The story by Stuart Tannock, "On the Front Lines of the Service Sector" reminds me a lot of my experiences at McDonalds. The stress she describes is very true. There would be days when you would be doing all you possibly could and customers were still very rude. It really ticks you off when cutomers that you can tell are "hicks" call you stupid for something you didn't do. The disrespect from customers was so great that sometimes you couldn't brush it off your shoulder and keep working. I had a manger that was Jamacian. He was a good manager and knew what he was doing. One day this old customer came in and the manager was making food. The customer yells "I don't want that nigger making my food." People look down on workers in fast food joints or grocery stores so much and some of the workers there aren't that dumb. Granted some of them are really dumb but I don't think they can help themselves. I had a manager that was top in his class in pre-med. He was just working there to pay or gas and they worked with his schedule well.
Another point stressed by Tannock is the low wages. When I started working at McDonalds I was making 6.50 an hour. I was making that much while doing seven people's jobs. There would be times I wouldn't get a break for hours and would be dying of thirst. It was a hard stressful job for little pay. I eventually worked my way up to about 7.80 but that's still not enough to really live on. It really got you down when some of the managers would come in with their company paid cars and sit in the office and not come out and help you.
I think many people put down people that work at those types of places but they are working harder than a secretary and making less. Why do you think they have Mexicans working there now? For one they will take any wage and secondly they will work their butts off. Many kids now a days refuse to get their hands dirty. I think many kids are spoiled rotten and have everything handed to them. They don't know the meaning of work. After all is said and done though I am glad I am out of McHell, as we use to call it, and in a somewhat better environment. It's still a grocery store but I'll take it. It gives me a little challenge.