Fast-food, the quick service restaurant (QSR), this is a special opportunity for some special people these jobs are also filled by high school students, college students, stranded tourists, housewives, people who are strapped for cash, refugees, and retirees.
Most of these jobs require black shoes or black sneakers. This is the most important part of your uniform, as you will be standing up all day during this job. Some employers offer you a new pair of shoes or sneakers as part of the uniform package. You will need to wear shoes that fit right, shoes that are sturdy, durable, and comfortable for you to wear. If you cannot find shoes, you may need to consult with Dress for Success, an organization that helps clothe people that do not have a lot of money for clothing, or Goodwill, or Saint Vincent de Paul, or The Salvation Army. You will be able to receive an outfit from one of these organizations that will impress your interviewer.
Fast-food restaurants are "down" or downscale retail storefronts. If you are neat, clean, well-groomed, and are able to be friendly without saying a whole lot of words, you will do fantastically well at the fast food restaurant, or QSR (quick service restaurant).
If you are looking for a company to help pay for your college, many of these companies offer scholarships, or programs that will help pay for your tuition, and/or books, if you have reasonably good grades. If you are able to keep a 3.0 GPA, or even a 2.5 GPA, your tuition burden will be lightened by the company you work for.
Most QSR, or fast-food companies will provide you with one or two workshirts, and one or two pair of trousers to wear to work. There is no need to worry about uniforms, although, you may need to write a request every week politely and patiently in order to obtain two workshirts in your size.
Washing your uniform daily - going to the laundromat is difficult at times if you do not have a machine in your house. I use cheap shampoo (V05, Suave, Lander), the $1.00 per bottle shampoo, and wash my shirt off in the sink. The shampoo is cheaper than laundry detergent, and the stains usually are removed from the dark uniform shirt enough to look right, and smell pleasantly for the next day of work. If the shirt does not dry overnight, .25 cents will dry it at the local laundromat.
What if I have a white shirt? Be certain to spot treat the shirt at work, before you go home, even if it is with a dilute cleaning solution from the janitorial spray bottle. You need to be careful with the bleaching of your white uniform shirt. Fill a clean bucket (not a little sand bucket, a gallon-sized bucket at the very smallest) 1/2 full with water, then add 1/2 cup of bleach, then add your shirt. Let the shirt soak for at least three (3) hours in the diluted bleach solution. If you did not notice this stain until you arrived back to your pad/crib/place, you should still be allright. Check on the stain, it should be completely gone three hours later. Take the shirt out, place in the sink, (check the bucket for any undies that might have wafted into the bucket, and remove if found in the bucket), then, dump the water/bleach into the toilet. Then, you can wash your shirt in the sink with that cheap perfumed shampoo, so it has that pleasant qsr smell that will help you to fit in with your co-workers.
Leave the nice doodads at home. You can buy jewelry from a gumball machine and wear it to this job order. You can make hair ornaments yourself, or necklaces, and your coworkers will appreciate it. You can wear those trinkets to work that you could not wear to your office job.
Key words to use: Hello, good day, greetings customer! May I take your order please?, May I help you? Is there anything else you would like? Would you like to supersize that? Thank you for your order - always be polite to the customer.
Keep your eye on the cash, double-count the cash, make sure that your drawer contains exactly the money that your cash register receipts say that it contains. Make sure that you are an accurate cash handler.
Please note - this is not a career, unless you are planning to become the restaurant manager.
Training people to work at the shop: you can have your phone ringing off the hook, have every employer in town calling you, if you interview well. Your entire house can be employed just by using these simple tips. Remember, there are only so many restaurants in a given town, if your housemates get the bright idea of starting a QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) employment agency, the whole place could go belly-up in weeks.
If you are going to be employing friends, let your friends swim, or let them quit. Just try to relax, be peaceful, and enjoy your day at work, while working.
