Things are never perfect when dining out. A drink refill that takes all too long. The food you order comes out bearing no resemblance to the picture on the menu. A server that just isn’t enthusiastic enough to convince you that they enjoy taking care of you. The restaurant experience is full of flaws.

I’ve worked at a restaurant since June 2017. I’ve hosted, bused tables, ran food, worked in the kitchen, done administrative work and served guests; I’ve essentially done it all. Knowledge of what goes on behind the scenes adds depth and understanding to what goes on beyond just the food and service.

The stress of restaurant work isn’t always immediately apparent from a guest’s point of view. Before getting a job, I’d often find myself wondering why my server was taking so long on my drink or food. To my astonishment, I found that I wasn’t the only person being tended to by said server. And chances are I was not the only patron my server was working hard to satisfy.

Even less obvious to an outsider is what goes on in the kitchen. It’s all too easy for a servers ticket to get lost, or for the cooks to get behind or an item be made incorrectly; perfection is simply by chance.

It takes the combined effort of the kitchen staff and servers to allow for a guest experience that is even halfway decent. And it’s this persistence that restaurant workers exhibit that is so underappreciated.

From the time you first sit down at your table to when the check is placed in front of you, something is likely to go awry. Whether it’s the fault of your server, the cooks or the manager is besides the point; effort is being put into your experience in an attempt to make it the best it can be. The people behind your restaurant experience are just that: people.