Hypocrisy is a part of life. We’re all guilty of it. I feel like, as students, we need to become acutely aware of hypocrisies in our daily lives.
Why? Because I work in food service.
Every day I make food for thousands of strangers. Our food is made to order, which means it takes a hot minute to make. Add on the fact that we can be swamped with 50 orders at a time, it could take 30 minutes for us to get our food to a customer. If I ordered food and was told it would take that long, I’d probably get a little bit pissed too.
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But put yourself in my (aka the worker’s) shoes.
I am one of three people prepping food and taking orders. Sometimes that list of responsibilities grows to acting as a cashier as well. We have 50 orders among the three of us to make, ring up, and distribute.
On top of that, we occasionally run out of items and have to go retrieve more. Between prepping and cooking, it takes a while to do one order, much less 50.
We get very overwhelmed. We’re students, too. We have full course loads on our minds and we have classes we have to run off to at what seems to be the most inopportune time (like the lunch rush).
But before I worked this job, it never crossed my mind how absurd it is to try to get food five minutes before class starts. But really, if one order takes five minutes to make independently, you’re already late. This logic is now insanely apparent to me, which is why I tend to get frustrated when students try to grab food right before class starts.
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In an ideal world, that would be awesome. Hot, ready food right before class, but we can’t all be Little Caeser’s.
We are extremely understaffed at the beginning of the school year. This means in a five hour shift, we don’t get a breaks. I’m tired, stressed, and hangry as hell. So are my coworkers.
So instead of hassling Allie* because she’s an international student and pronounces guacamole differently than you do, move on.
I’m extremely protective of my coworkers. I’m shift-lead and a senior, which means I’m responsible for everyone when we’re working. Most of my coworkers are younger. If you get short with me, I have my own way of handling you. If you get cross with one of my coworkers, don’t be surprised if I’m suddenly the one making your food. I won’t take your shit.
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The general level of impatience from our customers drives me up a wall. I, too, would enjoy getting my food within three minutes of ordering, but as the employee, I know that’s completely unreasonable.
So maybe the next time you’re ready to scream, consider the fact that we’re all fighting an uphill battle against the clock.
*Name changed for privacy.