. Dress pants, a dress shirt, and dress shoes. It is preferable and sometimes mandatory for the dress shirt to have long sleeves. A man may be able to get away with jeans if they are black or they work in a store selling jeans. Sometimes a jacket and tie is required for men in either the retail and hospitality industries. There is no leeway in the area of footwear as dress shoes are the only thing that is accepted. If it is hot that day you do not get to wear sandals and if it is cold you can not wear boots while working. If you are lucky you may be able to get away with wearing a sweater if it is a really cold day. Men that is all you get, unless you are young enough to work in a cool hipster shop. If you do then enjoy it well you can!

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Outside of this Glass Closet women get to enjoy a wide range of clothing options for the the work place. In the summer time a women if it is a hot day can where sandals, capris, short sleeve shirts, and even shirts without sleeves at all. A man could never get away with wearing a sleeveless shirt in these industries even if the kept their armpits shaved, yet women do this quite often. I have seen women of all ages wear shorts to work in summer, including obese women with quite nasty legs. In the hospitality industry a man can only get away with shorts if it is a part of his uniform or if they are the hotel’s lifeguard which only happens if the male in question has good legs that are naturally smooth or shaven. When it comes to footwear again women have more options as they can show up to work in sandals, runners, or open toed shoes. If a man shows up in anything but dress shoes he would give the appearance of being on holiday or not caring about his job. It is just not accepted.

Image via Wikipedia

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In the winter time it is just as bad for male employees on very cold days. Women allowed a bit more freedom when the snow is falling as well. For example, if it is a very cold day and a man’s feet are cold at work he must endure wearing his dress shoes that usually are not very warm. Women on the other hand can wear dressy boots that are warm. Granted some wear dressy boots that are anything but warm for fashions sake, but that is their choice. Men do not have the same choice as they are stuck with freezing dress shoes no matter what the climate conditions are while they are on shift. Women can wear bulky warm sweaters in colder months where as a man is lucky if he can wear a Mister Rodgers type sweater on a cold day while on shift. Have a man try wearing ski pants to his place of employment unless he is selling skies and see what happens. The guy would not get away with that for very long, yet I have seen many women wearing ski pants while working and they were miles away from the slopes.

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When it comes to workplace practices sometimes women do have more freedoms and advantages than men and The Glass Closet is one of those areas. Will this Glass Closet ever begin to crack like The Glass Ceiling is beginning to? That remains to be seen, however I have my doubts as personally I would not feel comfortable in the workplace dressed in any other way that what is acceptable now. This admission is coming from a man who at times in his life was involved in Punk Rock and Goth Culture, and dressed fairly extreme. In spite of that I will say that the way men are expected to dress in the retail and hospitality industries should remain as they are. I feel it shows respect for the consumer or guest. I am okay with this imposed value as on my days off I can dress however I please. This article was only meant to point out a double standard, as well as to get women to appreciate a freedom that they have in society that men do not.

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Now that the economy is finally starting to pick up, a lot of people are out there are looking into event planning jobs as a possibility.  Here are a few non-linear event planning job-acquiring ideas from someone who used to trash around in the field, both in the hospitality and restaurant industries. As a side note, if you don’t like people, food, parties or loud noise, this field will be torture for you.  Event planning also seems to favor extroverts and people with sparkling personalities.  There are a lot of schools and courses that teach this stuff, but if you’re someone who wants hands-on experience (which, frankly, is the best), here are a few ways to get it.

The first is to get some exposure to event planning.  A good boost on this is the MPI, or Meeting Planners International, which hosts meeting and event planning seminars all over the world.  It is also a great source of knowledge for someone who wants to pursue a formal event planning career, such as a college education or higher certification, but has no idea where to turn. The MPI has regional chapters as well, and these are great to join as they host their own events and you will probably not have to travel far to attend them.  The chapter seminars typically cost about a hundred dollars or so, but for the price of entry you can take individual classes on the finer points of event planning and meet the hospitality and catering vendors in your area.  See below for a link to their website.

