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007 | What I learned from working at a fast food restaurant

When I was in grade school, I always play cooking games and buy and sell games with my siblings and childhood friends. I always thought that that job is easy. Just greet the customer, take their order, give their change and orders, and that’s it! It would be that easy right? But in reality, it’s not. Stepping into the legal age and getting a job in this industry, I realized that it wasn’t that easy. There’s always something going on and anything can go wrong. There are the customers that are complaining about the product, machines not working, there’s not enough crew and the line is too long that the door at the dining room is already open and the last car at the drive-thru is out of sight. Here are the things I learned:

✨ Teamwork is important.

I used to be not a fan of teamwork due to my experience in school group activities and projects. I had a fixed mindset about the topic. It’s hard for me to speak up and share my thoughts with people I’m not comfortable with. I’d rather do it alone. But then getting a job in this industry made me realize that I can’t do everything alone. Teamwork is very important to get the job done right and faster. I’m a full-time college student so I usually work every weekend and holidays which are all busy times. So even with the demand, the job gets easier when everyone is in harmony helping each other and doing their part. You know when they say, teamwork makes the dream work.

✨ Be kind, be patient, and be understanding.

Working at a fastfood restaurant requires kindness, patience, and understanding. Not every customer is having a great day and that means some will be a little rude and some could easily get irritated. This also applies when customers take time to order or get their cash or card in their bags when the line is long or when they suddenly change their orders when they reached the last window at the drive-thru or when they ordered a lot and then cancel it because they forgot their money or card at home.

✨ Stop complaining and just do your job.

This is unavoidable. Oftentimes, I find myself complaining when customers get rude and inconsiderate, but that’s part of the job. It’s good that you have your co-workers that you can talk to because they understand your complaints and frustrations. However, I realized that doing this during working hours is a huge time waster. We all need time to vent out our frustrations but do it during break time or when there’s no customer because they will get disappointed when they saw you guys having chitchats while they are there waiting in line or waiting for their orders.

✨ Get out of your comfort zone.

This job pushed me to get out of my comfort zone. I am very shy and when I first got this job, I did everything to not get myself the customer service task but they still gave it to me, and I am so glad they did. It was quite challenging and I had my fair share of sermons from my supervisors. Now, I actually think it’s fun doing the cashier job, assembling the order and give it to the customers, or taking orders at the drive-thru. It also feels good to see customers feel happy and satisfied before they walk out of the store. It doesn’t hurt to give them one of your smiles, ask them how they’re doing, and compliment them.

✨ Love your job.

I know this sounds cliche but it has helped me throughout my journey. You know when they say that if you’re not happy, just quit. But what if you can’t quit because you need the job? Learning to love this job allowed me to enjoy the work. My grandparents once told me to love my job no matter how small or how big it is and no matter how much I get paid. Love your job and it will love you back.

I am grateful for this job not only because it taught me a lot of things but also because of the flexible schedule that they offer, it’s very important for a full-time student like me. In addition to that, they also allowed me to take a vacation for more than a month twice already, and most importantly, I am grateful for the friendships that were formed.

Note that I don’t apply these all the time. There are days that I am clouded with negative thoughts and emotions that I can’t appreciate it and I’m too tired that I can’t do my job right. This is the first time I reflected on it and this is also the first time I wrote about it. Blogging about this will serve as a reminder. I want to start coming back to this whenever I’m having a bad day at work or I don’t feel like working.

What do you do for a living and what did you learn from it?

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25 thoughts on “007 | What I learned from working at a fast food restaurant”

  1. Before I quit my job, I used to work in an office. We started out as 3 employees only (fun times! No HRs, no seniors just us 3 newbies!), it was a baby company back then, and then grew to 15 people, that’s when I left.
    I don’t know if I love my job, because when I think about it, if it’s actually raining money, I wouldn’t be in this career.
    Still, I don’t regret anything, because if there is one lesson I’ve learned, it is to stop living my life according to what my family and relatives expect of me. I realize, personal dreams are there for a reason. They are not simply fancy stuffs in our heads.
    Thank you for sharing this, it’s actually nostalgic for me, brought me a lot of memories!

