Five Things Your Fast-Food Server is Probably Thinking:

I know I know, I haven't written in a while. What I have been doing a lot of, however, is working my behind off!

It's pretty common that fast-food employees are the ones getting critiqued. Do we smile enough? Do we welcome you to the restaurant? Does the food meet your expectations? Well you may not know (or even care), but we fast food employees constantly look for the perfect customer. Some of you customers drive us CRAZY. Here are the 5 things we are thinking that may help you help us!

1) No one wants your leftover ketchup and napkins. 
Time after time, I see tables neatly cleaned by customers with this one problem: In the far back end of the table, a pile of napkins and ketchup that you didn't use. For health reasons, these products cannot be left for another customer to use. Many germs are invisible. Just because these products look clean, doesn't mean they are, so naturally I have to throw them away! The thing that is so painful about this is that the customers THINK they are helping. Next time, just throw those things away :)

2) Caution, wet floor!
Uh-oh, your baby knocked your drink over. You have no idea how many times customers try to take the mop from me and clean it up themselves! I know you feel bad, but guess what, I get paid to clean the mess up (and yelled at if I don't!) So instead of trying to take the mop from me and adding time to the chore, PLEASE, allow me to step in. To those of you who think you succeeded at taking the mop, I just have to go back over the spill area using the proper steps after you leave!

3) Ask questions.
Frequently I see customers looking over the menu for about 10 minutes, disgruntled because they don't know how to get what they want. You may not know this, but behind the counter is a person who has spent HOURS answering questions, looking up ingredients, and talking to people about how they enjoyed their meal. Many cashiers know a lot more than you think they do- and if they don't, a manager for sure will! We are all about getting you what you want, whether it be low calorie, avoiding gluten, or something for when you are absolutely STARVING that won't break the bank. Just because you don't see something on the menu doesn't mean it is impossible to make! Basic ingredients create each product. Fast-food employees should happily adjust any item to be what you would like.

4) If there was a problem, YO, I'll solve it...
Unlike sit-down restaurants, fast food restaurants deal with many people quickly. I will be the first to admit that due to the volume, mistakes do happen. Not every worker is as experienced as others and this could result in food being typed in incorrectly or being made incorrectly. If we messed up, tell us and we will FIX it. Other problems such as garbage cans being full, running out of napkins, straws, sauce, cutlery, and toilet paper and paper towels in the bathroom can ALL be fixed. Employees should be checking these things, but obviously when we are busy we may not see right away. If you need something, tell us! We see you sitting over there all grumpy. We just need to be told what is wrong.

5) Tell us what you think!
Many fast-food places have websites now where you can tell us what you thought of our service. What you say has a huge affect on what happens in the inner-workings of the store. I have seen people get fired over reviews, and I have seen people get promotions. I have also seen many changes in our menu as well. Did something have too much sauce? Did an employee make you smile? Did we get your order to you quickly You may not see is that often these reviews are POSTED where the crew can see them. We WILL change according to what you say. Many of us work a lot of hours, and it makes our day to see that we made someone happy. And if we didn't, YES it makes us sad. But either way it helps us improve. "Tell us what you think" is not just something we write on our products for fun. We love hearing from you!