Another great way to get event planning experience is to hook up with a local caterer and offer to work for free, in exchange for a work reference.  Once you get some idea of what it’s like to cater an event, you can either (1) ask the caterer if you can stay on as a paid employee; or (2) find another caterer and let them know that you have experience catering, and would they be interested in hiring you, since you are obviously the most fabulous and talented catering assistant ever?  If you like to cook, maybe you could help out with food preparation as well, but be forewarned – many caterers these days go to culinary school beforehand, so be prepared to be trained by them at length.  Don’t take it personally.  The bar has officially been raised on party food, and many party-goers are very sophisticated when it comes to haute cuisine.

Once you have catering experience, you can approach a popular restaurant or hotel and apply as a catering manager or sales manager.  All large hotel chains employ catering managers and sales managers to coordinate large meetings and events.  This industry is expected to pick up as the economy improves, but start getting ready to enter it now, not after the economy is flush and everyone is descending upon it at once.  If you don’t have catering experience, you can still approach a hotel and ask to do one of their numerous low-paying administrative gigs, such as those of concierge, telephone receptionist or customer service jobs.  Once you have experience you can work your way up the ladder, go to another hotel interest or approach a restaurant. 

If you can stomach waiting tables or working as a maitre d’, both are great ways to get exposure to food and wine and a wonderful way to become an event planner.  An event planner needs to have a grasp on how to prepare proposals for meetings and parties, and if you don’t have an idea on how to price food and drink so the restaurant makes a profit, you can’t do this well. 

A really fun way to get into event planning is to help out a local wedding planner.  If you like weddings, this can easily catapult you to a lofty perch in the industry.  If you’ve planned your own wedding (and lived to tell about it), your hard-won experience could help you shine in this field.  Pretty soon you’ll be starting your own wedding planning business!

Another big aspect of event planning that is often overlooked is that of conference coordinator, or conference event coordinator.  Most people enter this field as conference assistants or catering assistants and work their way up.  For this field you will need an understanding of digital media and how large conferences operate.  This is a field that readily accepts entry-level people and pays them very little, but after hopping a few jobs you can generally make a pretty good living at it.  It does involve a lot of traveling and long hours, so be prepared for that. 

Whatever you decide to do, make sure you’re having fun at it.  That’s the key to success in event planning.  If you’re not having fun, there’s no point in doing it at all!  Best of luck to you.

www.mpiweb.org  (Meeting Planners International)

If you have gone under in the recession, and you are in need of a job just above working at a corporate fast food joint because you only qualify to sell houses or worked for the auto industry and still have yet to receive anything resembling all that bail out money you heard about, then the food and hospitality industry is where it’s at.

Compared to the fallen around you, I cannot explain why its actually highly possible to live quite comfortably waiting tables, speaking from experience after recently and abruptly quitting my serving career of 7 years on a busy Friday night 2 months ago. Money was good for me when I started, and just kept getting better even as the economy slowly dwindled. I couldn’t wrap my mind around this recession; people were still leaving $20 tips on a $5 tab, telling stories of a vacation they just returned from in the Bahamas. I cannot explain how some people, somehow, avoided one of the biggest national epidemics of my generation, but I do have a few theories as to why everyone (and I mean everyone) still chooses to drop even a dime on dining out:

1) Although its all over the news that America is broke, spending $60 at a restaurant once a week makes them feel like the recession hasn’t really set in, or doesn’t truly affect them, because, hell, they’re still able to afford a nice night out. The water bill can wait another month.

2) The big rigs who have been able to keep their steady high-income jobs don’t stop going out to lunch just because their laid-off-school-teacher-cousin cant afford it anymore.

3) Those who aren’t servers feel better about themselves and their (small amount of) money when being served: “At least I don’t have to put up with the ridiculous demands of strangers and clean up vomit in the bathrooms on Friday nights. We’ve got it good.”

4) Those who have succumbed to the pitfall of the economy most likely have a friend or family member who is still financially comfortable enough to pay for a dinner party of more than 4. The card holder likes this about himself, and “treats” people often.

5) Even if serving isn’t your gig, there’s always the hotels. In Nashville, there is still a constant flood of visitors.  Finding a Native Nashvillian is extremely rare, and just the revenue brought from the constant turn of residents and their friends/families is enough to keep a hotel consistently alive. Not counting the major events that take place yearly, including CMA Fest, where tens of thousands of people from all over the world flock to this city for a glimpse of their favorite country stars in the nosebleed section of the new LP Field (Titans Football Stadium), ready to drop as much as it takes to have a great time. This is minute compared to the number of tourists brought to other major cities in America, and this town is doing just fine.

