I work in fast food, and honestly? I think everyone should work in fast food at least once in their life. I'm not saying it's fun. A lot of the time, it isn't. However, nothing else I have ever done has given me so much insight into what being a kind person means, and how much a small amount of kindness can mean to other people. Those are lessons everyone needs to learn (and trust me, now that I've worked in fast food, I know there are a lot of people who've never learned them).

I know that as a kid I never really thought much about the workers in stores and restaurants that my family went to. They were just there, handing me my ice cream cone or scanning our groceries. Maybe that was just part of being a child, having a really self-absorbed view of the world that couldn't quite imagine people I didn't know having lives. I don't remember getting past this until I got a job, though, at the age of 16, at a Chick-fil-A in a mall food court.

I've interacted with more people over the course of the two years I've had this job than I think I've ever met in my life outside of Chick-fil-A. And let me tell you, there are some real jerks out in the world. Which I didn't really expect, because Chick-fil-A has such a great reputation for hospitality, and you'd think the customers would tend to be equally nice. Unfortunately, that's not always the case.

I've had people yell at me because they couldn't use a paper coupon at our store, despite the fact that we haven't taken paper coupons in years.

I've had people get upset because there wasn't any ketchup in the dining room only for me to find they just hadn't seen it.

I've had a man who, after being told that we were cooking his sandwich and it would be about four or five minutes, respond that ridiculous wait times like this should only be okay on Sundays. You know, the day Chick-fil-A is closed.

I've had a man ask for no salt on his fries. I watched the girl making fries pick them out of the fryer before they could even touch salt and pass them through to me. When I handed the fries to him, he claimed he could see salt on his fries. When I said (while taking the package back and ringing up new fries for free) that I didn't think there had been salt, he lectured me for five minutes of proper treatment of customers.

When I'm faced with rude people on a daily basis, the customers who are nice are such a blessing. A genuine smile and thank you goes such a long way. You don't want to be a bother, but could you get a refill? You're never a bother if you're nice! You're asking how my day is and actually giving me a chance to answer? Oh my gosh, you're just the sweetest thing and probably made my day. You're clearing off your own table? I've got the wedding scheduled for next week (you'd be surprised how many people don't do that, actually…).

After two years of a fast food job, I've become so much more aware of the people around me, workers at Walmart and McDonald's and Starbucks. I always try to make their day a little better with a genuine smile, by cleaning up my mess, by asking them how they're doing. I don't think I'll ever be able to bring myself to be rude to an employee at a store or restaurant, because I've been on the receiving end and I know it's not fun. Retail and fast food workers are people with lives and feelings just like yours. Don't ruin their day by being a jerk.