I recently sat down with my friend Jennifer, whom I have known for many years, and we spoke about the fast food industry.
Jennifer, who has spent her career working in the food service industry, is currently a manager at McDonald's here in Crestview.
I was amazed at how much goes into running such a fast-paced store. The goal for processing drive-thru customers is three minutes, from ordering to receiving your food.
When one realizes how many orders go through a McDonald's store in an hour, it is truly amazing that the majority are accurate; this is due to the staff’s hard work, and their attention to detail.
My brother, Robb, was a manager for McDonald's for many years before moving on to manage fine dining restaurants in California. I thought I knew the amount of work it took to keep McDonald's performing at peak efficiency, but it seems the work load has increased exponentially. I have watched Jennifer and the other team members work, and there is no way I could keep up.
When orders are wrong — due to a variety of reasons — many customers start screaming and cursing at employees. But many of these workers are teenagers, Crestview High School students on their first job, and they do not deserve to be treated in this manner.
When you place your order, make sure you review the order board for accuracy; this will help ensure your order is correct.
Of course, there are genuine errors; we are all human and make mistakes, but when an order is wrong, they will fix it, so there is no need to curse at the staff.
Kindness goes a long way, and the Golden Rule — as stated in The Bible, Matthew 7:12 — is never wrong: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,". How embarrassed would you be if the person you just cursed at were your neighbor's child?
Think before you speak. Would you like your son, daughter, grandchild, wife or sister spoken to in the manner in which you have just spoken?
Encourage these young workers with compliments, not complaints.
Janice Lynn Crose, a former accountant, lives in Crestview with her husband, Jim; her two rescue collies, Shane and Jasmine; and two cats, Kathryn and Prince Valiant.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CROSE: Kindness to food service workers goes a long way