6) This article serves well to those outside of the city, too. No matter where you are, humans have adapted to variety, restlessness, and becoming stir crazy. Where better to go than a restaurant? How about a bar? Friday and Saturday nights still bring out the college students, the rowdy, and the bachelorettes. Another drink? “Eh, it’s just ten bucks. How did I spend almost $200 last night?! Man, I don’t even remember how I got home! It made a good story, though!” And that’s all that counts, right? There are hundreds (at least) of these sure-did-make-a-good-story-seekers in every city.

7) We’re still lazy as hell. Cooking home made meals every night?! EVERY night?!?

At least the money isn’t spent on a movie that doesn’t satisfy your natural need to eat. “Wait, it starts at 9:05, we need to hurry this meal that we should be enjoying so we don’t miss the previews to other movies that will tempt us to spend more money. And where the hell is that bailout money I keep hearing about?? Where’s my share?!?”

I’m not trying to pinpoint anyone specific, not a certain age group, societal class, race, gender, or monetary status. I am, however, pinpointing this whole country. I’ll absolutely admit I’m guilty of grabbing a meal at a restaurant when my wallet said I shouldn’t have. Naive little me trusted the government to do what was right for the people. Going out to dinner isn’t hurting the humanity of this nation, its all those damn free lunches being passed out to major corporations by our beloved congress. I digress, that is a completely separate article.

If by any chance you choose to get into the restaurant industry after reading this, just remember, it can be the best job you’ve ever had. You get to interact with so many different people, who have such amazing stories. Not just customers but your co-workers, too. You have a flexible schedule, you can make as little or as much as you want if you end up in the right place, you get exercise, and a percentage off of every meal you eat there. And if it’s a franchise, you could work your way up to making almost $100,000 a year as a General or District Manager.

Cons: You’re treated like a machine on a regular basis. Not just by the customers, but by your co-workers. Sometimes you’re scheduled only 6 hours, but end up staying for 16. If you’re a single parent, good luck finding a baby sitter for those night shifts management really really needs you to work.

But knowing that you can quit at any time (no contracts!) when a better job comes along makes sleeping a whole lot easier.

1. Long Hours

You will be working extremely long hours, especially when you start talking about double or even triple shifts (which are supposed to be illegal). You will sacrifice a lot of time and life to meet your goals at work.

1. Holidays, What are those?

You will never, never, ever have holidays during the times of the year that everyone else is on holiday. If you get a holiday then it will be short and during the worst times of the year. In short, you work while everyone else is playing and vice versa.

1. Hard work, bad pay

You will work hard. Very hard sometimes. Your managers will expect the world from you, but will cringe when you mention the possibility of a raise. There are far better careers if you’re looking to work for your pay. Only the truly lucky land a well-paying position in the hospitality industry.

1. Scum of the Earth

Do not consider this industry if you consider yourself a moral person. This business has a strange way of twisting many people into drunkards, smokers and self-centred bigots.

1. People, People People

It takes a lot of courage and maturity (or insanity) to put up with the most rude and vile guests. You are never allowed to show negative emotion and have to eat up all the rubbish the human race can throw at you. If you like having your mind and sanity tested, then this is the perfect career for you.

1. Strained Relationships

It’s hard to understand the nature of the hospitality industry if you’ve never worked in it. This is exactly why many hospitality employees’ partners and spouses become frustrated when they can’t understand the needs that the industry imposes on their loved ones. Apparently there is also a very high rate of divorce in relationships connected to the hospitality industry. Relationships take time to build up; time that the hospitality business likes to gobble up.

1. Oh the Mundane!

If you like a job where you need to use some brainpower, then this is not it. It is merely the management of mundane everyday things. Making sure plates are clean, food is ready etc. can get very boring very quickly.

Don’t ever believe anyone that tells you that working in this industry is easy. If you choose to forge a career for yourself in this business, don’t forget that it can sometimes seem that the negatives outweigh the positives. When possible, try and choose a different career.

You may just save yourself a lifetime of frustration.