A DAY IN THE LIFE of...: A waitress, Catherine D. Kyobula
Four years of being a waitress has taught her to love her job in spite of the long working hours among other challenges. Kyobula, a waitress at S &S enterprises Entebbe, loves her profession because of the numerous people she interacts with. She shares her typical working day.
6am I wake up and say a prayer as I clean up before I set off to work at 7am. We are required to report at work by 7:30am. When I sign in early, I set the tables for breakfast.
7.30am Most customers start walking in for breakfast. I am expected to serve customers with breakfast until 10am; the time set for staff breakfast which lasts an hour. The company provides breakfast.
At 11am we are joined by other waitresses as we start setting the tables for lunch. This includes changing the table mats, cutlery and spices.
12.30pm Customers start coming in for lunch. Our clientele is mostly university lecturers and students plus a few corporate personnel. We have to keep serving lunch until 4pm to fit in with their busy schedules. Since the customers come in non-stop during this time, we usually work in shifts to create time for our lunch but still not neglect our job. At 4pm when the customers lessen, I then go and help sort out the garden for the evening. This entails putting up tables and chairs and setting them.
5pm This is the most demanding time because all the departments (coffee shop, restaurant, bar and barbecue) combine and we have to work in all of them. Because of the situation, two other waitresses come in to help out. For weekends when the customers come in droves, I work till around 11pm in the night. But other waitresses stay till 3am or 4am accordingly.
11.30am I go home to rest and prepare for the next day.
