Junior Brianna Zamora hustles around Fair Oaks Pharmacy and Soda Fountain, as customers stream in and wait to be served at the vintage-looking sweet shop. With a smile on her face, Zamora tirelessly caters to her customers, making sure to give them the best service possible.
Zamora started her job as a waitress at the soda fountain, located in South Pasadena, on the last day of her sophomore year. In order to juggle both school and work during the school year, Zamora only works six hour shifts on the weekends, from 5-11 p.m.
“I found the job through my family. We always really like to go there and get something sweet to eat during the summer,” Zamora said. “I wanted the job because I felt like it could help me be more confident and responsible.”
As a waitress, Zamora must be able to do everything, such as preparing the desserts, bussing the tables when customers are done eating and being a cashier. Because she earns only minimum wage, she makes the majority of her income off of the large tips that customers usually leave because of her good service.
“We get $8 per hour but we also get free drinks,” Zamora said. “The food is also at a discount for the staff and everyone is extremely friendly. We’re like a giant family.”
Although Zamora tries her best to juggle school and a job, it can also be challenging. Her shift is generally on the weekends, but she still checks a week ahead of time to find out when she has to work in case her shift changes.
“I’ll try to finish all my homework in the time that I’m not working,” Zamora said. “If I can’t, then I’ll bring it with me on the bus to my job and finish it then. Or I do as much as I can, go to work, then come back home and finish it.”
As a waitress, Zamora puts on a bright smile and a good attitude and tries her hardest to give her customers the best experience possible. Once in a while however, her patrons give her a little something back for her hard work.
“I was serving a family with children. I took their order and a little girl came up to me,” Zamora said. “She gave me a picture that she had colored and that she really liked. It was very sweet.”
Zamora makes it clear that she enjoys what she does. Although she can’t take on a full-time position during the school year, she plans to eventually increase her workload.
“I really love my job,” Zamora said. “I’m planning to work full time during the summer, five days a week, instead of just the shifts right before we close on the weekends.”
At the traditional soda fountain, Zamora and her colleagues constantly bond and joke around as they tend to their customers to the best of their abilities. To keep their spirits high as they work tirelessly around the clock, they create tiny, catchy phrases to get their points across, creating a more laid-back atmosphere for everyone.
“We always say ‘no leaning when there’s cleaning,’” Zamora said. “It basically means that you will never be doing nothing so you’ll never have an excuse for just standing there.”