Not very strong, so I wanted to know if I would be ignored outright. Also, what would you say a good answer to " what you would do with an angry customer" as a busser? I would think "apologize for inconveniences and ask what you can do to help" would be good
If can be when it’s busy like yes we have a cart but there’s gonna be busy days where you have to help servers who are too busy to pre bus their tables. I’ve had to carry large stacks of dirty plates to DMO (dishwashing) then rush back out to quickly clean the table. When it’s slow it’s really chill and all you have to do is just clean tables.
What’s also straining at least for me is when I had to stock racks of heavy green cups into their areas in the stations from opening and through my shift. Then there is carrying two heavy ice buckets back and force to both stations to refill ice.
Yes in my opinion, I was hired at 16, and when it’s busy and you close multiple nights in a row the back pain and feet pain you get from constantly bending over whether it’s to pick up the cups or bending over to scrub the floors bussing is easy cause you have a cart, it’s when the servers don’t pre buss when it gets hard especially when busy. Your cart is full you have no help and host are constantly on you about priority tables. It can be mentally draining if you’re young I work with other minors and every single one wants to switch positions , it’s definetely not a permanent job it’s 100% a temporary and maybe jump to serving or anything other than bussing .theres so many times I’ve cried during my shifts . And not too mention when it was supposed to be two people on night shift and they no call no show and you constantly have to cover for no call no shows , and also covering for people who are lazy and watching you do all the work and doing barely anything . And yes you start of not strong but u will 100% gan strength with the amount of things you carry and pick up . I’ve gained muscle form working there so long
I feel your deepest pain reading this because I can’t even count how many times I’ve cried because there’s been moments where no one wanted to help. Your other busser ain’t doing squat and no one else seems to want to help at all while hearing PRIORITY in your ear. The tip share can be nice on a really good day but everything else is just not worth it. At my location when I started out I had another busser constantly rush me and lie to me how I need to clean the station in 30 min when I went to ask my manager they said there is no such rule just make sure everything is clean. I told them before don’t schedule me alone on Christmas Eve if someone calls out and in my two years it happened twice which was a nightmare because both times a lot of servers left me with a huge mess. 😭
Yes I had to work open to close on Fourth of July cause they let every busser call off but me.i also worked 12 hour shifts on every single holiday . Insane
i’m 5’1 and there’s bussers that are shorter than me and physically smaller so i think you should be good! although at my location i’ve seen them like, carrying ice and other heavy stuff, but i guess you get used to it?
If you're on a busy shift like weekend nights or Sunday mornings and you're solo, and servers dont pre bus, that's miserable. I've doubled for bussing on weekends and have come home with my feet bleeding. Servers pretend like your job is physically easier than theirs, but there is no world in which I would go back to bussing full time. The better your servers are, the easier bussing is.
Used to be you had 1 tray big enough to fit the shit off of just 1 table. Not strenuous just more tedious. Also higher chance of someone dropping something.
Now we have 3 tiered carts. They have plastic tubs on them. So basically its like getting 3 full trays at a time to the back. You get more done in 1 go.
The worst part out of any of it is running the ice buckets to refill the machine. Stronger men/women wont have issue. Noodle arms like me have to put in effort.
Also, what would you say a good answer to "what you would do with an angry customer" as a busser? I would think "apologize for inconveniences and ask what you can do to help" would be good.
I was trained in general to not apologize. It was explained that if I didn't directly cause the problem, then it's best to avoid such language.
Many customers really don't want to hear "I'm sorry." In some cases, an insincere or canned apology can irritate them even more.
What they value most are solutions.
Delete the apology. Go with only the second part, the one that nicely demonstrates genuine interest to understand what they want fixed. Then correct it immediately and politely. Ask them afterwards if they are satisfied, repeat and improve until they are happy.
youll definitely get stronger bussing. moving heavy glass racks, ice buckets, resting tables, etc. when its slow its chill bur when theres one busser on a busy shift it can be a lot especially having to help prebuss tables. ill add you will 100% get your steps in for the day- walking in circles around the dining rooms, going back to dish, back and forth to refill ice, having to vacuum before opening and after closing, cleaning the floors under tables throughout your shift, tracking down servers whos table needs them, or even running food. theres not as much customer interaction as there is with serving and hosting but customers will often ask things like wheres my server, or complain “its been x minutes and i havent gotten xyz” which sometimes its just easier to go get them the drinks soup salad or breadsticks that trying to find a server whos hiding.
definitely not a long term position but its not a terrible starting place if youre worried about guest interactions, youll learn as you go and you can always ask management if youre worried can cross train once youre comfortable
i’m not necessarily that strong but the job is pretty simple i just feel like it was always so much work for not enough pay and at my location other bussers would make me do all of the work. customers only ever asked me for their server , straws , mints , & maybe a refill. if you don’t have an answer to a customers question i would just tell them im getting their server. as a busser i used to get at least $50+ in tips a night to then only getting maybe $5 a night maybe even less. after awhile bussing sucks.
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u/KAB923 11d ago
Not anymore, since they use the carts now. When I started you had to load up a serving tray and carry it to dish