Why fast food is not a good job?

If you randomly ask someone on the street, "What's it like to work in a fast food restaurant?" you'll likely get a negative response. It's a common misconception that being a fast food employee is terrible. However, unless you've actually worked in the fast food industry, you can't answer the question. There are pros and cons to working in a fast food restaurant, just like there are pros and cons to any kind of job. Here is the honest truth about working as a fast food employee.

1. It's Great Work Experience

2. You Might Get Sick Of The Food

3. Doing The Same Routines Can Be Boring

4. Shifts Are Flexible

5. There's The High Probability Of Rude Customers

6. The Experience Makes You A Stronger Person

7. You'll Find Good Friends

8. There's No Tips!

9. Very Good Chance Of Getting A Promotion

10. There's No Homework!

11. Working On Your Feet All Day... Is A Recipe For Sore Feet

It's Great Work Experience

Working in a fast food restaurant is excellent work experience. On a daily basis, you're dealing with customers, working face-to-face, being part of a team and having responsibility in a kitchen.

If it's your first job, it's fantastic experience to have on your CV. Working in customer service and a fast paced environment is work experience you can talk about when applying for your next job. Given the stigma attached to it as a line of work (often unfairly), it also shows future employers you are willing to give daunting tasks a try and those in the know understand how hard you have to work in the fast food industry.

You Might Get Sick Of The Food

Working with food everyday sounds like heaven but in reality, it's not. After working with the same kind of food on a daily basis, some fast food employees get sick of seeing it. 

This is why you should avoid applying for jobs at any of your favourite fast foods. Even if you love fried chicken, seeing it everyday might eventually turn you against it. 

Doing The Same Routines Can Be Boring

Being put on the fries all day can get boring.

Putting the fries in, cooking the fries, removing the fries, salting the fries, putting them into paper containers. It doesn't require much thought but repeating the same actions is tedious.

There are plenty of different roles in a fast food restaurant. The best managers make sure to rotate people around so they don't get stuck making fries for eight hours, shift after shift. 

Shifts Are Flexible

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One of the pros of working in fast food is the flexibility. Students and part-time employees can usually get a work rota that works with their schedules. If you want a temporary job, fast food is a good way to go. 

There's The High Probability Of Rude Customers

To be honest, you can get rude customers at any kind of restaurant. Just from experience, angry customers tend to have a habit of showing up in fast food places more often.

Some people believe they have a right to speak to you more rudely because you're working on a till. Whilst this is a con, use these experiences as examples for future job interviews when you're asked how you deal with irate customers.

The Experience Makes You A Stronger Person

Dealing with rude customers isn't pleasant, but each experience turns you into a stronger person. Hurtful insults or a bad temper won't upset you so easily when you have more experience dealing with angry customers. You will be able to deal with the situation professionally. 

You'll Find Good Friends

Bonding over terrible customers can make powerful friendships. So can working with a small group of people, under tough circumstances and managing to pull out a record takings shift out of the bag.

Most fast food restaurants have small teams and this gives you a great opportunity to meet different types of people and make good friends. When you're working a nine-hour shift on a Saturday, you need your friends to get you through. 

There's No Tips!

One of the cons of being an employee of a fast food restaurant is there's no tips. In any other type of restaurants, staff get tips but fast food staff don't.

Very Good Chance Of Getting A Promotion

Whilst there's no tips, there are other benefits to working in the fast food industry. Some fast food companies offer promotion opportunities for current staff and graduates. 

McDonald's is know to promote staff regularly throughout their European stores and they are great at having a young, driven workforce with the same driven management as a result of this.

There's No Homework!

With some jobs, work doesn't finish at 5pm. Once you get home, you're back on your emails until past sundown. When your shift ends in a fast food restaurant, there is no work to take home with you. Unless it's a take away. 

Working On Your Feet All Day... Is A Recipe For Sore Feet

Working in a fast food restaurant means you're working in a fast paced environment on your feet. Finishing your shift and suffering with sore feet isn't fun. This is why it's important to get appropriate shoes for work. Shoes for fast food staff require durable arch support and cushioned interiors to support your feet.

In a fast food restaurant, floors get slippery with grease so buying slip-resistant shoes is a must. Many fast food employers will instruct their employees to buy appropriate work shoes before they start their first shift for health and safety.

Get your new work shoes

At Shoes For Crews (Europe) Ltd., our slip-resistant work shoes are worn by fast food employees around the world. See the list of companies who buy our shoes. When you're working in a busy fast food restaurant, it's important you wear slip-resistant shoes to give you effective grip on greasy and slippery floors.

Do you have an interview coming up?

To increase your chances of impressing when going for an interview in a fast food restaurant you need to show your customer service skills. Our guide has been used by waiters and waitresses. Download your free copy.

