My first real job was at Carl's Jr. I was hired two weeks after starting classes at RSU as a first time freshman. I was 17 and extremely happy to have finally found a job after nearly a year of submitting applications and checking on them, only to be told, “We will notify you” or “We are looking for someone with experience, sorry.” Although it was the hardest job I have ever had, I learned some valuable lessons, had some fun times, and made a few good friends on that journey. Even though it’s been almost a year since I worked there, I am still thankful for that stepping stone and its wisdom. Here’s 10 things I learned working in fast food.
1. You will sweat. A lot.
Especially if you are working in the kitchen, next to a char broiler that feels to be about 10,000 degrees. The walk in fridge will become your new best friend. Soon you will find yourself stocking items that you will need to go into the walk in for, just to stand in there for a few minutes and cool down.
2. If you wear glasses, like me, you will dread leaving the walk in or the freezer.
As soon as you open the door and step out of the walk in or the freezer, you will be met with foggy lenses, and until they adjust, you will either despise wearing glasses, wish you had stayed in the cool and comfy temperature walk in, or you won’t care.
3. You realize that the customer is not always right. Sometimes he/she is just rude.
“How rude.” I swear I had a Stephanie Tanner moment at least five times a day when I would work in the drive thru corner. People don’t realize that when you work fast food, you have scripting that you are supposed to follow. We also have POS (point of sale) that goes in a certain order when we are putting orders in. We ask the questions as they pop up, sorry for the inconvenience, sir. (I have actually had to apologize for that, too.)
4. You learn about people from all backgrounds.
I worked with several different ethnicities. Mostly Mexican, though. I picked up some Spanish, as well as a taste for homemade Mexican food. And learned about the culture, too.
5. You have some really random conversations with your coworkers on slow nights.
I remember one conversation in the drive thru corner with myself wearing the headset, my manager, and our closing cook one slow Sunday evening, where we talked about how we would treat our various health conditions in the event of the zombie apocalypse.
6. You learn to never utter the words “slow” or “dead” when it is in relation to business.
That is a jinx. As soon as the words leave your mouth, you are going to get hit with a huge rush at any time. You just don’t know when.
Most likely after you have just finished getting the lobby fully cleaned.7. You become more understanding when you are a customer yourself.
Anytime that a fast food worker apologizes for something now, as long as I see that they are doing their job and actually trying, I am understanding that they work in a stressful environment that is taken way too seriously by the people that work in it sometimes. They are human like me and deserve to be treated as such.
8. You make friends (and if you’re me, you wind up falling in love with one of them)
I still talk to several people that I worked with. And I actually fell in love with one while working together.
Jack and I met when I first started working there, and over the months, we got to know each other and became friends. I was about a year later that we admitted to each other we had developed stronger feelings. He got a new job about a month after we started dating, and I wound up staying for a year after that. Today, we are happily engaged, in jobs that we both enjoy, and are continuing to work towards our future.
9. You realize that you work your butt off for minimum wage or a quarter above it.
I made $7.50 an hour while I was there, and I probably earned that $7.50 within the first 30 minutes of my shift. The amount of multitasking that is required of you in fast food is ridiculous. Not to mention the stress of getting the food right, because if the customer goes to corporate, you are in big trouble, or if they are a mystery shopper, or if they complain in general. Honestly, people should just calm down and realize that mistakes do happen, especially when you are in a crazy environment such as that.
10. You probably won’t get the time off that you need.
I struggled with this, as well as with my schedule working around my classes. It always did work out, but it took some time and negotiating with some less than desirable shifts to get there.
Honestly, I have good memories of my first job, and of the people there, and the customers I saw on a regular basis. Whenever I go up there to visit with my old coworkers, I usually wind up chatting with one or two of them for a second. Its nice to know they remember me, and that they really did appreciate that I always tried my best. Working at Carl's Jr. was a challenge, but it also brought me out of my shell and forced me to become more comfortable with talking to people.
It taught me many life lessons (and shoutout to my girl Kathy for how to "properly" mop a floor). And again, thanks to Kathy, who gave me a love of grilled onions on a burger.