    I would love to know more about embracing and loving jobs! As of now I work as a remote employee for my old company, to pay my bills. Would love to read more about topics like this! ❤️

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    1. I love what you learned because at the end of the day, this is our life and our decisions shouldn’t be affected by other people’s expectations even if they’re our family and relatives. They are not the ones who will regret and feel unhappy and unsatisfied when we didn’t follow our dreams. Thank you so much for sharing, Princess! 💖 I might share more about that soon! Omg, you gave me an idea for a new blog 😍

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    2. Hello, Nath, true, what you said is so true! But it took me a long time to realize that because I grew up with no close friends, so I’ve become a people-pleaser, pleasing everyone but myself. Also, because in our Filipino culture, we tend to give in to the dreams that our parents have for us, without realizing that in return, we are killing our own dreams. I’m happy you found new inspiration from my comment! Wishing you well! ❤️

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    3. You are so true! I, too, have become a people pleaser and I’m trying to remove that in my system and I also agree with what you said about our culture. Thank you so much for this discussion. I am currently in this situation 😅 and it means a lot. Have a great day and I wish you the best, too! 💖

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  3. This is great, I specifically love your points. ❤ Especially on the part of learning to love your job. It's never easy but the thing is you can always learn something new. Also, I love what your grandparents said, because my dad always says to me that love is necessary when doing something or else the outcome will be unsatisfactory, like for example, cooking a food. He says, when you cook it in a bad mood, it wouldn't taste good. Hahaha.

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  4. What a great post Nath. Such good advice and wisdom here. My first job was as a front desk clerk at a hotel. People were usually cranky when they arrived due to being cooped up in a vehicle for a long drive but I found that no matter what their attitudes were if I greeted them with love and kindness they either changed their attitude and if not they would always come and apologize to me later. I would always tell them that they wer efine, that I didnt notice. It was a wonderful learning experience. I also love how you pointed out that as humans we will not always be upbeat and positive but as long as we realize that and try to be better it will get better. It all boils down to dont take it personally, and try to treat people the way you want to be treated 🙂

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    1. I’m glad to hear your experience that they changed their attitude and they come back to apologize. I like that you mentioned about not taking it personally cause I’m a very sensitive person and there are still times when it gets into my system. 😅 Just thinking that they’re not upset because of me and that they are just having a bad day helps a lot. Thank you so much for sharing, Margaret! 💖

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  5. These are all important lessons and I think many of them ring true for a lot of jobs even those that are not in fast food restaurants. Especially the one about teamwork. So many people don’t know how important that is but it is so vital in any job.

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  6. I have so much respect for those who work in restaurants & retail. My roommate works in a boba shop & she’s talked a lot about how rude customers can be and it truly shocks me. I’m glad that you have shared the positives behind this job though & they apply to so many other types of jobs too!

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    1. Aw! 🥰 And yup! Some customers are also taking advantage of the “customer is always right” rule and sometimes it’s just too much to handle. 😢 Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, D! 💖

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  7. Thanks for sharing this! I’ve worked at a cafe for a few weeks and I totally agree about all the points you’ve listed here! Teamwork is so important! But I think that the most important thing it taught be, surprisingly, is how to make the most out of the time I’m not at work!

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    1. That’s right! When you’re out of work, sometimes, you’re already tired and you no longer have the energy to do other things. Thank you for reading this, Caroline! 💖

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  9. I know what you meant by not being fan of teamwork and having fixed mindset about the topic. I used to be like that and like you, I realized it was better done with the help of others.

    Some customers do understand when you’re not feeling well and when you’re clouded with emotions because we also observe… HOWEVER, (and so unfortunate), some people do not care how you’re feeling and care only about themselves. THANKFULLY, most people who work in the service industry have learned to be kind, patient, and understanding.

    Thank you for the post, it’s an eye opener to customers as well!

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    1. That’s so true! It took me a long time to realize that because I am not used to working with others and prefer to work alone. 😅 I am also grateful for understanding customers like you! 💖 It means a lot when you understand and appreciate us.

      Thank you so much for sharing this, Janis!

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Thank you Nath for sharing this.

    Teamwork oh team work the hardest but simplest to do. It requires a very steady mind, it’s not for the weak. And one can only hope the team really works their differences out. About loving your job, that is one thing I always tell myself – to always love that which I’m doing because if you don’t love It, less effort and time will be invested which will yield little to no results.

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    1. I super agree with all your points, and I loved how you explained it! Teamwork is worth the challenge! And yes for loving your job! When you love something, it shows on your performance, and you will enjoy your time working instead of always waiting for when you can clock out and leave.

      Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on this, Ms Abigaba! 😄

      Liked by 1 person

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