working fast food

[John Dibble]

Yes. Burger King for about a year and a half in high school.

In regards to discounts employees could get food for half off, which I did for a while but most other employees just took what they wanted within reason (standard combo meal, basically) and the managers didn't care so I eventually did that instead. Honestly I got so tired of the food I would go to McDonald's just to taste something different, and I preferred their fries anyways.

The experience will vary depending on what kind of hours you maintain, how busy your location is, and what positions you do. My BK was one of only two fast food joints in town, the other being the McDonald's across the street, so it was quite busy. I mainly worked as a cashier, but also could run the broiler and run the 'specialty' food line (fish, chicken, and frying stuff), and of course I had to keep the place clean every now and then. I had my hours limited from like 5-10 or something like that so I never had to open or close the place except on the rare holiday when we had short hours.

The worst job IMO was working at the main window for the drive through, as you were expected to get customers through in three minutes or less on average - this included the time they sat on their ass deciding what they wanted, and if they drove off without making it to the main window because the place was busy then it would mess up the timer. I think I once had a mild panic attack because we got really, super busy and the other person helping man the window was on break. On the other hand, the easiest job was manning the second window at the drive through on busier days when it was open - you didn't take orders or hand people food, you just handled the money and prepacking toys into kid's meal bags. It was a bit boring, but on the other hand it was peaceful and quiet compared to the other stuff going on.

I eventually quit because a newer manager who was made responsible for scheduling work started giving me only 10 hours a week, which was only half of what I wanted.

After that I got a new job until it was time to go to college working at a movie theater. (AMC) It was initially a $1 hour cut in pay, but honestly I recommend it over fast food by quite a bit. I still got the half off discount on food, and it was significantly more peaceful even when working concessions. (when people have fewer options, like whether or not they want pickles, it takes them significantly less time to make decisions) You start with concessions only, but then you are an usher, and then you sell tickets, and IIRC they gave you a $.25 per hour raise as you were able to do more of these. There were also other opportunities for pay increases, such as an inspection period where they'd give you a raise if your uniform was always worn properly and cleanly. You could also get an even better pay raise if you wanted to become a projectionist. Additionally, employees and close family members (spouse, children, siblings, parents) could see movies for free - my mother ended up seeing a lot of movies that summer. I would recommend going for this route if you are looking for jobs of this pay grade, just from personal experience.