Good Manners in a Fast Food Restaurant Matters

It's an Establishment With Rules

Think anything goes at a fast food restaurant? Think again. Just like any business or eating establishment, rules need to be followed. The rule of etiquette in a fast food restaurant adheres to employees and customers alike.

However, those rules are often broken by cantankerous customers and snippy employees. Such behavior can lead to two things:

• The employee getting fired or

• the customer getting kicked out of the establishment.

How can such problems be avoided? Surprisingly, it’s simple; use a little common sense, patience and cordiality.

Not A Secret Technique

Fast food etiquette is not a super secret technique for better business; it’s simply how the employees and customers interact with each other and behave themselves.  These are things that are taught in pre-school.

Yet, the problem arises because somebody forgets that rule. When the two groups respect each other (and mind their manners) the transaction between one’s service and other’s purchasing power is as simple as flipping the burgers.

Customers don’t find strands of hair on the menu, nor do they want to spend the entire time in the restaurant picking through the food or pulling strands out of their mouths.

Since there are usually two groups – customer and employee – involved in the fast food business, a close examination of each group’s role needs to be examined (for the time being, the manager will be left out of this discussion. He or she will have to act as a ref when matters between these two groups flair up. Hopefully, it will never get to that point). 

Employee Etiquette

There are few things an employee needs to understand:

• they represent a company, and

• they are helping to sell a product and service to the customer.

They may be behind the cashier machine. Or they're cooking and preparing the food. Either way, they are serving the customers.

First, an employee needs to take care of hygiene. Keep the hair in a hat or net. Customers don’t find strands of hair on the menu, nor do they want to spend the entire time in the restaurant picking through the food or pulling strands out of their mouths.

Also, it is important to wash one’s hands, keep your nose clean and avoid coughing on the food. Customers getting hives, fevers, and other forms of food poisoning don’t exactly reflect well on the company, let alone the worker.

Second, be polite and cheerful (don’t need to be too cheerful; that’d be counterproductive and annoying). Take the orders, listen to the request and quickly respond in a calm manner when complaints arise. Always be helpful, instead of spiteful.

Third, be patient. Work long enough in a fast food establishment and one will realize that the customer will not always have his/her order ready by the time they get to counter. Some will keep waffling between a combo #1 or #2; or they will ruminate on the concept of super-sizing the meal. For an employee, it’s okay to say “Will that complete your order?”, but don’t force the customer to make a hasty decision. If the line at the counter is held up by an indecisive customer, that’s not the employee’s fault.              

Customer Etiquette

Being indecisive is possibly the most annoying thing, outside of yelling and complaining, a customer can do. Imagine for a moment what typically happens. The indecisive customer stands in line waiting his turn. The big menu is above the counter. Usually there’s a minute to five minutes for one to peruse the menu and make a decision. Also, most fast-food joints have Internet menu and return customers. How difficult can ordering food be?

Evidently, for some people it is extremely difficult. By the time they reach the counter, despite all the time in world to make their decision, they’re still not sure.  Suddenly, the line behind this particular customer grows and becomes more impatient. Also, the employee, knowing he or she will get the brunt of the other customer’s impatience, is nervous and ready to jump in to finish the order for the person.

For customers who can’t make up their minds, here’s one suggestion: don’t get in line until one is ready to order. There’s no need to get in line if a decision has not been made, even if one feels they have to get in quickly in order to be served before others.

Even methods of payment can be considered rude. If one is to pay for a ten dollar meal, don’t use pennies or dimes to pay it off.

Another annoyance for the other customers and employees are the cell-phone users in line. Hang up or go outside and finish the call. The cell-phone users are often too chatty and loud or are trying to order a meal while talking on the phone. Again, customers have to wait, the employees have to wait until the cell-phone using customer has finished two tasks – talking and ordering - instead of one.

 Even methods of payment can be considered rude. If one is to pay for a ten dollar meal, don’t use pennies or dimes to pay it off.  Again, in a place built on speedy service, this slows everyone down. The customer has to count it out. Then, to be certain that the amount is correct, the employee has to count it. While this happens, the other customers are getting flustered, agitated and ready to take it out on somebody – that being the employee.

 Finally, Customers also have certain rules to adhere to when they enter someone’s establishments. If the sign at the entrance says “no, shirt, no shoes, no service”, then that means that one better have his/her shirt or shoes on before entering.

These are the Rules

These are some, not all, of the rules of etiquette that fast food patrons and workers need to follow. When it comes down to it, the two groups need to work and respect each other.

Fast food places are about speedy delivery and a quick hunger fix. Rudeness of any kind can put a halt to this process.