shout out to those of us who once worked fast food!

[momophile]

My first official job was at McDonald's, and then I worked at Long John Silver's.

Rude customers is what sticks in my head the most from those days. I remember crying after being yelled at by a regular at McDonald's during the Sunday morning rush. I was a cashier, 16 years old, and had no control at all over how fast his food got made. Jerk.

And at LJS, a customer made my best friend cry. She was a manager but only 17. A much older employee then chewed out the customer. Jerk.

How about you?

[MonkeyFunk]

1. My first real job was McDonalds, too

At the time, it was great training for restaurant work. Now every McDonalds is staffed by half-wits and slackers. But back then, we had to work hard.

[momophile]

3. we did work hard, didn't we?

I worked my butt off at McDonald's. And it was good training and I don't regret it. But never again!

[MonkeyFunk]

22. yes we did...

I did it all. Cashier, cook, dishwasher, floor mopper, parking-lot sweeper.

Clean as you go - that was the motto.

[AirmensMom]

2. Great Adventure at age 17 ...

I think the place was called The Gingerbread House, but they served fast-food fried chicken. I washed trays in the back so didn't have to deal with customers.

[momophile]

4. glad you didn't have to work with customers

but I've never heard of The Gingerbread House. Was it a chain?

[AirmensMom]

7. I don't think so.

Probably just GA's version of KFC. I worked second shift with a guy who called himself John-boy. Silly, but we had contests to see who could wash more trays in a minute. :rofl:

[Beer Snob-50]

5. Friendlys Ice Cream was my first job

when they concentrated on ice cream and not dinners. Worked our asses off for minimum wage and tips.

[momophile]

11. was this a chain?

I've never heard of it.

[Beer Snob-50]

12. It is along the East Coast Now

but at this time they are trying to go national.

[momophile]

14. I'll keep my eyes open for them

:hi:

[YankeyMCC]

29. In the early 90's

I took my superior officer (I was in the Air Force) to a Friendlies during a trip to the Baltimore area. He, and all the other Capt's and LT's in the group, had never heard of it.

I earned a lot of good brownie points for that one, they raved over the sunday's for a long time.

[Beer Snob-50]

35. the sundaes are still awesome

They have one with 4 scoops of ice cream, bananas, and ladle of strawberries, pineapple, and hot fudge.

[eyepaddle]

6. My first job was at a taco joint called Zantigo

which was later acquired by Taco Bell. My mangaers told me we didn't need to be punching bags so I told a few assholes to f'themselves when I worked the drive thru. That helped a lot.

I usually had a good time going into work--we had a skilled and fun crew, plus the manager knew enough to just let us go.

I'd never do it again, but I am very glad I have done it.

PS Our nickname for customers was "the enemy."

[momophile]

9. seems like that would have made all the difference

being able to tell the customers off. Not that I would have - I was too quiet and shy. But I wish someone would have stood up for me instead of running to the back like most of the managers did.

[Crazy Dave]

8. Me and Shepard Smith of FOX News

Used to flip burgers at a Hardees in Ft. Walton Beach in the early 80's

[momophile]

13. I remember Hardees - what happened to them?

??:shrug:

[Crazy Dave]

17. Don't know as far as the one in Cinco Bayou

Which was where we worked. It was a "Whataburger" the last time I visited there.

[eyepaddle]

24. Hardee's is still around, they were tanking brutally, so

they cut back on their number of stores and revamped the menu. They simplified it it quite a bit and fancied it up as well. (Fewer menu choices, but more effort into the remaining product line. Their burgers are cooked to order Angus beef now, for example.)

Hardee's used to be about the worst food imaginable, and at least up here they seemd to specialize in hiring ugly, easily confused people--I'm sure that wasn't the case in Florida though! ;) These days I'd have to admit the burger's are pretty tasty, but they contain about 12,000 heart stopping calories each, so I haven't eaten at one in more than year, maybe two. I'm not sure how succesful their reinvention has been, but they are still around here in MN.

[AllegroRondo]

25. Still around in St Louis

of course, the corporate HQ is here.

they revamped their entire menu, going for huge heart-stopping burgers. pretty tasty, though.

[RubyDuby in GA]

10. Taco Hell...er...Taco Bell

worked there for a very brief stint in high school

[momophile]

15. haven't eaten there in a long time

but gosh I used to love them.:hi:

[RubyDuby in GA]

18. Well, I will actually still eat there after working for them so

they must not be that bad :)

[Left Is Write]

16. My first "real" job was at Hardees my junior year of high school.

My most vivid memories of those days are the times our drunken manager used to go to the bar next door and get loaded when he was supposed to be working, and the power-hungry assistant manager who couldn't get enough of yelling at people.

[Crazy Dave]

20. I was an assistant manager (at Hardees) and we were a 24 hour store

All the drunks used to come in shifts. The first from the bars that closed at 1 am then the next for the bars that closed at 4 am.
Don't know how many times I almost got my ass kicked for kicking out the drunks who were yelling at my workers. The cops always came there pretty quick though as we always gave them free coffee and cinnamon biscuits.

