Before the summer of junior year, I was in a rush to try and find a job.  I applied to numerous places, but received no word back.  The one place that called me back was Sonic.  I went in for my interview and got the job.  Now I know what you’re thinking, who wants to work in fast food?  I thought the same thing and so did my family.  I was reluctant to work in a fast food restaurant but I was lucky to receive the job and began my first day shortly before school ended.  Now, after working there for a year and a few months, I’ve gained a lot of experience about what working in fast food is like and would like to share it to my fellow peers so that the next time they’re out they know to be nicer to the person serving their food.

One would think that working in fast food means free food all the time.  Sadly, that’s not the case.  The only thing I got for free was drinks, but I did receive 50% off any food that I ordered.  The biggest thing that I learned from working in fast food was how to deal with customers.  Most of the time, customers were pretty nice and didn’t bother me.  However, sometimes you encounter customers that are hostile.  For example, once this guy was upset about how his burger was made and when my manager tried to talk to him, he acted very aggressively and cursed up a storm.  There have been multiple times when similar situations happened.  I always question why someone would get so angry over fast food.

The most interesting thing about working in fast food is how to make all the different items that are available on a menu.  At Sonic, I learned how to make all the drinks and ice cream products that they have to offer.  It was a lot to learn at first, but I was able to learn it all over time.  All the items are pretty easy to make, and I know how to make them look presentable too.  Since I work as a crew member at Sonic, I don’t make the food that comes out of the kitchen.  Most of the items are made fairly quickly, but food constantly needs to be made so that it can be prepared in a timely fashion.  At Sonic, we have numbers to meet and can’t let things go late.  It can be stressful at times, especially when the drive thru is completely full.

The best thing about working in fast food is the friends you make.  When you and your coworkers are all in the same situation, it’s easy to relate to one another.  Once you’re able to get to know your coworkers, the job becomes so much more fun when you can laugh with your coworkers over the ridiculous stuff that happens in fast food.  Working in fast food has taught me a lot about getting things done in a timely manner and how to interact with customers.  People think that working in fast food is a crummy or low life job, but it actually takes a lot of patience and learning to do the job correctly.  The next time that you go out to a fast food restaurant, don’t forget to be nice to the person serving your food.  It will make their day better and they’re more likely be nicer to you as well.