Working with the public, you're bound to notice things not normal people would. You notice things and examine people and hold your own experiments with your customers. With my years of experience in working in fast food, drive thru's, and customer service oriented jobs, there have been quite a few things to stick out to me among the public.

People are serious about their food/products and will get mean QUICK!

The nicest people you will ever meet can turn into Cruella De Vil over their purchases. You see a whole new side of people when their money is at stake or if they think they're being over charged or jipped on something they're paying for.

People have HIGH expectations for their purchases (no matter how cheap).

Here's a secret that I HATE to have to spill, *dramatic pause* NOT EVERYTHING IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE THE PICTURE. There have been countless times where people will purchase things and comment on how thats not how it looked in the picture and I have to bite my tongue to not reply that we aren't professional photographers who highlight ever shine on it and have a size amplifier to make it look 10 times larger. However, their are moments when I've had customers extremely pleased with how their food has turned out and that's pretty great.

You learn to not judge their appearance or how much they pay with change.

There has been an ongoing issue I've always had while working drive thru and its this; people simply don't want to hand over their coupons. However, I've noticed that between the lower class and the middle/higher class, that the people that seem to have more money often tend to try and keep their coupons to themselves. It's people that don't seem to have that much who are the most honest and give their coupons away, gaining a lot of my respect and maybe an extra scoop of fries.

SOME people don't understand the difference between fast food and instant food.

While working FAST food, there will always be those people who believe their service times shouldn't be more than two seconds after ordering their food. Some people think that their food should be handed directly to them while, hopefully, the majority of people know that is almost impossible.

People will surprise you daily.

There are plenty times when I come into work and I'm expecting to have a bad day, (YES there are bad days, but not always) and people I come in contact with actually make my day better. On the contrary, there are days when I come in, expecting a good day and there's always that one customer who wants to ruin it. Nonetheless, whether people are making or breaking your day, you can't let them ruin it.

Customers are NOT always right.

However, this doesn't mean you're to shove that in their face. It's all apart of working with the public that you have to realize it's in your job requirements to let your customers have what they want. Your pride/ego needs to be put aside when it comes to your stores business. It's up to you to keep the business coming back, whether that means giving a rude customer the last word, or not. It's more important to be polite, than right! Remember the customer is always right, even when they're wrong. B.L.A.S.T. Believe, listen apologize, solve and thank.

There you have it, some of the basic things I've noticed while having to work with hundreds of people daily. Working with the public and dealing with appropriate customer service is important, it's all about learning to deal with people. It doesn't matter if you're working as a crew member or as a district manager, you will not be able to escape the pros or cons of working with the public, you learn to adjust and make the best of it.