How Slinging Pizza Set Me Up for Life
Everything I learned about work, I learned as a pizza waitress.
Sometimes opportunity knocks when you’re not putting your best foot forward. Recover and seize it. Let’s say you’re a sassy teenager walking into a random pizza joint to use their cigarette machine. (One of the rites of passage back then was learning how to smoke and, yes, this was a terrible thing but we do foolish things when we are young so we can write about them later.) As I tussled trying to get the machine to swallow the coins, I saw a small woman in a large apron staring at me. “Know any nice girls?” she asked me. Well, wait, wasn’t I a nice girl? I hid the cigarettes in my purse. Maybe they were for someone else. “The best waitress we ever had — Paula — she got sick and now we have no one.” And that’s how I came to work at Rudy’s Restaurant and Pizzeria on Bloomfield Avenue in Caldwell, NJ.
Don’t be afraid to learn unexpected things. Be curious even if it seems out of your range. Though I was raised in an Italian household where Sunday ravioli and braciole were routine, an Italian hot dog was — well, actually, what was an Italian hot dog? You start with a good hot dog from the place in Newark where you buy them wholesale. And then you turn the fryer on and get it ready with peppers, onions, and potatoes in just the right quantity. When the oil is hot — and only when it spits back at you — you gently drop the baskets down, one with a hot dog (unless they’re having a double in which case you use two) and the other with the good stuff. Cut the roll and squeeze some mustard on it. When the hot dog cracks open, lift the baskets and fork the dog then the fixings into the waiting roll. Wrap it in waxed paper, just so. I went from never having heard of an Italian hot dog to becoming their master both as a cook and a consumer. That’s what curiosity can deliver. What was once a mystery, had become part of my skill set by being willing to explore, discover, and experiment.
Take on more responsibility without asking. Never hesitate to do more of what you are drawn to. My two bosses, Rudy and Florence, a married couple who had spent their lives together in the restaurant business, knew how to get things done. They prepped, cooked, shopped, stored and served, all of it second nature. I watched and started helping out. Pretty soon, as in the hot dog story, they let me prepare some of the dishes. Reader, this is how I learned to cook. If there is a better life skill than knowing how to make eggplant parm, you will have to convince me. When an order came in, I’d say “want me to get it started?” I had watched them turn on the back stove, the amount of gravy they put in the bottom of the skillet, how much cheese they layered. And now I was doing the same. Florence would observe. I’d wait for her slight nod which meant “you’ve got this.” The more I did, the more I tried, the better I liked my workday. My pizza days revealed I had a knack in the kitchen; envisioning and cooking meals is part of my core identity now. What unexpected talent might be waiting to come alive in your day job?
Please, don’t touch the pizza oven. In every workplace, there is some mechanism that only one person can manage. Maybe it’s because of security or secret knowledge or just because. Learn where the pizza oven is in your workplace and stand back. Rudy didn’t like me coming into the pizza cubby because it was impossibly hot and very small. Danger! Bad things could happen there and yet, we produced some awesome pies from that tiny nook. That’s right, you can’t have your finger in every pie.
Confetti for your good work? Doubtful. I worked at Rudy’s for three years — my sophomore to senior years in high school. Every summer, every weekend during the school year. I showed up on time, did more than was expected, treated customers well, and looked neat in my uniform and white sneakers. For this, I was allowed to keep my job. And Paula, the waitress they really loved? Her name would come up from time to time when they were nostalgic about the good old days, when they had a true standout in my role. There will always be someone who others tout. Don’t let it get you off your game. Keep cranking and do it with a smile if possible.
Customers are many and varied. Figure out how to read people, adapt and help them get a successful outcome. I dealt with customers who walked in, phoned for pick up orders, and interfaced with Rudy and Florence who were maybe the toughest customers of all. I learned how to listen, to ask questions as part of a larger problem-solving process. When a couple is torn between his preference for pepperoni and hers for anchovy, you can suggest a pie half pepperoni, half anchovy, finding an agreeable solution for all. Next, be sure to communicate it clearly to the pizza maker. So, listening and playing back is key. Once on good footing, maybe you can expand the conversation. Would a salad to start be a good idea? I remember getting jazzed when I learned the son of a famous local mobster was coming in to pick up some pies. Would he wear a leather jacket? Have Marlboros rolled up in his tee shirt sleeve? Pack heat? Instead, he turned out to be a mild young man with horn-rimmed glasses studying torts at law school. So don’t presume. Take each situation on its merits, be open, and look for clues.
Expect there will be deadly-dull parts of the gig. I did not like straining the vinegar. It involved taking every cruet, pouring it through a mesh sieve resting on top of a bowl. What was that stuff anyhow? Red wine vinegar grew some spooky looking yeasty gunk and I had to make that go away. After straining, I had to refill each cruet and then wipe them down. I despised this weekly task but, guess what? Then it was over, and the real fun began as customers arrived and the phone started to ring. There is no work that comes without tedium as far as I know. Accept it as a meditation and then move on.
While originality is good, some things come from a can. Not everything can be started from scratch, nor would that be efficient. People loved our mussels fra diavolo as an appetizer. I must reveal that we did not get fresh PEI mussels every day. Our mussels came from a large industrial can. They were then smothered with hot pepper flakes and a good red sauce and put in Rudy’s pizza oven to sizzle. They were delicious. So sometimes it makes sense to cobble together excellent solutions from stuff that is ready to go with some touches around the sides to make it pop. Know your resources and find ways not to complicate when simple is an option.
Bring home the leftovers. Rudy and Florence would send me home with various strange gifts — an unexpected pizza, say. And I’d arrive a hero at 10 pm on a Saturday night with something good to eat as a late-night snack or for tomorrow’s breakfast which was a special treat. (So much better than Rice Krispies). See how the bounty of your day — what you take from work — can spill into the personal space with family and friends. Maybe it’s an idea you learned in a team building session or a cool new way to organize your to-dos. Share your experience and, in so doing, your investment in the work will grow and the payoff will extend beyond your comp.
Work gives us purpose, creates cash flow, and invites us to be better humans. As Khalil Gibran puts it: Work is love made visible. He goes on to say that if you can’t work with love, leave it to others. Don’t wait at the gate. Find the meaning, make it matter, learn something. Whether you’re slinging pizza, writing code, or building a business, let’s wake to the joys of our work and make more of each day. But first, what would you like on your pizza?
