Picture this scenario: You’re nearing the end of an exhausting eight-hour shift in the drive-thru, and it is one of the hottest days of the year. You haven’t had a meal in five hours, due to your mandatory 30-minute lunch break. The day has been a relentless sprint of serving a never-ending stream of cars, and today, you’re flying solo because someone called out sick. The finish line is in sight when, suddenly, a car honks impatiently. You rush over, hoping to resolve the issue swiftly, while more and more bags of food stack up at your window. The customer demands to know why their food is taking so long. Politely, you explain, “All I can do is run it out as fast as I can. I can’t control the overall speed of the service,” yet, the customer’s frustration knows no bounds. They yell, curse, honk, and harass you without consequence. It doesn’t sound like an enjoyable experience, does it? Unfortunately, this is a true story and a daily occurrence at Chick Fil A Santa Barbara, where I work as a cashier.
I genuinely love my job, but I wish customers would show more understanding and kindness. In the fast-food world, there are three main jobs: drive-thru, bagging, and front of the house. Sadly, the drive-thru crew deals with the worst customers who often catcall, touch inappropriately, and use foul language—a tough reality for those frontline workers. I personally have dealt with it numerous times but especially when I’m taking orders outside.
It’s discouraging to see some of my coworkers develop a negative mindset toward customers. A higher ranking employee, admitted, “I view every customer as rude unless they give me a reason to think otherwise.”
While this mindset doesn’t lead to customers being treated differently, it undeniably adds stress to the workplace. An average of 72% (18/24) of team members shared that they normally encounter multiple rude customers during an 8-hour shift.
It’s important to remember that the workers aren’t perfect. Most team members acknowledged that roughly 50% of rude customer interactions stemmed from a valid reason, such as orders taking longer or mistakes with the food. These situations can be frustrating and affect fast food workers too, but, there’s no justification for losing your temper with an employee over a simple mistake. It’s worth noting that everyone, including fast-food employees, have their own struggles. So we should all be kinder, especially to those who are serving you.
Fast food workers are more than just faces behind a counter. They have feelings and struggles just like anyone else. It’s crucial to treat workers with respect and empathy and recognize the lack of humanity in the service industry. A customer can make a positive difference by understanding the challenges they face and by being a little more considerate in return. Kindness is a small change that can have a significant impact on the daily lives of customer service workers.
