7 Reasons Why You Should Never Regret Your Fast Food Experience

In April 2015, I wanted a part-time summer job while I was working on a school project. I took a job in fast food at Sonic for the summer. I thought it would be cool to skate at work and go outside. What I quickly realized is that the fast food industry can be intense. Customers are demanding, employees are very diverse, and the food is so bad for you. But overall, the experience and lessons learned are invaluable and something I’ll never regret. Here’s why.

1. Customers

Customers are a hassle. Many of them are rude and some are stupid. These customers force you to learn to be nice to everyone and develop strong customer service skills. It doesn’t matter how many times you can explain something, they still don’t understand why buffalo sauce is in a big bag and no, they cannot have the bag. They’ll whisper and then complain they can’t hear you and your equipment is malfunctioning. In my opinion, the saying “The customer is always right,” was created by people who simply realized you’ll never win so, you mind as well give them whatever they want. It’ll save you some sanity and a lot of time. There’s also the regular customers that come every day just because you’re their “buddy”. Those customers brighten everyone’s day and sometimes almost makes you forget the rest.

2. Employees

I grew up in a conservative, middle-class world. I didn’t know that grown adults can’t read. I didn’t know that drugs are so prevalent in society. I didn’t know that parents no longer teach their children respect for authority and responsibility. I learned very quickly that these things were normal and people were determined to get whatever it is they wanted. They believed they deserved more money even though they should have just had the title “clock puncher”. Learning to work with people from different backgrounds is very important because people skills are highly important for success in any industry. Every day was a new experience. Every new hire was a new personality. The employees allowed me to work with others in a new way. Playing sports made me competitive and made me value teamwork. Teamwork in a workplace is different because not everyone wants the same goals. They’re “in it for the money” even if the money isn’t very great. Gaining a new ability to work with others was a challenge but, I have made progress.

3. Outgoing Personality

When I started working, I remember being given the headset and shown a computer with six tabs worth of about 25 buttons each. Then there were additional buttons for sizes, quantities, conditions, combos and coupons. Now the last time I had eaten at Sonic, I was about eight years-old and ordered a grilled cheese kids meal. I had no idea what anything was on the menu and I certainly did not want to talk to people about it. I was going to give it a try because it was my job but, hearing loud trucks, static buzzing, and ambulance sirens blaring in my ear made my days miserable. I started to learn and actually became pretty good at taking orders. It may have taken close to six months to say I was “good” but, for the first time, I was 100% willing to talk to customers. This shy child would now voluntarily speak to customers; I would say that’s a victory.

4. Speed

In college, I studied industrial engineering which many people associate with time studies. Time studies are a major part, but not the only thing. Early on, I began to notice time goals, or “speed of service” goals at work. Everything was coming full-circle and I had a new understanding of “queue time”. I never expected to get engineering lessons in a fast food restaurant but, there I was studying a screen of numbers. I became very competitive and wanted to have the best times of the day and developed a new sense of urgency and speed. 

5. Perseverance

Everybody knows that fast food has high turnover and poor training. Because of this, I spent many shifts with half the staff necessary to serve the customers while half the menu was half-price. There were times where myself, and I imagine, most of my coworkers wanted to turn off the lights and sit down. The customers just kept coming and “overwhelming” doesn’t even do the situation justice. I learned to battle through it and just keep going because eventually they’ll leave and I can leave too. Standing on your feet all day long can be rough after so many hours especially understaffed. At the end of the summer, I was not ready to stop making money so I cut back my hours and kept working. This perseverance had to accompany some fantastic time management skills as a full-time student, part-time worker while also working on a million-dollar project for a national competition.

6. Business Knowledge

After a while I was promoted to be a shift manager. At that time, numbers became more important. Average times that I competed with were now part of my responsibility as well as labor costs and food costs. The owner allocated a certain amount of sales towards labor, which I was responsible for meeting during my shift. Food costs needed to be kept at a minimum, meaning I had to minimize waste while maximizing speed. The numbers gave me a glimpse to the other side. I realized for the first time that massive businesses aren’t filthy rich and there’s a reason why they’re paying employees the rate they are. They pay for the value said employee brings to the business. Many businesses specifically in fast food are owned by franchisees. The franchisee is making a small percentage of sales at the end of the day due to the large costs involved in operations.

7. Leadership

As a manager, I was the co-captain of the team. I had to learn to lead by example, to set up a shift, and to give direction. I had to set goals for the group and determine the best way for us to achieve them. I was responsible for enforcing rules and discipline. Being able to set your own goals is the first stepping stone towards achieving something great. Then, when something went wrong, I was the problem-solver.

I learned customer service, communication, engineering, business, leadership, teamwork, time management, and responsibility just to name a few. At the end of the day, the skills I learned are endless. I missed a few nights out with friends and had some nights with less sleep. I was made fun of by friends and family for working in fast food but, they don’t know the full story. Even if all my reasons aren’t enough, I am able to say that as a college student, not only did I have a retirement account, but it had a balance greater than $0. 

Those of you that worked fast food in high school or college or just as a job to put food on the table probably understand my experience. Never regret the experience because the lessons are invaluable. I wrote this article as a reflection on my time as well as a way to encourage others to reconsider the judgement they place on others. You don’t know everybody’s story, you don’t know everybody’s goal, and you don’t know everybody’s reason. You will never know when the part-time cashier at McDonald’s that you yell at while drunk in the middle of the night is actually in medical school studying to be the doctor that will cure your future diseases. Respect everybody and they’ll respect you in return. We all take different paths in life, whether it’s by choice or because we fall towards that direction, but we are all moving towards personal success. Keep a positive mindset for yourself and others, and you will see the growth in yourself and the world around you.