When a restaurant is running smoothly, it's easy for patrons to forget how much work goes on behind the scenes.
But assistant restaurant managers can't forget — they're often responsible for scheduling the wait staff and monitoring everything from the restaurant's budget to the consistency of table settings.
On busy nights, assistant managers may be on their feet all shift long, pitching in as necessary and glad-handing patrons to make sure that they're satisfied with the service.
At Neta, a sushi restaurant in New York City, assistant manager Stephen Kirschner also has to write a daily report for the restaurant owners letting them know how each lunch and dinner service went.
Related: How to switch jobs and land a bigger salary
His schedule doesn't leave much time for a traditional social life. Both Kirschner and the general manager work to cover the rush on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.
"On Sunday and Monday, I'm running everything by myself," he says. "That's when I get to the heavy duty paperwork done, like payroll and invoices."
While Kirschner concedes that he's not getting rich in his current role, he says that low pay is to be expected in the restaurant industry.
"In general, food service doesn't pay that well."
