If you’re disappointed with this reality, you now know how half of the tables I served felt. On many occasions, if a table consisted of only male patrons, they would ask the hostess to take them to one of the tables that had a “cute waitress.” Then when I came by to introduce myself and ask for their drink order, the disappointment in their eyes was as if I had diagnosed them with a debilitating disease.

Yet my days at Buffalo Wild Wings made me grow as a person and especially as a journalist. I have been surprised at how similar my time working at The State News has been to my days at Buffalo Wild Wings, especially in a comical sense. In many ways, a newspaper is similar to a menu, and
the different stories it offers resemble different menu items.

As a waiter, I would have to push the high-selling items on my tables in order to have a costly bill, which hopefully would result in a bigger tip.

Now, I have to write stories that I feel MSU students will want to read. To me, writing a story that interests MSU students is like selling top-shelf liquor or a high-priced menu item. Doing an interview with a person who is uninterested in talking or doesn’t want to answer a question is a lot like dealing with an unruly drunk. As a waiter, I would have to pick and choose my words pretty carefully when telling a person I wasn’t allowed to serve them any more alcohol without making them feel like an alcoholic.

In the same way, I have to make sure I ask questions in such a fashion that the person I’m interviewing does not feel agitated and will be willing to give me the information I need.

Covering school board meetings or political events can be a lot like Kids Night at Buffalo Wild Wings. Every Wednesday, parents who were reaching the tiring halfway point of their work week would come to Buffalo Wild Wings and let their kids run wild for a few hours while they sat and drank away their stresses. At the same time, their children played hide-and-go-seek and tag throughout the restaurant and were given balloon animals made by a clown.

The screaming and crying that resulted from the night’s activities feels strikingly similar to what I’ve experienced at school board meetings or political debates while at The State News.

Working at Buffalo Wild Wings also taught me how to ask the tough questions — more than just “would you like fries with that?” — which then transcended into my work as a writer.

It’s essential to ask the substantial questions — the questions that foster the answers you need to write an effective and informative story. Not asking the right questions is equivalent to giving a table cold wings, or wings with the wrong sauce, which never ended well for the lowly server who’s begging for a 20 percent tip.

Being a server also developed my people skills and helped me create conversation with complete strangers. Before my days as a waiter, I was only used to making conversation with the same high school students everyday and never had to leave my comfort zone and talk to other students if I didn’t have to. Being a waiter, believe it or not, is almost like being a quasi-therapist.

People would come into Buffalo Wild Wings ready to release a complete catharsis, and I was always willing to listen. This helped with my interview skills more than any other aspect I’ve described.

Overall, my experience as a server at Buffalo Wild Wings provided me with the skills necessary to handle the nitty-gritty aspects of journalism. Without my experience as a restaurant waiter, I doubt I would be able to handle what gets thrown at me everyday in the newsroom and would not be able to muster the courage to handle the people I have interviewed.

As I continue to write for The State News during this semester and beyond, I hope that I serve the MSU audience with a great variety of meaty, amusing and tantalizing stories that keep you hungry for more.