The summer before my senior year, I began working at the Dairy Queen in my town and I worked there until I left for college. It was my first job ever and I can definitely say that this job has allowed me to develop a greater appreciation for all fast food workers. From an insiders perspective I can tell you 2 encompassing reasons why you should appreciate the people that take your order and make your food.

1. Everyone makes mistakes. I agree, it definitely sucks when you’ve waited in line, ordered, and waited for your food only to receive the wrong item or have your order messed up. But one thing you need to understand is that everyone makes mistakes. And even further, new employees are prone to mess up because they are learning the ropes and become nervous once they realize how much there is to memorize. From firsthand experience I know that the shift leaders and management teams work hard to stop mistakes before they get handed out to the customer, but sometimes things slip through the cracks. So the next time you receive a messed up order, take a step back and calmly ask for it to be fixed. We don’t purposely mess up your order and we will be more than happy to fix it, so attitude only makes the situation more uncomfortable for both parties.
2. We put up with cranky and rude customers all day. Dealing with unhappy customers comes with the job, yes, but despite this we always (at my job) serve you with a smile and try our best to provide great service. So when you are that rude customer that thinks they can do our job better than us (believe me I have plenty of stories), just know that you become an anecdote about impolite customers that we share with anyone who will listen. Don’t be that person.

At the end of the day, we as fast food workers know what we applied for. We applied for a job where the customer is always right and we must provide outstanding customer service no matter how rude the customer is. But this, and the reasons listed above are why you should appreciate fast food workers. In my experience, we put up with jerks that think they can do our job better than us, and surprisingly we don’t let that affect how we treat you. We work hard to provide you with the product you ordered in a timely manner without any mistakes and we always correct a mistake when it’s been made. We know that without you we wouldn’t have a job and we appreciate your business. So the next time you order at a fast food restaurant just remember that we work really hard to do our job for you, and nothing is worse than a customer that doesn’t appreciate our effort.