When thinking of something to write this week, instantly an incident that happened to me at work popped into my head and I found myself re-pissed at the whole situation. First and foremost, you should know that I work at McDonald's. Most of the time, I love working with people and enjoy the conversations I have, however, not all the time are we so lucky to have pleasant customers. While taking a customers order towards the end of my shift (9:00 p.m. or so) after a very long day of classes from 9:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Due to my monitor being SUPER slow, I repeated his order to make sure it was correct (also standard procedure). After doing this, I told him his total which he insisted was wrong as he orders the same thing every time he comes in and started throwing a tantrum. Unaware of a price increase, I did not know how to explain what the issue was. To which said customer proceeded to insult me asking if I was capable of reading or even simplely pressing the monitor buttons as I clearly was unfit for the easiest job left for the scum of the Earth. Let me tell you what, here's my response to you:
When I was 17, I had a scare with breast cancer and lost my previous job before that. McDonald's was the only place that would hire me at 17 with a couple work restrictions that would work easily with my doctor's appointments, surgery, etc. So while you may think I work that job after graduating high school, you have no clue what I went through or why I ended up at this job, nor does it matter. At least I'm working and not sitting on my ass. Currently, I am enrolled in college where I am following a track to become a Doctor and eventually go to medical school.
If you think I'm incapable of pressing buttons on a touch screen monitor, I'm sure you'd find it comical to see me in the emergency room one day potentially saving your life. No, I, and more inclusively, fast food workers are not the scum of the Earth. One of my managers, for example, lost her father in a car accident while she was in college, and ran out of money/loans to pay for her final year of schooling. My point here is this: I am a college-age student athlete that happens to work at McDonald's to pay off her loans. I am no different than you. I go to work, get my check, and pay my bills. I just happen to get my check from a fast food company. So next time you want to get rowdy with a fast food employee because of a situation that 9 times out of 10 is out of their control, I suggest you put yourself in their shoes. Not all of us are washed out kids that barely passed high school. In fact, most of us are actually taking our education to the next level, taking responsibility paying our bills, and just trying to get by. I'm more than capable of so much more than just a job at McDonald's, however, the company has done wonderful things for me so I choose to stay there.
Sheetal Tadiparty
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