The Amazing Average-Guy Gets Promoted

     Whew. I'm back. It's only been a couple of weeks but it feels like a month. I got promoted to Assistant Manager where I work and with it came more training, more hours, more responsibility, more money and less sleep.

     And I love my sleep.

     Love it.

     I boldly laugh at my parents when they tell stories about I hated to go to sleep when I was a kid. How hard it was to get me to go to sleep. I don't think so. Have they met me? This actually may be evidence to prove that I was adopted. That I'm really a Kennedy and somehow I got switched at birth. Although why the  Kennedys would have had a child in Dayton, Ohio in 1970 is beyond me. And, maybe, with all the trouble the Kennedys have had over the years, perhaps it's not such a bad deal.

     So, yes. I got promoted. I am now Assistant Manager of a store in a well-known QSR chain. QSR stands for Quick Service Restaurant. I just don't like the term "fast food". There are so many negative connotations that come with it.

     With this new job comes the ability to see QSR operations in a whole new light. Behind the scenes stuff, if you will. I've done this kind of work for years and I'm one of the profound few who really and truly like the work. It's hard sometimes. It makes me want to scream sometimes. But I've felt for a long time... and perhaps this comes from my being a follower of Jesus Christ... that there is no greater honor in serving others. In restaurant work, I'm doing the very thing Jesus commanded me to do.

     And let me say again. The work is hard. It's not for everyone. People tend to treat this kind of career the same way they treat the Army. If you're "flippin' burgers", you can't do any better. You didn't do well in high school. Girlfriend's pregnant and you gotta get a job doing something. You're lazy and unmotivated.

I've heard it all. Believe me. And I graduated high school. Top 25 in my class. I went to college. Majored in Journalism. For the longest time, my own parents never understood why I liked it. For years, all I heard was:

     "Well, it'll do till something else comes along."

     or....

     "You can do better with your life. Get a factory job. Or what you went to college for."

     and on and on and on.

   
     It's hard to have pride in this kind of work when people look at you with that kind of attitude. And I'm a guy that loves this work. We are constantly looked down on. If there was a Respect Totem Pole, QSR employees would be at the bottom. Somewhere below telemarketers and child molesters.


     Restaurant work requires a lot of patience. The ability to have thick skin. The ability to maintain a good attitude on days when you don't want to maintain a good attitude. The ability to remember lots of things being thrown at you almost constantly, like constantly changing procedures; what goes on a sandwich; what the customer wants on a sandwich after he's changed his mind seven times; how much the price of a product is; how much the price of a product is without a bun, with extra bacon, extra cheese, and a french fry and you have to know now because the guy ordering has exactly $3.46 to spend and you have a line full of people on their lunch break that need to get back to work.......

     But all we're doing is "flippin' burgers." We're all lazy. Unmotivated. Without options.

     And most QSR employees are high school kids and college kids needing the money. But some are husbands and wives who have lost their jobs and now struggle to make ends meet. Or they're like me. They like and believe in what they do.


      The work is hard and the pay is terrible. You start at, maybe, a couple of cents over minimum wage, working very often less than 40 hours a week. You're often bombarded by rude and uncaring customers who see you as less than dirt and you have to take it because you have no illusion that the customer is where the money comes from. No customers mean no sales. No sales means no money. No money means no work.

     Then, if you're lucky and you work hard, you get noticed and the company sees something in you and you might get promoted. And honestly, that's where the money is in this business.. But it takes effort and hard work to get there.

     And we make mistakes. But we do our best. We really do. And not all restaurants are the same, but most of them, and trust me not all, will happily fix it if they make a mistake. You spent your hard earned money on what you ordered. You trusted us to give you what you wanted. The way I see it you were a guest in my house and I dropped the ball and didn't make you happy.

     And it's not just Quick Service Restaurants. It's the higher end sit-down places. The cooks and servers alike. We all make mistakes. We really do respect our customers and we just want to do a good job.

     And now I'm an Assistant Manager. 3rd in the command chain. Not only do I do paperwork and manage shifts and other responsibilities, but I have to keep my crew motivated and happy in spite of all the obstacles I just mentioned.

     It's not easy. But we do it.

     Smile at us from time to time. Talk to us. Laugh and joke with us. If we did good, let us know. If we didn't, let us know so we can do better next time.

     This work is harder than anyone actually thinks and anyone who says they can do it, no problem, I'm challenging you now. A lot goes into good service.

     Sometimes we mess up.

     Just be patient with us. And be kind. Please.