Matthew Leo
Bio
Matthew Leo is an Amazon self-published author of "Zombies Don't Ride Motorcycles". I have written over 200 poems, and written numerous articles. If you enjoyed any article please let me know with a heart & for more content please tip.
Stories (26/0)
How to Survive Working a Fast Food Job
Laughter Truly Is The Best Medicine Let me tell you a story about one of the strangest friends I ever met in fast food. His name was Jason. He was one of the strongest, fastest, well-rounded employees I have ever met. He could make sandwiches like lightning and wrapped sandwiches with a speed that rivaled Superman and The Flash. This is the person, who just by simply “being”, inspired me to become as fast as I am. I was constantly trying to best him. We would have sandwich-making races and repeatedly, he would just blow past me as if I was standing still. That is another story for a different time.
By Matthew Leo3 years ago in Journal
We Are Bad Customers: Fast Food Restaurant Drive-Thru Etiquette (Part 2)
In my last article, I began by discussing some of the issues we have as consumers of fast food, how our culture has evolved from a one-size-fits-all mentality to a style of serving in which each and every customer is served precisely to their personal tastes and needs. McDonald's used to call this "Made-for-you." Burger King reigned on high with their slogan, "Have it your way." While I know this does reflect the great progression of how our society has grown, I feel that certain aspects of the fast-food business have been neglected. As customers, we sometimes feel that we are owed something when we are making our purchases. With rising pricing of meats and henceforth driving up prices of our sandwiches and entrees. These price increases are also impacted by cost of oil prices as well. Increases in the price per barrel affect gasoline costs which drive up delivery costs for food truck deliveries to each store. To stave off those costs and to help maintain the standard 33% profit that most stores strive for, those costs unfortunately have to be passed along to the consumer. Restaurants have tried to battle the anger of rising prices by attempting to add value to the customer by providing wonderful decor, upgraded merchandising, buildings and scenery that are pleasant to look at, and better quality food. Most importantly, excellent service is a value that is tied into the price of each person's meal. The more value a restaurant and provide to go along with the food that is purchased, the more a customer will feel that they got their money's worth.
By Matthew Leo3 years ago in Feast
We Are Bad Customers: Fast Food Restaurants Drive-Thru Etiquette (Part 1)
Customers Versus Employees Indeed, there are only two types of people: people who roll through the drive-thru. And those behind the scenes who work it. This excellent idea saved us from having to slave over home cooked meals for our families and us. Since its inception, a slow rising war between these two factions has been brewing for decades. Customer complaint lines and direct access to companies via the internet have done little but help fuel this amnesty. The ever-increasing pressure for faster and perfect performance on the side of the servers has put this situation right on top of a powder keg. Also, the managers trying to run the show find themselves caught in the middle of it. This supposed to be the future? As a society, shouldn’t we have moved past these issues? Altercations and complications still plague drive-thrus all over the world. Many of the customers that go through the line have never worked fast food, so they have no clue how their unpreparedness affects the stress levels and overall productivity of the people trying to feed them.
By Matthew Leo3 years ago in Feast
How to Make an Omelette That Puts All Others to Shame
The Scenario You rolled out of bed this morning to find yourself abandoned. The wife had taken to kids to soccer practice and left you to fend for yourself. Breakfast is the only word echoing in your skull, and it becomes your only ever-increasing coherent thought. Scratching the sleep out of your eyes, you trudge toward the refrigerator. In the light of the fridge, you wince hard at the spot where the milk jug should be, but only find empty space. You look down to see cheese and ham, and your hopes brighten. However, they are dashed when you find the bag of bread with only the end piece left. You turn your head solemnly over to the stove top and realize that breakfast isn't going to be quick and simple this morning. You are going to have to cook.
By Matthew Leo3 years ago in Feast
How to Quit Smoking Cold Turkey: Saved by the Power of Sudoku
Before telling you how my wife quit cold turkey, I need to tell you just a little bit about her story. I told my wife that she was killing me slowly often, but that was not a good enough reason for her to stop lighting up. Her smoking didn't put me off from dating her when we were younger, however it did put a damper on me wanting to be around her when she did. You see, I have a history of bronchitis issues and asthma. When we moved to North Carolina, I found that I had added severe allergies to the list of problems I with which I had to suffer. Mine is so bad that I could sneeze through paint on a wall. Winters are especially rough with me as it was often too cold for her to take her cigarettes outside.
