Fast Food and Life Lessons

The smell of hot oil and copious amounts of greasy food are vivid details I remember from my former food jobs. I recall entering my first job at a chicken based fast food place (I’ll let you guess) excited to work and make money, only to be hit by the fast paced nature and nightmarish rush hours. For the first few weeks after I started my job, I was anxious before shifts and worried about whether I would make mistakes or get yelled at. Although it was terrifying, and some days still is, I have also learned many things from working in the food industry.  

One of the things I learned from the food industry pretty early on was how to deal with learning on the fly. The first day I was put as a cashier I was more than stressed out when all I got were pointers on buttons and then was left to my own devices. For the first hour and a half, I was swiping cards the wrong way, apologizing to customers, and pestering the manager to help fix orders. I remember going home and wondering if the twelve dollars an hour (minimum wage) was worth the massive embarrassment. However, being a rather broke college student, I decided to keep at it. It wasn’t easy and for the first few months I felt like a fish out of water, however, I also learned to ask questions and ask for help when necessary. It taught me to adjust to my circumstances and to get over my embarrassment about not knowing everything. 

Another lesson which I quickly learned was not to judge others based on preconceived notions. Society feeds us the notion that fast food workers who aren’t students or teenagers working for spending money are failures for not having typical nine to five jobs. Even I had that sort of misconception until I got to know my coworkers. Many had families,aspirations, and were just as ambitious and hardworking as their office worker counterparts. In fact, I was amazed by how cool under pressure my coworkers work and the command they had for leading the kitchen staff or dealing with unruly customers. Many of my coworkers have been shining examples of what it is to be both hardworking and humble. 

The most impactful lesson that I have learned is to let negativity go. With the pandemic, tensions are running high and there have been various incidents of customer outbursts. Being a perfectionist at heart, it makes me anxious when I don’t do something right or when the customers become irritated. I used to find myself with the irrational fear of failure or even having to do a refund. However, I have started a process where I do what I can and then move on. Although, I forget sometimes it has dramatically changed how I feel at work. Overall, although it is hard, I am glad that I have experience working fast food jobs because  it has truly been an eye-opener!

• food
• opinion
• self growth
• work