Before we start going into detail on the tips I mentioned in the Introduction, I would like to take a moment to reflect upon my personal experiences with working fast food...and show you just how my resources can be reliable when it comes to giving advice.
I was hired at Wendy's (in Terre Haute) on June 17th, 2007.
It was right after the ending of my Sophomore year, and I wanted a job so that I could start buying myself nice things. I had applied at Hardee's, Wendy's, McDonald's, and even Garfield's in the mall. Well, Hardee's hired me right on the spot...and I had already had one interview with Wendy's, but when I called the GM (General Manager at Wendy's), he said: "How much are they offering to pay you?"
"5.50---" I answered back.
"I will hire you at 5.90---" he said.
This was before the raise of minimum wage, so that was some serious money.
I started off at Wendy's serving drinks to the customers...then I was upgraded to what was known as the "runner". Basically my job was to do every other job that could not be filled due to lack of people. I was filling up the ice-bins, dropping fries, dropping chicken and other product, cleaning the dining room, washing trays, and sweeping the floors.
I worked over 40-hours a week at the age of 16 (even though it was technically against the law), and while my job made me cry (more than once), a part of me loved the responsibility.
When they started changing up the system, the runner position went away, and so, I was upgraded to sandwich maker. The job was really hard at first...I was given a chart which told me how to make everything, and then every couple of minutes I was quizzed on how to make something. Once I had the hang of things, my chart was taken away, and things only got easier as I practiced for days and days, and learned how to read the order screen, and even memorized the menu.
Well one day I was opening on a Sunday with a manager named Bailey, and we were short-handed. Three people had called in sick, and so we only had 4 people in the kitchen. 1 person was running grill, 2 of us were making sandwiches, and somehow, Bailey figured that she would run both front AND back registers.
Well, when we got really busy, I decided to help Bailey out by trying to figure out the front register. It seemed easy enough, and while I knew that I had gotten some things wrong, I at least got the orders out.
Bailey told me not to help after having to fix one of my mistakes...but what she DID do afterwards was tell the Gm what I had tried to do.
Next thing I knew I was being trained on register, and that-was-that...I was a front cashier.
Learning back cash was something totally out of this world...and I hate that position!!! You have to take the order through a speaker, punch everything in, repeat the order back (sometimes), wait for the sandwich maker to fix the food, then you bag the food (if you don't have a coordinator)...you have to make change in your head, and just a whole bunch of other things (including the fact that you're being timed). I have been back there ever since I was trained in November 2009...because the new GM isn't good at training people, and very few know the position.
Long story-short...I have been working there for almost 4-years now, and I think that I have seen most everything. From drunks wobbling in, to threats, to people slipping, puking, farting, belching, cussing, and etc. Nothing is new or surprising to me.
Same when it comes to new employees. Kids nowadays don't care about their job and tend not to take it too seriously, especially while they are still in school and living with their parents.
So this is just a section of my story...and it all just gets more interesting from here on out.
