There is a stereotype around campus that jobs in dining and hospitality (Ding) are not “real jobs” or are among the worst jobs on campus. These general worker positions in Ding are often looked down upon by the same students who utilize the dining services every day, and even some of the students that actually work there. The truth is, without those general worker jobs, we wouldn’t even have a dining service and these workers make up a lot of the campus population. Ding has 70 workers, 55 of them are general workers.
Assistant manager of time Jordan Mueller working in his office
Dining hall assistant manager of time Jordan Mueller explained that his general workers are responsible for serving, cleaning and overall taking care of the facility. He said, “They do a lot of the same work [the managers] do, just not to the same extent.” The work ethic of the general workers varies depending on who actually wants to be there. “It’s not the most exciting work,” he admitted, “but you do have your workers that care about the restaurant that show up and enjoy what they do.” He noted that there are workers who don’t want to be there and play on their phones instead of work. Mueller has worked in food service since he was 13 and said, “There are people I’ve met that do it to put food on the table, so it’s a real job.”
Crew heads freshman Rommel Royster, freshman Allison Schardan and sophomore Jacob Dunskis all agree that there are some employees who just don’t put the effort in that they should. Schardan said, “The employees that actually want to be there and understand that this is their job and they have to do it work their asses off.” She explained that the people who don’t work very hard don’t care about their jobs or their classes either.
All three crew heads have had previous food industry experience, but that is not the reason they were promoted. Freshman crew heads Royster and Schardan were promoted three weeks after starting their jobs in Ding. “We had to show good work ethic and positive attitudes,” Royster said about how he became crew head so quickly. In order to get a leadership position, one must be able to do the general worker tasks, show up on time and do what is expected of you. Royster said, “I don’t ask the workers on my shift to do anything that I wouldn’t do myself.” Ding, just like any job, will give back what you put into it. If you don’t feel like your job is worth putting in the effort for, that’s not a testament to the job, it’s a testament to your character.
Almost anyone can physically do the work food service jobs require, but not everyone has the personal discipline it takes. As someone who has worked in food service for two years, I’ve seen people fail at it. Sometimes they can’t handle talking to customers, but proper communication skills are required in any job. Sometimes it’s because people don’t like to do routine work every day, but that’s also needed in any job. The list goes on and on, but every “boring” skill that Ding workers practice, is a skill that is needed in every occupation, so what makes people look down on Ding workers so much? Dunskis said, “The workers in Ding actually get a sense of realism by working there.” If anything, they acquire more skills and discipline than people sitting in cushy offices, but only as long as they apply themselves and do the job efficiently. Next time you bash Ding workers or bash your own job as a Ding worker, think about the skills you could acquire working there and how much better off you will be in future jobs.