Mar 30 2000

This morning, I stopped at McDonald's for breakfast on my way to work. The Drive-Thru line was long, and the wait to get up to order was unpleasant. Finally, I ordered, and even the high-tech red-LED screen to verify my order was slow; it didn't even change while I waited.

Waiting to get my order was even longer. I had sat for almost 10 minutes there before I got to the window. The girl there took my money as she filled my orange juice and talked to another customer via her headset. she looked tired and ragged.

There, I waited for probably 5 minutes for my food to arrive, and there were two other cars ahead of me who were told to "pull ahead". they had been waiting longer than me.

Finally, the girl handed me my orange juice and the bag of food.

But, just before I had the bag in my hand, the overworked girl snatched it back, felt the contents through the side of the bag, and handed it back. She flashed me a big, honest smile and said "Just making sure it was yours!"

That is a person who is content with her job. The stereotypical fast-food person, when overworked and getting behind, could care less about whether my order was right or not, and they rarely ever smile at a customer. This girl, though under pressure, still had the composure to not let the situation get her down, and took the couple of seconds to think of the customer, too.