» Sat Feb 02, 2013 1:09 am Most people I serve are respectful and nice, but as with everything, the horrible minority sticks out like a sore thumb.
Here is a few things to keep in mind. If you'd please.
I work at Taco Bell, so this may be different at other places.
Spoiler
-We have more duties than just serving you.
It is the reason we even exist, but there are a lot of things that go along with it. We may be cleaning, prepping food, washing dishes, taking the trash out, changing the fryer oil, stocking supplies, or any other myriad of things. Just because we aren't there right when you walk in the door doesn't mean we're sitting in the back texting.
-We're often understaffed
I close at nights (We close at 1am) and after 11pm, there are only two of us working. (one to make food and one to take orders).
When its midnight and you order $60 worth of food, don't be surprised when it takes awhile. The relatively ease of getting employed also means that we have some unreliable coworkers. This leads to it taking more effort and time to get things accomplished.
-Think about how you'll pay before ordering
This is my biggest pet peeve. When you order and don't have enough money, its likely we already have the majority of your order made. Unless we get someone who orders that in the next few minutes, we throw it away. We don't eat it, its doesn't sit in the heater, its thrown away. We actually get in trouble for this since it costs the company money. Also, try not to pay with to many coins. We don't exactly like it when you pay $12 in nickles and dimes. Even if you count it first, we still have to recount it.
-We're timed on how long you sit in the drive-through
This is a very important thing. Our time starts right when you get to the window. When it takes you 3 minutes to find your debit card, we're scolded. This is especially important when we only have one window (like the one I work at does). We may not have any customers behind you, but please don't sit at the window talking on your phone for several minutes before moving.
-We don't care if you're drunk/high, mean, or a cop.
Business is Business. We don't mind when you come in drunk or high (Just don't drive please). We won't report you to the cops unless we see the illegal acts ourself. Mean people are fine to. We may not appreciate you're attitude, but money is money.
I respect cops and so does everyone I work with, we have never tainted food in any way and I appreciate the fact that cops have enough faith in humanity to order food while in their squad cars.
-Our hours are based on how busy we are
We're on the labor system. This means that if its slow, we either need to send someone home or close early. Please don't complain when we close an hour early. I hate losing hours myself, and wish we didn't have to close.
I'm serious, in the Winter I sometimes lose up to 30% of my scheduled hours because of this.
-We're happy when you're happy
Nothing makes my day go faster like having upbeat and enjoyable customers. I know life is rough and you just want your food. I perfectly understand that. However, don't take out your negative feelings on me. A lot of the time I have to fake being happy, it won't hurt if you could do the same.
-Our job isn't easy
Some people have the notion that because we get paid poorly (I get $7.75/hr, which is minimum wage here) that it is easy. Far from it. I've worked with construction workers and college graduates who haven't lasted long since they can't keep up with the pace or refuse to do certain tasks. I had a manager who had a bachelors in Business Management get fired because she refused to do the dishes because "it dried out her skin". We also had a 29 year old construction worker get fired because he couldn't keep up pace when making food.
-We have more duties than just serving you.
It is the reason we even exist, but there are a lot of things that go along with it. We may be cleaning, prepping food, washing dishes, taking the trash out, changing the fryer oil, stocking supplies, or any other myriad of things. Just because we aren't there right when you walk in the door doesn't mean we're sitting in the back texting.
-We're often understaffed
I close at nights (We close at 1am) and after 11pm, there are only two of us working. (one to make food and one to take orders).
When its midnight and you order $60 worth of food, don't be surprised when it takes awhile. The relatively ease of getting employed also means that we have some unreliable coworkers. This leads to it taking more effort and time to get things accomplished.
-Think about how you'll pay before ordering
This is my biggest pet peeve. When you order and don't have enough money, its likely we already have the majority of your order made. Unless we get someone who orders that in the next few minutes, we throw it away. We don't eat it, its doesn't sit in the heater, its thrown away. We actually get in trouble for this since it costs the company money. Also, try not to pay with to many coins. We don't exactly like it when you pay $12 in nickles and dimes. Even if you count it first, we still have to recount it.
-We're timed on how long you sit in the drive-through
This is a very important thing. Our time starts right when you get to the window. When it takes you 3 minutes to find your debit card, we're scolded. This is especially important when we only have one window (like the one I work at does). We may not have any customers behind you, but please don't sit at the window talking on your phone for several minutes before moving.
-We don't care if you're drunk/high, mean, or a cop.
Business is Business. We don't mind when you come in drunk or high (Just don't drive please). We won't report you to the cops unless we see the illegal acts ourself. Mean people are fine to. We may not appreciate you're attitude, but money is money.
I respect cops and so does everyone I work with, we have never tainted food in any way and I appreciate the fact that cops have enough faith in humanity to order food while in their squad cars.
-Our hours are based on how busy we are
We're on the labor system. This means that if its slow, we either need to send someone home or close early. Please don't complain when we close an hour early. I hate losing hours myself, and wish we didn't have to close.
I'm serious, in the Winter I sometimes lose up to 30% of my scheduled hours because of this.
-We're happy when you're happy
Nothing makes my day go faster like having upbeat and enjoyable customers. I know life is rough and you just want your food. I perfectly understand that. However, don't take out your negative feelings on me. A lot of the time I have to fake being happy, it won't hurt if you could do the same.
-Our job isn't easy
Some people have the notion that because we get paid poorly (I get $7.75/hr, which is minimum wage here) that it is easy. Far from it. I've worked with construction workers and college graduates who haven't lasted long since they can't keep up with the pace or refuse to do certain tasks. I had a manager who had a bachelors in Business Management get fired because she refused to do the dishes because "it dried out her skin". We also had a 29 year old construction worker get fired because he couldn't keep up pace when making food.
Sorry about the ridiculous wall of text. Its more of a rant than anything else.
However, I do enjoy my job and actually look forward to going to work.
