I happen to earn 14 dollars an hour working at a multi-billion-dollar company. I’m talking about the food industry. I’m talking about McDonald’s. As my first anniversary approaches in October, I am going to graciously bestow some of the life lessons I learnt from working at the well-known burger joint.
- The customer is not always right
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I know how petty it seems to be starting on such a disgruntled note but I’m here to set the record straight. Contrary to such a popular and overrated belief, an employee is not deliberately trying to mess up your order.
It is also quite possible you had hoped to order a medium decaf coffee and when hollering upon guest number 425, you were disappointed to learn you had told the cashier you were in the mood for a medium double-double.
- Pride? Never heard of it
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This job was the first experience that taught me the meaning of humility. Burning my hands from accidentally dropping scorching hot coffee and drying out my throat from running orders for eight hours continuously, humbled the heck out of me.
- Eternal gratitude
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You may cross paths with that one coworker who sets the alarm clock for 2:00 a.m. and walks 40 minutes to the train station. The hellish commute lasts a total of two hours so that they can make it in time for their 5:00 a.m. shift. This co-worker may never get a raise, but instead an “Employee of the Month” certificate laminated in the back office, along with free movie tickets.
You may then proceed to be grateful for living two minutes away from your workplace.
- Punctuality, rush hour and other exciting things
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Speaking of 5:00 a.m. shifts, if you manage to punch in late, that’s 14 dollars less on your pay stub. If you do manage to make it on time however, you’re greeted by the rush hour and the flock of angry customers.
They will have a train to catch in five minutes but are willing to wait 15 minutes for their large sugar-free vanilla iced coffee.
- Your co-workers come in all shapes, sizes, languages and nuisances
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You will probably be indifferent to most of your co-workers, resent a couple and love a few. You will also have cliques categorised by language, sociolect, age and lifestyle.
A 42-year-old guest experience manager will probably not converse much with the 17-year-old college student who misses one too many shifts. They will, however, occasionally bond over the shared experience of being told to only speak English in case customers find it offensive to do so otherwise. (Spoiler alert: customers do not care).
- It’s a team effort
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As much as your patience runs low with your managers and co-workers, when it’s a rush hour or game season, we need all hands-on deck. These jobs do teach you how crucial it is to put aside your differences and provide a somewhat decent customer service experience.
Teamwork is especially essential to running smoother operations on the days where multiple employees call in sick for the day.
- Transferable Skills
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Stress management, organisation and hard skills such as operating the cash register may seem daunting at first but over time, you learn to step out of your comfort zone. These skills also taught me to be willing to make mistakes so that I was adept at dealing with disgruntled and occasionally, drunk customers.
- Know your contract
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Whether you’re working 16 hours per week at McDonald’s or moving up the corporate ladder at KPMG, make sure the policies implemented or reversed align with what you initially signed up for. If not, do bring this up with management and realise your worth and value to the company.
- Back-to-back shifts are a blessing and a curse
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I should preface this point by stating management will never schedule you for two shifts in a row, with less than 10 hours in between. However, after deciding to indulge in retail therapy (courtesy of 7 Rings by Ariana Grande), I can easily cover my debt. This is because I have the option of working a 4:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. shift, followed by a 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. shift the next day.
- “Serving Happiness” is a myth (on some days)
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Some days, I punch in for my shift at 6:00 a.m. shift and take continuous orders for 4 hours straight until my half-hour break. When I return for the next four hours, I am likely assigned to BDAP, or Beverages Drinks as Production. It entails working with the dreaded ice-cream machine, making poorly swirled, limp ice-cream cones and then proceeding to yell out the order number to no avail. On these days, professing that I wish to “Serve Happiness” is a stretch.
I want to serve the ice-cream cone and return to my 12 pending orders.
- My stamina has piqued
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Or maybe not. I still struggle breathlessly walking up a flight of stairs. However, after checking the Health app on my iPhone and discovering I’ve walked 8000+ steps on my shift, I can confidently say I feel a lot more energised during my daily routine. I’ve also lost a few inches around my waist and I’m not mad about it.
- Customers often forget employees do not draft company policies
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No matter how much you empathise about the fact that Summer Drink Days are over, there will always be a baby-boomer arguing that summer officially ends on September 4 and not the 1st. They may also be offended when you generously offer senior discounts and insist on “male-toys only” in their grandchildren’s happy meals. You may also never escape the scorned returning customers complaining about how inefficient placing a mobile order can be at times – and understandably so.
- Every worker has thought about quitting mid-shift
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I speak for all of my minimum-wage buddies when I say this. Expediting orders and hopelessly checking the monitor and realizing you still have seven and a half hours left until your shift ends, leaves you feeling miserable.
- If you’re lucky, you meet life-long friends
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During all the highs and lows of this job, I met one of my closest friends. While I could always vent about my frustrations to my family or my significant other, my co-worker would never get tired of my complaints about an annoying customer or an overbearing manager and vice-versa.
Experiencing something as bizarre as working in the food industry together is even more depressing when your favourite co-worker quits, leaving you to attend the bleak 5:00 a.m. shifts all by yourself.