i love my job for the basic reasons- it gives me security, a versatile schedule which has allowed me to further my education in psychology, and pretty A+ health benefits [for a single woman]. more reasons why I love my job include, but are not limited to- the people I've worked alongside of and essentially became. best. friends. with. the stories I hear everyday, the smiles I help create, the smiles that appear almost instantly upon my face when I see my favorites, and lastly, all the incredible knowledge I've picked up.
I can chop up veggies about 25 times faster, make a 50 person catering order in 30 minutes, make 50 wraps/sandwiches in, hmm, about 42 minutes, make a pretty badass pizza, tell you about all sorts of diets and allergens, help you point out the FAKE gluten-free folks, the celiacs, the short-term vegans, the ignorant vegans, the on and off vegans, the 5+ years vegans, the vegans that have "been a vegan before all this fake chicken crap became popular," and the beginner vegans. I have learned to cook a substantial amount of meals/recipes, - I know what temperature different proteins should reach before they're ready to be eaten, how many CUPS ARE IN A QUART and my favorite, bring my busy kitchen etiquette home and say "behind you!" to my girlfriend whenever we're cooking at home. <-- fun.
but the downside.. the inevitable and the always painful parts of working in the food industry/retail are the ways that [some, mostly the 3% of the day] customers dehumanize you every. single. way. if I was the kind of person to keep things short, i'd just say "be nice", but since I'm not, I'm going to say: WILL YOU HANG UP THE PHONE FOR TWO MINUTES?
I cannot stress - won't ever be able to stress - can't BEGIN to stress how, not only is it incredibly annoying to be on your phone when someone is attending you with something YOU want, but it's also just about the rudest thing you can do. if you do this, and you're never mean to the people helping you out, cool, thanks but still, ask mom or your boyfriend to hang on for two minutes. they won't stop loving you for being courteous and the person serving you what you want in those two minutes will L O V E you.
this is true. this is a fact. there are countless of customers I really really like- even care about to an extent that they're in my thoughts after work. that part makes me love my "college" job. it makes me p r o u d to be naturally good to people, to go out of my way because I LOVE it. to walk customers to all areas of the store to show them where anything and everything is, just to have them ask for name, thank me sincerely and have them leave on the happiest note.
in sum, in every single day trips, in all aspects of your trips to places that employ people that are there to help, that have been sufficiently trained and who are more than happy to perform A+ service, please, please remember that they are probably just like you. beyond the phd, the millionaire husband, the fake boobs - hey. hey! hi, we're all skin and bones. with a huge heart tucked in our center, protected by a set of ribs that can only help you with so much. so work for the other aspects; don't be that one person to hurt someone else for reasons beyond the both of you.
and if you happen to find yourself in a situation with a grumpy, moody, rude member.. hey, kill them with kindness. it always works. beeelieve me.
and on a delicious note to accompany this sad, ill-written blog, here are baked apples that I was spontaneously asked to bake for our demo specialist today:
sweet tango apples with pecans and currants, baked with coconut sugar, pumpkin spice, clove and cinnamon.
hey, vegan & gluten-free.
thank you for reading.
