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Welcome to Stuff I Learned Yesterday. My name is Darrell Darnell, I’d rather eat tater tots than french fries, and I believe that if you aren’t learning, you aren’t living. In today’s episode of Stuff I Learned Yesterday I share a lesson I learned in the drive thru.
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What I Learned Yesterday:
We eat a Taco Bell a lot. It’s not my favorite place to eat by a long shot, but the rest of my family really loves it. It’s also cheap. A few weeks ago my son and I were out running some errands and we decided to stop in to Taco Bell for lunch. We went inside and there was only one person in line ahead of us.
Instead of the line advancing quickly, it. was. slow. The problem was with the cashier. It was clear that she was new. Maybe it was even her first day. The guy in front of me ordered something, and she couldn’t figure out how to put it into the register. She called the manager. The manager came right away and helped her put in the item to the register. She thanked the manager and he walked back to the kitchen area. The customer then ordered something else, and once again, she needed help. She once again called for the manager.
The manager came up right away and helped her. She fumbled around with all the buttons on the register but the manager very patiently helped guide her to the right sequence of buttons. She thanked him and he stepped back. This time he didn’t go back to the kitchen, he simply stepped back a few feet. It was far enough to make her feel like she was running the register on her own, but not so far that the customers didn’t feel like he was abandoning them.
The customer finished his order and then it was our turn. I thought our order would be easy for her, but that wasn’t the case. Just like the customer before us, she needed multiple instances of assistance from the manager to complete our simple order. The manager was still very patient with her, and so were we.
It was clear by her body language that she was really struggling to keep calm and not panic. She was really nervous and overwhelmed by it all. She smiled at us and apologized for taking so long to help us. We told her that it was all okay, and that was it. Our order was done, we got our drinks, our food was ready a few minutes later and we ate our lunch.
Yesterday we ate at Taco Bell again. This time we went through the drive thru. The voice that greeted us was friendly and warm. I ordered the food for both my kids including the special instructions for the way Addison likes her chicken burrito. I then ordered my items and accidentally ordered potatoes, something I had already ordered for my daughter. The voice noticed that I was ordering an item that was already on the screen and asked if I was adding to the number I had already ordered. I then realized I had made a mistake, and ordered the correct item.
Once we finished and confirmed the order, I moved up to the window to pay. As you’ve probably already guessed, that warm voice belonged to the same young lady that had helped us a couple of weeks ago. She greeted us with a smile and asked us how we were doing. She gave us the price of our order in a very clear voice, and leaned out the window so it was easy for me to hand her my payment. She returned a moment later with our food and made sure I had it all secured before she let go of it.
The shaky, insecure employee was gone. It was clear that she was now in control of the situation. She was a well trained, well oiled machine and she was great.
Here’s what I learned.
I’ve been in her shoes. Most of us have. Maybe you’ve never worked fast food. I think that everyone should work fast food or in the service industry at some point. There’s a lot of value and things that can be learned by serving the public. Not to mention all that can be gained in the way of appreciation for they do.
But her transformation should inspire all of us. Don’t discount this lesson because she’s working a minimum wage job. No matter what the job is, or what the task is that’s before us, it’s easy to be overwhelmed at first.
Maybe you’re learning to play the guitar. Maybe you’re trying to learn how to use photoshop. Maybe you’re trying to learn to drive a stick shift. Maybe you’re learning how dance. Maybe you’re learning a new job of your own.
The overwhelming fact is that what seems daunting today will one day come naturally. What may seem like it become the thing that breaks you today will one day be the thing that makes you shine. The thing that makes you nervous and shaky today, will one day make you look smooth and confident. You may even find yourself teaching others this job or skill one day. If you do, remember to have the patience and care that the manager had.
So keep your head up and remember. Every mistake is an opportunity to learn and improve and a chance to get better. Hopefully, if we’re pushing ourselves, we’re getting better all the time.
I’m Darrell Darnell and this has been stuff I learned yesterday.
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