Your first few jobs are always the roughest, and now that it's summer more and more of us are having to pick them up. They begin in high school, and carry on until we are lucky enough to score that internship or have enough education to get the career-related job we are actually interested in. Until then, most of us go through the cliché fast-food, retail, or other minimum wage jobs that you dread dragging yourself out of bed for. But, hey, money is money, and we all need it. Still, these build character in a way that our post-grad big-kid jobs never will. Here are a few life lessons I've taken away from my first job -- the wonderful world of fast food.
There are mean, nasty people in the world.
And everything you do and say will be wrong. There will be no way of making them happy, so don't let them ruin your day or get under your skin. It's nothing personal, they're just determined to be angry. Let those people go.
But there are good ones, too.
The polite people who keep a smile on their face and ask you how your day is going are a breath of fresh air. Thank you, kind people, for not acting like you are above and better than service workers. You make the day so much better.
It's possible to smile and be friendly even when you don't want to.
The greatest skill I learned from my first job was how to be friendly to people even when I was having the worst day or physically felt horrible. I couldn't be rude to anyone. The people don't deserve that, and I also wouldn't keep the job very long if I was. Smiling and trucking on through the day was the only choice.
Sometimes you have to take the fall to make someone else happy.
The customer is always right, even though they're almost always wrong. Fast food taught me that the fight is never worth it. Just let it go and be wrong; it saves a lot of trouble and pointless arguing.
Patience. Period.
Sure, take your time ordering. Our drive-thru is on a timer and you are getting me in trouble, but go ahead. I obviously can't say that, because you have to be nice to everyone. Patience was something I had no choice but to learn -- and also to not get so upset over small things like this.
The value of a dollar.
That first paycheck was the sweetest thing I've ever held. The hours of cleaning, cooking, and dealing with difficult people no longer mattered, and it all became worth it. Every penny was precious from that moment on, and every item I bought meant that much more to me. Also, not having to bug my parents for money anymore was a victory in itself.
Always appreciate the service workers.
I can't bring myself to get upset when my order is wrong or when I have to wait anymore, now that I know how many other things the person could be juggling. The job is rough and doesn't give you much time for a breath, so I try to be as nice and understanding as possible. These people are just wanting to do their job and make you happy, so try to make their day a little better.
The jobs are frustrating, but the lessons are real. We constantly complain about these minimum wage gigs, and they do feel pointless at times, but I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. We need to go through the rough to truly appreciate what we have now, and the greater jobs we will get later on. Until then, if you ever want to know drive-thru tips, or what's in the secret sauce, I'm your girl. Enjoy your meal, and have a nice day.
