I would have to say that working at a fast food restaurant was one of the worst decisions I have made. I worked at Chick-Fil-A for only six months, because I could not take it anymore, and dreaded every second of it. The only reason I survived that horrifying experience was because of the friends I made there. It is definitely not a job I would recommend, and all of my friends who worked at other Chick-Fil-A locations at that time can attest to that. Often my friends and I exchange our awful memories from working there, but it is good to know others have undergone the same traumatic experience I have. Here is a peek into the struggles I faced during my six months working at Chick-Fil-A.

I guess I should start by stating my least favorite part of the job: cleaning the bathrooms. When I applied for the job I had no clue that I would also have to act as the restaurant’s janitor. Aside from scrubbing public toilets I also had to clean the “lady box” or in other words the small tin container that women dispose of their feminine products in. If that isn’t already awful I also got the privilege of cleaning men’s urine off of the floor. It infuriated me how careless they could be! Have a little consideration for the employees who have to clean your mess up.

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Rude customers were also what made my job so…interesting. I recall one time a customer was upset with me because we did not serve hamburgers at a restaurant that exclusively serves chicken. It was also challenging when people were ridiculously specific with their orders; one lady said she only wanted 3 cherry tomatoes in her side salad. Although I would have to say one of my worst customer interactions was when a man made me dig through the trash in our dumpster out back for his phone he thought he threw away, which he then later realized was in his pocket the whole time.

You would think one of the few perks of working at Chick-Fil-A is being allowed to eat one free meal per shift, but trust me the longer you worked there the more it seemed like a detriment rather than a benefit. It no longer became a question of what menu item you liked the most, it was actually what menu item you hated the least. Those who were smart and did not want their cholesterol to shoot through the roof opted to go with one of the salads, but even that got old after a while. One of my favorite places to eat turned to my absolute least favorite, which is saddening.

Picking up trash from the parking lot made me upset not only because I realized people are so careless but also because they were the direct cause of harm to our environment. They were not just negatively affecting my life by causing me to pick up their garbage, they were negatively affecting the Earth on a much bigger scale. If we do not take care of our planet, then it will not last us for generations to come. Not to mention picking up used cigarettes off the street gets old very, very fast.

Although working at a fast food restaurant was not an enjoyable experience I must admit it did teach me a lot of life lessons such as perseverance, hard work, and responsibility. It also taught me patience to deal with those customers that were especially difficult. And for that, I am thankful for the experience. But let me be clear: I will never work at a fast food chain again.