Job: Waiter, Square Bagel, Marietta
What I do: Roberto Paiva may be one of the most recognized people in Marietta.
As a waiter at the Square Bagel, a deli off the Marietta Square, Paiva, 62, knows and is known by countless breakfast and lunch customers.
"Everywhere I go, people recognize me," he said.
Roberto Paiva delivers a drink to longtime customer Rachel Foster of Marietta. Foster said she has eaten lunch at the Square Bagel every day since 1999, "and [Paiva's] been my waiter every day." Interacting with customers is a highlight of the job for Paiva.
That could be because he's more than just a waiter. Sometimes, he's also an adviser, confessor or friend.
"When people come in here in a bad mood, they leave happy," Paiva said. "I play around, joke with them. It's just me."
With his regulars, who often order the same thing each time they visit, he'll pretend to write down their orders as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or cheeseburgers — two items that aren't on the menu.
When things aren't too busy, he'll sit down in a booth and chat.
"People talk about their wife or their job. I listen and try to help," he said. "Sometimes, I just close my mouth."
He recalled one man who was complaining about going shopping with his wife. Paiva suggested that, instead of following her through the mall, the man go to the food court and eat ice cream.
And if they disagree with Paiva's advice, "the customer all the time is right," he said.
Paiva also handles the more traditional roles of a waiter: taking orders, pouring coffee, toasting bagels and making sure the plates have the correct orders before delivering them.
He also cooks when necessary.
What got me interested in this: When Paiva came to the United States from his native Brazil in 1969, he settled in Lowell, Mass., and worked in a factory. After about six months, he got a job at a restaurant in Boston, and he's worked in restaurants there, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and in Marietta ever since.
During that time, he met and married his wife, raised two children and became an American citizen. He now has one grandchild, with another on the way.
Paiva has worked at the Square Bagel for about 12 years.
Best part of my job: "Dealing with people," Paiva said. "I love talking with people. Sometimes, I talk too much."
Most challenging part: "The times you have too many people, trying to please everybody."
Also, he said, "my legs are killing me" at the end of the day. He said he's used a pedometer at work and discovered that he can walk 10 miles a day, just hustling between the tables and the kitchen.
What people don't know about my job: "People need to be patient," he said, especially during busy times.
He recognized that, during the week, businesspeople don't have a lot of time for breakfast or lunch, with the average customer spending about 20 to 30 minutes at the table.
He compared that situation with a fine dining restaurant at dinnertime, when the waitperson may have only a couple of tables to serve over about two hours.
"I make my money on volume," he said — the more tables he has, the more in tips he makes.
Paiva has cut down to 11 hours a day, six days a week, after his wife and children urged him to take a day off each week.
What keeps me going: "I love it." It's better than a factory or an office, he said, because "I get the chance to meet people."
Paiva added that "everyone here [at the deli] is nice." The owner, Adam Katz, who is quite a bit younger than Paiva, "looks like my dad" when he was younger, Paiva said.
Preparation needed for this job: You need concentration to keep customers and their orders straight, Paiva said. You also need to be friendly and to please the customers.
"You have to make the experience nice for the customer," he said. "They pay my salary."
- By Karl W. Ritzler, for ajcjobs. Got an interesting job that you love? E-mail your story to jobseditor@ajc.com.