Im not sure what exactly triggered this response but I remember one day things just got so hard I ran to the back crying. I was only 18 years old. I remember feeling this sense of shame until the workers told me how on the daily there’s people running to the back crying. At 18, I didn’t understand how this was a symptom of a much larger issue.
Working there was stressful. While fast food jobs are generally stressful, there comes a point where the environment gets to be unhealthy. Unfortunately, I was in that environment due to short staffing issues. One of the shift managers wasn’t even great either and could be toxic. I’m not sure what happened to her but I hope she changed.
I looked down on this shift manager but now I realize how she was going through similar as me but with more responsibility. I no longer feel resentment for her. Instead I feel sorry. She was in her mid twenties and trying to pay her way through school.
I go to the Dunkin’s I worked at now sometimes. It is slower than ever now due to low staffing. I don’t look down on the workers because the situation isn’t their fault. This is unacceptable to have someone handle both drive-thru and counter orders at the same time because it’s a recipe for burnout which can cause someone to make mistakes.
How fast food chains aren’t realizing the damage they’re doing is a reflection of their selfishness, but also their lack of self awareness. Slow service could impact how customers view the business, especially if it’s a repeated issue. Even seeing a single worker handle drive-thrus and at the counter orders is a bad look as well. I see one worker handling everything and I don’t think very kindly of the business.
I wouldn’t even blame the managers who run the specific job, I would place blame on who’s in charge of hiring people since they clearly don’t want to hire more. Then these same people who make hiring decisions complain about how “no one wants to work”. Yeah, okay then! How about no one wants to work for YOU?