A burger, medium rare, no cheese, extra mustard and a side of pickles — confusing orders are a common thing for servers.

Heavy trays and difficult customers are just two things waiters and waitresses deal with everyday.

Being a server is a popular job for college students at various restaurants in the Bowling Green area.

Shell Kirk, a University junior and a waitress at Call of the Canyon downtown, said waitressing is a good job for college students and she recommends it.

“It’s probably the most lucrative college job next to bartending,” Kirk said.

There are a significant amount of differences between bartending and waitressing, said Sarah Hauck, a junior and waitress at Steve’s Dakota Grill in Findlay.

“Bartenders have to do more work, they have to cash out the waitresses, and mix all the drinks,” she said.

When socializing with customers sometimes it can be difficult to tell what a customer expects, Hauck said.

“I like the atmosphere at the bar, the customers obviously want to talk to you at the bar,” she said. “When you’re waitressing you don’t know if they want you to stay and socialize or leave.”

Hauck finds balancing her life outside of work easy despite working 15 to 30 hours in one weekend.

“It’s not too demanding, and I still have time for a social life and homework,” she said.

Large parties of people are expected to be a challenge for servers, but can sometimes be rewarding, Hauck said.

“The table had four kids and a baby; they were a high maintenance table. They were asking for a lot and I didn’t think they were going to tip,” she said. “When they left they told me I did a great job and left a 20 percent tip.”

Sometimes the experiences had while at work are not as positive.

“[Call of the Canyon] doesn’t take credit cards, and we had someone come in with a huge complicated order and he tried to pay with a card,” Kirk said. “He started yelling at me like it was my fault we didn’t accept cards, and a cook had to step in to diffuse the situation.”

Regardless the venue, it is common for servers to deal with challenging situations.

Sophomore Andrew Sanderson, a server at Campus Pollyeyes, said because waiters interact with customers directly, they sometimes receive a lot of criticism.

“You are at the front of the line, and you take the brunt from the angry customers,” he said.

After working for a long period of time you begin to get customers who request a specific waiter.

“We have a lot of regulars who come in,” Kirk said. “It’s sweet; it’s like having a lot of grandparents.”

Sanderson said that becoming a waiter has been the best decision he has made.

“It’s the best thing that’s happened to me,” he said. “I moved here from Kansas City and didn’t have any friends and they took me in.”