Surviving the service industry

Hey Cats,

For many people, their first job will have been in the service and hospitality industries. Either working in a bar, café, restaurant or hotel.


Some people will have fond memories, others not so much. It isn’t always the most glamourous of roles, but finding ways to deal with the problems a role throws at you is key to any job.


So how do you survive the service industry?


Looking the part



The first thing to keep in mind is that you need to look the part. You’ll likely have a uniform for your job, identifying you as part of the team on hand to help customers and patrons.


The service industry is often pretty hectic and demanding, there’s places that make uniform elements that are designed to be hard wearing such as Simon Jersey uniform suppliers. If you know your uniform isn’t going to suddenly let you down, and you look the part (regardless of how manic your job is getting) it often gives you that bit of a confidence boost you need to keep going through a really tough shift.





Calm under pressure



Aside from the look you also need to be able to cope with pressure. That could be anything from a sudden rush of customers, to an emergency or a complaint.


In a fast-paced work environment you need to be able to stay calm, comfortable and relaxed. Your uniform can help you feel a bit more comfortable, especially if you feel confident wearing it, but dealing with an emergency is less about what you’re wearing and much more about being able to keep a level head.


Being able to stay calm and professional can diffuse issues and help relieve some of the pressure in a situation.





Dealing with people



In the service industry, you will find yourself dealing with the public. For the most part, this is usually the most fun part of the job, the public is nice and appreciate that you are just doing your job.


Being able to deal with people, being friendly and professional, courteous and generally nice goes a long way to being successful when dealing with the public. The trick is being able to carry on doing this when someone goes against the grain and isn’t as nice as the members of the public you usually deal with.


This happens from time to time, it’s unavoidable. The key is being able to retain the same level of service. Similar to being calm under pressure being able to remain a professional front even when someone doesn’t necessarily deserve it, is crucial.


The important thing to know in this situation is that you don’t have to be spoken to in a rude manner or deal with a customer who is being aggressive for example. In those situations, you can talk to a manager and they can help you deal with the problem.


The service industry can be a really fun and rewarding industry to work in, but it needs you to have a fairly strong mind-set, not take rude customers personally and to have the confidence to deal with any situation that is thrown at you.


What are your tips?



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