I recently thought about my old work location, Pacific Wharf Café at DCA. When I really think about it, I remember how I had so many duties to perform and how busy it was. It was constantly stressful.

Are the cup refilled? What about the ice? Do we have any water cups available? Can you pass me one? Oh, shoot I need one more. We’re low on clam chowder! Go grab some from the other side! BEHIND! BETWEEN!

I don’t know why, but the cups are the first thing that comes to my mind. (Wharf CMs: Do the bottom ones ever get used?? I don’t think so. We just stack on more rolls of cups on top, never using the bottom ones…)

How did I function in such a busy restaurant?? I guess I just got used to it. Also, teamwork from your friends and co-workers was helpful and necessary. You were never working alone.

Working retail at Disney is so different. Essentially, it’s the opposite of food service. One task is to walk around the store and interact with Guests as you fix up any misplaced items you may see. If you are working in the morning, you will probably have no items to fix, and not that many Guests to interact with. This sounds nice and relaxing for a shift, but it can make your shift go by so slow.

In food service, especially at a busy restaurant, the constant hustle and bustle can make your shift go by so fast. But at what cost? I remember some shifts I would cycle through each Guest quickly in order to get through the long line quicker, that I didn’t even pay attention to their order or names. I could have just finished taking the order of one Guest and not be able to tell you what they had just ordered. It was a price I paid in order to shorten the ever-growing line of the lunch rush…

In retail, a long line, just really isn’t long at all. At least in my opinion. If it’s a busy day (or even just after the fireworks on a regular non-peak weekend), all registers will be taken, and the line will move quickly. It won’t shorten in length for awhile, but it’s still constantly moving. Nothing quite matches the level of stress and anxiety that is seen in food service, not even a busy store at 11 pm on a holiday weekend.

I think what makes food service so stressful and busy is that there are so many moving parts that must work together in order to make the restaurant successful and get food out to Guests. There are cashiers taking orders, food service workers grabbing food tickets and preparing food orders, back-of-house food preps preparing and making the food, expediters moving the food from the back to the front (and then to the guest), and more. All of this is done with each person communicating with one another, often times shouting over the voices of the crowd to hear one another.
Okay, but who would want to work in the food service? Sounds like stress and no fun! It can be stressful at times, but it also is a great way for co-workers to bond with one another. You form a close relationship and share plenty of jokes with one another. It comes with the communication part of the job.

Which kind of work environment would you prefer to work in? Busy and stressful, or slow and steady?