By Matthew Leo3 years ago in Longevity
How to Deal With Your Bullying Boss
Not too long ago I had a store manager for whom I had worked. She was the BOSS and I was training to be her right hand (literally). My first opinion of this woman was “This woman is a tyrant.” which I intelligently kept to myself. She had her own thoughts about me, which she did not. She pretty much let everyone know what she thought about me, not by telling him or her directly, but they could easily overhear everything that she screamed at me when she dragged me into the office. She would pull me into the office daily to “let me know” what I did not do, what I did not do right, what I did not do fast enough, and so on and so on. At times she would let me know how stupid I was (she walked a fine line with this) for more or less not being able to read her mind. It felt like she was digging her claws into me. I would go home thinking, “Ok, I messed up. Tomorrow I will do better.” To be honest, I was thinking of other things too. For example, how long would it take to gather the crew and stage a coup to carry her off the phone and dunk her headfirst into a fry vat? I am no saint people. However, I digress. The next day, I went back to work, the tyrant strikes again. This time, as was every time, it was a completely new set (and more often a subset) of complaints that made my head spin and steam shoot out of every hole.
By Matthew Leo3 years ago in Journal
How To Make All Restaurants Safer for Employees
Asking the Right Questions I have worked in many different restaurants. One day, I had become tired and annoyed about how the business I was in charge of was being run. I came to terms with this simple truth. I did the same thing day in and day out. I had mastered all the different stations, completing tasks at speeds that can only be considered superhuman, wearing my body down. I started doing things like flipping cups around and catching them to entertain myself. I created a better way to stuff French-fry boxes and learned to handle fry baskets one-handed. Even these gave way to boredom and my mind once again started to wander. My mind was always struggling to find the next new thing. I began to look around my job, and my brain commenced to ask questions, “How do I stop stray lids from falling back behind the drink station? How do I keep napkins, straws, and stray cups from being kicked under the counter?"
By Matthew Leo3 years ago in Feast
Why Working in Fast Food Restaurants Is Dangerous to Your Health and Well-Being
Fast Food Work Hurts I have been in the restaurant business for over 17 years. In that time, you tend to repeat the day-in-day-out drudgery, and things tend to dull you if you do not do things to keep your mind sharp. I stepped back and began to notice things. These things tend to go overlooked when you find yourself swallowed up by assembly-line work. One of the things about the restaurant business that chaps me is just how everything is set up. Oh, the owners and bosses say that they only have your best interests at heart. Do they truly? I am a living example that they do not. I hurt in places that no thirty-something gent should have any business hurting in. Perhaps some of the things that have caused this are only in the older restaurants, but even the newer ones have their issues as well. Architects and businesspeople designed restaurants and built only with the customer in mind, not the crew. However, I present to you my case in point.
By Matthew Leo3 years ago in Feast
How to Make Money Online With Amazon Mechanical Turk
I stumbled upon the Amazon Mechanical Turk as most people do, via the Google search engine. I had been working for Elance, a freelancer site. About a month in, I was looking to spread my wings and see what other opportunities one could find on the internet. This article describes my first experiences I had working the on the micro-job platform and will give you a basic idea of what to expect to accomplish your first few months at it.
By Matthew Leo3 years ago in Lifehack
How I Became The Fastest Typist On The Planet, But Never Knew It
Here is a strange but true story from my old high school days. I had taken a typing class in middle school, so I was already quite proficient at typing. If I remember correctly, I was able to reach speeds of 50 or 60 words per minute with less than three errors. Not bad for a seventh grader. Well, when I found myself in 10th grade, I had moved to a new state and a new school, so my typing class I had already completed did not count toward my diploma. I was not really looking forward to taking the same class again, but knew that I had no choice. Therefore, faced with this dilemma, I went and tried to attack it head on. With my previous experience, no one in my class had a chance of keeping up with me. My teacher was a very proud woman. To see her face contort when I finished all of the starter assignments, learning how to type the home row and so forth in less than a minute, it really fueled my ego. I thought, for a time that I was tops in her class. She had made it a point to tell that that she had never seen anyone take the keyboard so quickly, even with my middle school credit.
By Matthew Leo3 years ago in Motivation