Taco Bell: Not Exactly Disney World

In my entire life, I've had one real job, and only one real job. When I turned 17, my mom forced me to apply at every fast food place imaginable. I was surprised when Taco Bell called me for an interview... five months later. I was even more surprised that I was called back for a second interview and was actually hired. Apparently my boss "took a chance on me" because I was so quiet. I'll admit; I wasn't a very confident or outgoing person back then, especially when it came to the real world (if you can put Taco Bell and real world in the same sentence).

Let me tell you something about taking orders in person: It's awkward. It's nerve-racking. And it's not okay until the customer is finally finished ordering.

When there weren't any customers, I had to wipe down tables with a sanitized rag (we're supposed to call them "towels", but who are we kidding?), sweep, or clean and stack trays with that same sanitized rag. Those were fun times because I didn't have to deal with people. I could just clean. With a smile, of course.

But naturally, as soon as a customer walks in, I have to assure them that I'll be right there... as I awkwardly make my way to the other side of the counter. The customer stares at the menu. The customer stares at me. The customers stare at the menu. All the while, I stand there and smile. And stare at the screen in front of me. And keep smiling. Sure, it may not seem that weird, but it certainly feels like you're in a creepy book about robots. As soon as the customer starts ordering, the tension wears off... but not entirely. Because the customer is still going to ask you what comes on what item, how much something costs, how a new item tastes, etc.

I was pretty happy when I was finally moved to the drive-thru after however many months it was. The drive-thru is much better. It's not awkward because when you're taking the order; you don't have to stare at them and have them stare back at you. When you finally meet them face-to-face, you barely have to look at them. They hand you the money, you give them their change and their bags of crap. It all works out.

But every now and then, you have to deal with complications. I'm not talking about the complications where, a cook made the order wrong or the customer changed their mind at the last possible moment. I'm talking about people who are just weird in general, or rude for no reason, or too emotional to too old to be driving. Don't even bother asking me what's wrong with them; I'm no therapist and I couldn't tell you. All I can tell you is that people are people, and not all of them can keep their marbles. The interesting thing is, I'll bet that roughly 90% of these crazy people don't realize or believe that they're crazy. They think that how they're behaving is perfectly normal. They've lost all hope of common sense. You know that phrase, "there is no such thing as a stupid question"? Well, it's bullshit. There are stupid questions, and they're matched with equally stupid people.

In my next blog, I'm going to tell you some interesting (but true) stories about the strangest customers I've had to deal with. Being one of the main cashiers for both the lobby and drive-thru, I have quite a bit to tell (our particular store loved to stereotype and make girls deal with customers and guys make the food).