[Left Is Write]

23. It's pretty bad, though, when it's the drunk who is in charge.

[montanto]

19. Taco Time and Dominoes

[RetroLounge]

21. First job at Ponderosa

Never ate there again, never worked in food service again...

Made me want to finish high school and go to college.

RL

[NewWaveChick1981]

26. I worked at a Wendy's for three weeks in college...

Boy, that sucked. :( And I learned how Wendy's made its chili....and I won't eat it again. Ever.

[fizzgig]

27. i'm also a hardee's vet

worked there in high school. the store was in the student union and i worked lunch, it was out of control.

in college, i worked at subway, also in the student union. four years of making sandwiches for idiots. i can't tell you how many times i got yelled at for being out a certain type of bread during lunch. there were days we'd make more than 500 sandwiches in three hours during lunch.

i still cannot even smell subway without wanting to vomit

[YankeyMCC]

28. Burger King veteran here

Double Whopper dinner breaks

Working the drive through and having my cousin come through and pour a little beer in a cup that I could drink from while I was working.

Getting burned by a hot water hoose used to clean the kitchen floor and the look of concern on the manager's face and relife when it was clear I wasn't going to sue or otherwise make trouble.

Working during the Brockton Fair, 12 hours a day, carnies washing up in the bathrooms.

Dreading cleaning up the women's room (anytime not just during the fair) - I'm sorry laddies but at least at this location the women's room was always 10 times more toxic than the men's room.

Oh the memories :)

[deadparrot]

30. Wendy's was my first job.

:puke:

I don't even want to relive those five months. It was all the motivation I needed to get an education.

[u4ic]

31. I worked at Harvey's in high school

I never wanted to work in the food service industry again...

[jobycom]

32. Domino's Pizza. I don't remember rude customers much.

I remember a few who wanted to be really, really nice to the delivery boy... They scared me! :rofl:

[Throwing Stones]

36. yikes.

"I remember a few who wanted to be really, really nice to the delivery boy"

I had a couple "Herberts" when I was a paperboy, who always wanted to invite me in. I took my older, much larger and very menacing looking, brother with me a couple times and that stopped. Odd though, to think about now - those guys could have been dangerous pedos.

[jobycom]

37. These weren't scary that way

These were customers I wish now I hadn't been so afraid of, you know what I mean? Smaller than your Herberts, different gender... :rofl:

[Throwing Stones]

33. Lasted a month a McDs

I hated it so much, mostly because they made me work out front instead of in the kitchen. My first night on drive through (a busy Friday dinner hour), I messed up some dude's order and he made a huge deal out of it - came storming into the restaurant, threw the bag at me and yelled that he was going to Burger King instead. I suggested, right in front of the manager, that he go to hell instead. The manager, instead of firing me, begged me not to quit no the spot, so I finished the shift and that was it. I'm still amazed at how people get into an uproar when the fastfood place gives them crap meal X when they specifically asked for crap meal Y.

[judaspriestess]

34. Taco Cabana in San Antonio

order number 22, order number 25 your food is ready.

[Rosemary2205]

38. I was in fast food management for 24 years

whoever said that is a "low skills" job never tried it.

[Rhythm]

39. assorted FF jobs... 8 yrs total

Wendy's... Bojangles... Captain D's... & Hardee's

I don't remember many seriously rude people, but then, i have one of those weird personalities that gets people to act like humans even when they're not.

I have had people stop me in public, who knew me from a previous job, and ask me where i was working now, so that they could come and see me there. That's always weird.

I'm back in restaurant work fopr the time being, but now i don't work directly with the public... just with my cooks and occasionally the wait staff (if a guest has a special request or a food allergy). I sort of miss the one-on-one contact.

[Pendrench]

40. Just curious - for those of you who worked fast food - did you tend to eat most of your meals where

you worked (when you worked)?

In a way it would make sense - since you and the food were right there - but I was wondering if over time you got bored with the menu, and so you would find lunch/dinner somewhere else.

I saw "Super Size Me" last night, and at one point in the movie, Morgan mentioned that he was getting bored with the same food over and over again (of course, that's all he was eating for an entire month).

I know that my wife worked at a Wendy's when she was in high school, and she said that she ate there a lot (probably too much).

Thanks -

Tim

[scarlet_owl]

44. I was a vegetarian when I worked at McDonald's.

I did eat there, however. I would eat a cheese sandwich with tomato and fries without salt.

[Burma Jones]

41. My first "paycheck" job was a closer at McDonald's

I kind of liked that. I came in at 4 pm and left at 1 am, worked the back, and after about 9 pm, it was pretty empty, we would close at Midnight and then spark up doobies and listen to music in the parking lot, the cops didn't bother us. Well, it was the 70s, and we were all in our teens and twenties and only the night manager relied on this as his sole source of income.......After that, I got a job working at a Corn Dog Stand at Astroworld in Houston.....

[Orsino]

42. Old Pizza Hut cook here.

Back in the eighties.

[scarlet_owl]

43. I worked at McDonald's as a teenager.

I liked the job because I got to work with my mom, who was the manager. She didn't cut me any breaks, though. She didn't want my co-workers to think that I got any special treatment.