Service With a Smile
When I was 16 and got my driver's license, my parents said I had to get a job. "Learn about the real world", they said. The thought filled me with trepidation because my best friend was a paperback book and I was very shy.
My first job (outside of picking strawberries) was picking daffodils. Spring in beautiful Puyallup, WA valley, the daffodil capitol of the USA, was rainy, and bordering cold. It's a season of almost daily, slow rain. We called it drizzle. It is what helps keep Puget Sound so glowingly green!
My memories include arriving to work at 7 a.m. You followed the rows of "hills" picking ten buds at a time and wrapping them in rubber bands. You put the little bundle at a certain angle so a machine could scoop them up later in the day. My memories also include rain for the entire two weeks, whether or not that was true.
You couldn't kneel, because it was all mud and you moved along too quickly as you picked. So, you were at a half and whole stoop during the entire process. I learned it was possibly worse than strawberry picking, where you could at least have the joy of an occasional sweet berry to snack upon.
Those first two weeks spurred me to find better employment. There was no way I was "quitting" (I didn't want to hear my parents' reaction to THAT) so I set about finding a replacement job.
Eventually I was hired at McDonald's. McDonald's taught me some important life lessons:
1. Service with a smile
2. Be quick about it
3. Clean as you go
4. The customer is always right
I also learned the pride of a job well done, management skills (I moved up the line fairly quickly as I liked the recognition for good work and strong skill sets), and how to be outgoing and assertive, if need be.
I often think back to those early years and how having those first jobs helped create the professional I've become.
I hope I've learned a few life lessons along the way:
1. Don't quit. There are worse situations out there. Find a way to cope, or change.
2. Service with a smile
3. Be quick, detailed, accurate about it
4. Make the most of your time - multi-task - problem solve.
5. The customer is always right
Thanks Mom and Dad - you set me on a good path. :)
What life lessons have you learned from your early employment?
Comments (9)Subscribe to CommentsComment