Food Service Blues

Remember how in my introduction I said I was raising money for Ohio State? Well, I finally found a job! I work at a local fast food joint in the next town over. I started Monday and I work every week day during the lunch rush. Despite what you might have deduced from the title, I love my job: it's consistent, fast-paced, challenging, and the team is great. So what exactly do I mean about "food service blues?"

Before I began my job in fast food, I was merely a consumer. Do I eat fast food often? Not really, I prefer home-cooked options. I'm not really into preservatives, genetically modified, or prepackaged foods. However, I have often complained about the type of service I have received, minutely messed up orders, or little irritations. More frequently, I have heard lots of other people complain, particularly about the franchise at which I now work.

On my first day, I made the mistake of thinking it was going to be easy. But I mean, come on, how hard can serving fast food really be? The truth is, the back of a fast food restaurant is a crazy place. There is so much going on that you never really thought about. There are people cooking the food, bagging it for the window, taking care of the guests inside, people cutting vegetables or doing dishes. There are people cleaning, putting sandwiches together, and the people ringing up drive-thru orders and taking money. Sometimes there's a whole other person making drinks.

My particular position is in the second of two windows taking the drive-thru orders. I am also responsible for making drinks for the drive-thru and keeping my area clean. (The whole restaurant is kept extremely clean!) I will be completely candid and say that it is an overwhelming job at times. I'm really grateful for my fellow crew members because they are really helpful. Everybody has each others' back. I think the hardest part is catching everything people say. Some people talk extremely fast and sometimes you simply can't hear them over rumbling engines, radios, noise from the kitchen, or the occasional static. I understand the irritation of being asked to repeat your order, but I promise we do it only to make sure you get everything you wanted the way you want it in the quickest time possible. Our guests are the most important thing to us and we do everything in our power to have great customer service.

I love my job. Not only because I feel challenged and like I can always improve, but because I feel enlightened to the skill it takes to serve fast food. I used to dread the idea of working in fast food because I thought it was a skill-less job and that people that work there are incompetent. I realize now how horribly wrong I've been and I would like to apologize to every fast food worker for stereotyping them. Thank you for serving me regardless of snarky comments, irritation, judgement, and impatience.

And to anyone who might be reading this, thank you. Thanks for taking this post into consideration, and for reading my blog. You rock!