Anybody who has ever worked in fast food, or a conventionally awful first job knows just how difficult and rude customers can be. Sure, some customers are nice and make your day, but more times than not, you remember the customers who were awful to you. It’s easy to be rude to fast food workers, but it’s also easy to be kind.
1. Not Responding To A Greeting
“Hi, how are you?”
“Yeah I’ll have a milkshake.”
Do I not exist as a person to you? Can you not even say a simple “I’m good”? This may not seem like a big thing, but it is important because many of us already feel like customers don’t treat us as human. Simple greetings and hello’s make life easier.
2. Setting Money On The Counter
My hand is right there. Ready to take your money. It’s not cool to throw your money on the counter. Sliding it towards me doesn’t help either, because I still have to hastily scoop it up and get you your change or your cup. This is not a difficult thing. If you’re afraid of dropping money, then hand it to me carefully.
3. Handing Over Money In Weird Ways
I have seen people hand bills to me in the strangest ways. From the bill facing down in an “n” shape, as if knowing what the bill is is a big secret, to the over the shoulder reach, to the folded up mess that often ends in me dropping bills everywhere. Please, please, please, just hand me the money normally. Wait the .5 seconds until you know that I have the money in my hand until you let go of it. Same goes for when I hand you change or a credit card back. Wait until you know you have it, and then I will let it go.
4. Piles Of Change
If you hand me a pile of change for a purchase under five dollars, I am not going to count it. If I see more than five coins that are not quarters I am going to trust that you gave me the right amount and move on. There is not enough time to count all the change, especially when I have to take orders at the same time.
5. Counting Out Change
Do not come to the counter or the drive through with a bunch of change and count it out in your hands. Have your money ready by the time you come to the window. Please. It is so annoying when someone holds up the line by two or more minutes counting out exact change. And then joke about how they “lost two pounds from their purse”. Just so you know, that joke is never, and will never be funny. Or maybe it is, but I have heard it so many times it has lost its luster.
6. Holding Your Hand Out For Change
I don’t know why this one irks me so much, but it is just so irritating when someone holds their hand out while you are getting change for them. Just wait. Wait until I am holding all of your money in my hand and the till is closed. It will take five more seconds and you will still get your food. This is one of the most obnoxious things that people do at the drive through.
7. Giving Change After The Fact
I absolutely hate when customers give me change after I already entered the amount they gave me into the computer. Understanding change is never going to be my thing. If you give me three pennies or eighteen cents after I’ve entered your order, I have no idea what change I’m going to give you. And if you give me the wrong change and I enter it into the computer, and I give you more change then you wanted, don’t get mad at me. Count out your change correctly. I can’t give away money.
8. Getting Upset At The Price
Fun fact: I, an employee working at the lowest level in the company, have no control over the prices of your food or your product. If the price changes, there is no point in getting upset at the person helping you. They are not raising the prices, and they know you don’t want to spend more money. If you complain about prices, all I can say is “I’m sorry” and offer you other options. Of course, there’s always that one customer that gets so upset that I bring up the manager and hide in the back while they give away free food. Please don’t be that person.
9. Not Waiting
When I say “just one moment, please”, I mean it. I will get to you and your order as soon as I can. I am most likely taking change or fixing a problem with an order or trying to fix a computer glitch or cleaning or stocking or helping a new employee. I am not standing there and waiting five seconds before asking for your order. It is always because I am in the middle of something, and if I took your order now, I would not remember it.
10. Complaining About Waiting
If you order something while there are twenty other people in the store, expect to wait a few minutes. Your order was most likely not first, and we will get to you as soon as we can. We want to get the orders out as much as you do. When rush is over, we can breathe again. Complaining about waiting is not going to make your food come faster if you have fifteen orders in front of you.
11. Not Knowing What You Want
My life is so much easier with customers who know exactly what they want than customers who have no idea what is even on the menu. If you need a minute to decide, that is understandable. If you ask what is on an item, that is fine. The pictures are not always clear. But you know what is? The price. Those little numbers next to the menu item are actually the prices. Amazing, right?
12. Being On Your Phone
Not only is it annoying, but it is disrespectful to me when you are on your phone while placing your order. Especially in drive through, when I can hear your phone call and what you’re saying. It takes only a few seconds to tell your friend you have to call them back. It also scares me, honestly, to see how many people are on their phones in the drive through lane.
13. Smoking
It is truly amazing to me how people will have a lit cigarette in their cars. Or a pipe. Or a bong. Listen, if you want to smoke weed, do it at home. Please do not drive while high. You could harm or kill yourself and others. Wait until you get home. And for God’s sake, wait until I’m done giving you your change before you light up.
14. Inappropriate Comments
As a female fast food worker, I receive inappropriate comments on a daily basis. From creepy pet names such as “babe”, “honey”, “toots”, “baby”, “darling”, to comments that are borderline sexual harassment. Just the other day I asked a man in the drive through if he needed anything else, as I do with every customer, and he replied, “yeah, a hug and a kiss”. How am I supposed to respond to that? I’m not sure what face I made, but I can’t imagine it was a pleasant one. Then I quickly shut and locked the window, walking away. From one human being to another, can you please treat me with respect? Can you not tell me jokes about your penis? Can you not critique my appearance in the ten seconds that you meet me? Please, stop treating female fast food workers like this. We hear disgusting comments all day anyway. A simple, polite goodbye after getting your food is fine. You don’t need to try and make me laugh, and you don’t need to try and hit on me. Enough. It is so exhausting and unnecessary.
