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OPINION
March 2013
Fast food world Dakota Roberts Staff Writer In order to afford college, many students struggle to make ends meet. Most students are forced to work non-glorious jobs. I am one of the many students working full-time as well as attending college full-time. I am a crew member at the Marshall Subway and I consider myself lucky. I have great co-workers who are more like friends. I have a nice boss and crew leader who are both in the friend category. I have it easier than most working in fast food. “As a sandwich artist myself, it appears to be no issue as each employee feeds off the energy of the next employee to insure that they stay positive and well mannered. The quality of each sandwich looks as though each one is made with speed but also lots of care and patience. These e mployees definitely earn the title of ‘Sandwich Artist.’ These sandwiches looks as though they were painted, the way that the green peppers blend in with
the tomatoes looks as though they were a Christmas tree with big red ornaments hanging down the side, of course some will just see it as a sandwich,” Said DeQuan Perry who also works at Subway. All fast-food workers in my shoes still find one gigantic line of rude customers. In every job employees have to put up with rude people once in a while, but for those working in fast-food we have a daily reminder where we rank in some eyes. “Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits is a place where the employees have constant interaction with the customers while delivering service with a smile and giving them fresh chicken and biscuits. Because of our constant interaction I see a lot of things that both the customers and my fellow coworkers do that could put people in a bad mood. It always aggravates us when customers talk on their cell phones, when he or she pulls up to the drive thru speaker. Is it really hard to hang up the phone, order, pay, and then call the person back?” asked Kenneth Grant. Most fast-food workers are working their way through hard times. Rather they’re college kids trying to get through the dog days, or they’re falling on hard
times. Unfortunately, some customers could care less. When we hear the name McDonalds, we expect cheap fast food. Few people dislike fast food, and people may work at one in a certain point in their lives. This is why it is shocking how rude customers are. They demand fresh food and then complain that it will be a few minutes wait. They want extra whipped cream in a shake and argue when it overflows the lid. If you want your Big Mac without pickles than please ask for it that way, don’t just assume that working a minimum wage job gives us telepathic powers. Also please try and take more than ten seconds to order your twenty item specialty order. We can only click the buttons so fast. Take a deep calming breath and think to yourself ‘Would I want to deal with me?’ The answer is usually no. If you are kind, patient, and calm you will have a much better time at McDonalds,” explains Julia Tanner. On a daily basis I get yelled at about how ungodly high the price of one customer’s food is, even though I have no control over the prices. Once I had change thrown at me because a customer was so upset at the prices I did not set. Another common customer complaint
Give the Worker a little courtesy
Photo by Kenneth Grant
is I don’t put the correct amount of lettuce, green peppers, olives, on the food. Realizing me or nobody else is perfect, I quickly manage to fix my mistake. It makes it easier to fix my mistake when the customer is kind about acknowledging my mistake. Next time you find yourself in a fast-food restaurant, please be kind to the underemployed workers. Even if the mistake is on us, it truly makes our dog days of being unappreciated a little easier to get through. ~Dakota Roberts loves kind customers.
Financial aid Assistance Open lab oitc 01 March 6 3-5 pm wmich.edu/GoWest
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