A glimpse at life in the fast-food lane
By: Liz Dadson
December 29, 2016
The world would be a much better place if everyone had to spend at least a year or two working in retail.
It could be at a grocery store, fashion outlet, restaurant, fast-food place, any establishment that deals with customers. Because not only is it a great experience and you learn new skills, it will make you a better, more-understanding customer.
Up until two years ago, I had never worked in retail. Growing up on a farm in Ashfield Township, my duties were a bit more home-grown, helping with chores, feeding the animals, milking cows, cleaning out the barn, that type of thing. You don't get a lot of complaints and your customers seem pretty content, unless they're headed for the freezer – but that's another story!
I graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Journalism at Ryerson, and have been working as a newspaper reporter ever since. I worked odd jobs here and there, babysitting and the like, helping my mother at a bake sale, but I had never stood behind a counter and served customers on a regular basis.
Until 2014, when I decided to launch my own on-line news source, the Kincardine Record. With plans under way, I was concerned that I would be without a pay cheque for about three months so I checked the want ads and asked around. My eldest son was working at McDonald's Restaurant, here in Kincardine, and said management was looking for kitchen help because many of the students were returning to school.
So, a couple of months before my 50th birthday, I was up late and thought, why not? I submitted my application to McDonald's, had an interview and was hired. Trust me when I say, that was the easy part. From there, the learning curve was a straight-up 90 degrees.
Fortunately, I had some great trainers – most of them were less than half my age – but they were helpful, funny and wanted me to succeed. My husband was thrilled that after working for years as a reporter, I was finally at a job that paid minimum wage! And I had to be at work by 4 a.m. to do an opening shift – that's 4 in the “a.m.”
It certainly was a struggle. I'm not a morning person but there I was, bright as a new penny at 3:30 a.m., ready to do this job. I quickly learned the ropes and was on the line, frying bacon, cooking eggs, and putting breakfast sandwiches together. The morning manager had the patience of a saint because I wasn't very fast, but my trainer said I would get faster. And she was right; after about three months, I was doing most things as if they were second-nature – even making breakfast burritos which was my Achilles heel for the longest time!
The one thing I struggled with the most, was wrapping a breakfast sandwich in that slippery, filmy, tissue paper! I could not believe it was so hard. I am an educated person, with three years of post-secondary education, and have given birth to three children - this should have been a cinch.
But I just could not get the sandwich to stay wrapped. I even took a bun and papers home and practised, but it forever eluded me.
One thing I quickly realized, however, is that working in a fast-food outlet is hard work. It's not for the faint-hearted and it is not a last resort if your teenager cannot get into college or university. Many of the employees are dedicated, hard-working and love their job – and they work together like a well-oiled machine to get the food to the customers in a timely fashion, with accurate and friendly service.
Fast-forward to the fall of 2015 and I was having some trouble with one of the managers, so I was invited to interview for a job at Tim Hortons on the highway. Which I did and went to work there. It was a similar atmosphere as I worked the deli, making sandwiches from 5-11 a.m., Monday to Friday.
Again, I had some terrific, patient trainers who helped me learn on the job. And I loved it – the daily rapport with the regulars, the hilarious jokes shared with the crew, and my fascination with how quick some of those employees can make a coffee!
Still, it was hard work and it was early morning. Eventually, I found it was interfering with my work on the Kincardine Record, so I had to pack it in back in August.
So, now I'm back to my main job of reporting - gadding about Kincardine, Ripley, Tiverton and Lucknow, and areas in between, taking photos and covering stories, which is what I really enjoy.
However, I learned a lot from my stint in fast-food, and made some great friends along the way. And, I truly believe that we all should have to work behind that counter and slap a few sandwiches together. Then we won't be that irritating customer, the one who constantly complains that her sandwich is too cold and her coffee is too hot – you know who I mean.
Don't be her. Be friendly, be thankful, be patient, and tip well.
Ah, life in the fast-food lane!
Editor's Note: In case anyone has forgotten, "Get Real" was the name of my regular column when it ran in the Kincardine Independent, so here is that header again, for your literary enjoyment!
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