Pressure

Pressure comes in all forms and from various sources. It is up to you how you deal with it.

Most people give in when it weighs them down, while others take it as a driving force that propels them forward.

I’m more of the latter. Taking on this new part-time job at a fast-food chain with zero experience in more labor-intensive tasks is just another learning curve that I’ll eventually overcome.

It is no different than when I had my first customer-facing job as a frontliner a few years ago. There’s the initial apprehension as I was thrown into the thick of things with barely a week’s worth of training and mostly just simulated scenarios.

Working in a fast-paced environment as a customer service agent in the past has been pretty useful. It reminded me that working with customers is all about your presence of mind and active listening.

Of course, more hours in training could have made a difference instead of learning while doing, when a live customer is waiting and the clock is ticking – taking in the order, ringing up the payment, and handing them their meal.

Familiarizing yourself with the product sets and/or bundles, prepping the meal while taking on another order, and simultaneously being told what to do and not to do can be extremely stressful.

I don’t bat an eye on doing menial tasks when there are no customers, such as cleaning the stations, sweeping or mopping floors, throwing the garbage and replacing the bins with new bags, etc.

I’ve observed that others behaved differently, as if doing these tasks are beneath them and not befitting their station in life.

I simply take all of it in stride, in the same manner I’ve approached all other jobs before this, where I start at an entry level and progress to better roles afterwards. To me, this is all part of the experience in the food service industry.

I’m also grateful that most customers have either been polite or quite understanding when there’s a bit of delay or hitches as we serve them. It’s one of the things I like about Canadians.

This is the store’s first week from its grand opening. Yep, it was nice to be part of the pioneer crew. We were given 2 weeks to shape up and get the flow of things. I’m sure things will get better for me too.