By Indeed Editorial Team

Published April 14, 2022

A fast-food restaurant is a high-paced work environment. There are benefits to being an employee in quick food service, but there are also potential drawbacks. Before you apply for a job at a fast-food restaurant, it can be helpful to know what to expect so you can decide if it's right for you. In this article, we explore what working in fast food involves and discuss the pros and cons of the job responsibilities.

What does working in fast food involve?

Working in fast food involves preparing and delivering food. When a customer approaches the drive-thru window or the front counter, the employee asks what the customer wants to eat and processes the payment for the order. There are also employees who cook the food and present them to the customer. To accommodate patrons who wish to dine inside the restaurant, employees clean the tables and restock supplies, such as cups, napkins and condiments.

Related: What To Wear to a Fast Food Interview

Pros of working in fast food

Here are some of the advantages of being an employee at a fast-food restaurant:

Gaining valuable work skills

Working in fast food presents an opportunity to gain valuable work experience and soft skills, which can make you qualified for upper-level roles in the future. For example, if you work as a cashier at a burger chain, your responsibilities may include taking orders, processing payments from customers and fulfilling drink orders. The job can teach you time management, multi-tasking and adaptability, skills that employers value in employees. Since you often interact with patrons, you can also add customer service and conflict resolution to your resume. Your experience in fast food can show you're a professional with dynamic capabilities.

Related: How To Write a Fast-Food Resume

Developing friendships with coworkers

Another perk of working in fast food is the relationships you can build with your coworkers. When the restaurant has a lot of traffic, you may rely on fellow employees to streamline the process of taking and fulfilling orders while satisfying the customers. If you're new to your role, it may be an individual with the same job as you that trains you on handling the responsibilities.

Your constant interaction with your coworkers can inspire connections, which can make your workplace more pleasant. You can have a friend who you can trust to assist you with your tasks and encourage you when you encounter work challenges. For instance, if the drive-thru line is especially long on a Friday night, your camaraderie with your coworker can make you comfortable asking for help, and you can have the assurance that they can answer your questions.

Advancing in the industry

Employees can take advantage of advancement opportunities in the fast food industry. Once you've gained experience as an entry-level cashier or line cook, for example, you can earn a promotion to a shift supervisor or an assistant manager. The next step may be a manager of one restaurant location, then a manager of several locations in a specific region. Advancing in the field can enable you to make more money, work on a more flexible schedule and enjoy more benefits. If your career goal is to work in a leadership position, fast food employment is a viable option for you.

Related: Highest Paying Fast Food Jobs

Enjoying food at discounted rates

Some fast-food chains may offer items from their menus to employees at discounted rates. For example, you can receive 25% off every purchase you make at the restaurant. Other companies may provide unlimited free food for employees. Being a fast-food employee can mean you can enjoy inexpensive or free meals before or after your shift. When you take a break for lunch, you can have food available to you without spending your own money.

Cons of working in fast food

Here are some of the disadvantages you may encounter as a fast-food employee:

Working an unpredictable schedule

Fast-food employees work in shifts. Since the restaurants are primarily open most of the day and every day of the week, the schedule can vary. For instance, you may work the morning shift on Thursday and the evening shift on the weekend, which can make it challenging to coordinate plans for your free time without interfering with your work schedule. An upside of the scheduling system is the ability to switch shifts with your coworkers. It gives you more flexibility to plan your life outside of work, and you can ensure the restaurant still has enough staff to address customers.

Resolving issues with customers

Since working in fast food entails customer service, you may encounter patrons who have issues with the orders they received. Your duty to deescalate a conflict while maintaining a positive attitude poses an obstacle for you. It can be beneficial to apply the feedback from customers to help you learn from your mistakes, which can help you avoid conflicts in the future. Once the situation has passed, you can focus on your present circumstances to boost your morale and continue with your workday.

Related: 37 Fast-Food Interview Questions and Answers To Help You Prepare

Experiencing the physical demands of the job

Employment at a fast food restaurant may require you to work on your feet for long periods of time. For example, if you work at the drive-thru section, then it may be your responsibility to use the intercom to take orders, accept payments and hand customers their food through the window. If there's a line of cars in the drive-thru, then you might stand outside to speak to customers while they're in their vehicles, which can also be physically demanding.

Making sure you eat and hydrate yourself before your shift can help you stay energized while you work. You can also take advantage of breaks and lunch periods to relax and recharge. When you're standing, it can be beneficial to stretch your muscles to avoid cramps and find comfortable shoes to prevent soreness in your feet.

Performing a routine

Working in fast food involves consistent routines, which some people may find less engaging than other types of work. For instance, as a line cook, you may perform identical steps to prepare the food items that customers order. As a cashier, the protocol of typing in orders, handling money in the cash register and printing out receipts can become repetitive.

Practicing the same routine can also increase your competence as an employee, which can heighten your eligibility for a promotion. You can request to work in a different role in the restaurant to break the monotony. Once you've finished your shift, you can rest assured that you've met the expectations for your job, and now you can enjoy your free time.