I once worked as burger king employee, at a mall in hyderabad. at the end of 2021 i belive, for almost 5 months. There are quite a few reasons why i did it. its at a mall, so you get to admire good looking women at you work. its part time 6-11 pm, so it doesnt need entirity of my attention. but mostly its out of my inclination to get on a manual work ever oppertunity i get, moreover i quite fancy it. i belive, i picked that from watching hollywood films, but i am not sure.
To give you a picture, imagine me walking in a vast but empty parking lot. With few spots with absolutly no lighiting, sparsely populated and calm, as its 12 pm. with two black shoes and unsimilar socks to my feet. and backpack with just right strap to my right hand. and taking bite of my burger with my left hand. walking towards my scooty. how pretty is that.
My love for that job mostly directed towards nesserly structured, plensently patterned and sofiticated the process was. As a principal its not my type, but its weirdly attractive in that context. its don’t trust , don’t demand responsibility from you. it also pays ciminally low, like 52 rupees for hour, that like half a doller. around 11,000 per month. i cant imagine someone surviveing on that.
My cheerful take on that job may sound agonizingly painfull for a average employies there. Mostly becouse, i didn’t face the worst, that job has to offer. Like a princess i enter and exit. Few of my coworker has to stay 2-3 am cleaning the place. On few days you won’t get to sit for your shift. Bodypains get the next day which i subconsiously enjoy, won’t be that plesent if your a family is dependent on you and this is one of your 3 jobs. Even my exprience of it would be hectic for someone who is not me. Casey neistat once said, if you like to know what you want to do in life or know what life is to begin with, you have to work at a restaurant. He is damn right about that. That being said i will join that place in a heart beat, if they pay better tho.
My branch of burgerking is peculiar in few angles. Its situated on 5 floor, and the mall doesn’t allow food delivary drivers into the mall. So, we have a special post. Person who delivers pakages from 5th floor to ground floor. It will take a while to give you a perpective on what that post means. This post wouldn’t have existed a year ago, on week days that half of the branch business.
There is a 4 digit identity number written on package, aand placed on the counter. I have to notedown the digits in a book, so after i leave, one of my coworkers will locate the package in the program and mark them “out for delivery”. Then i will arrange the packages in my heavy duty delivary backpack and leave. Usually on a non busy day its just one back per round, but on fridays and saturdays. additional 6 cluch bags on each hand. I am not enitely assine to this post, manager will decide according to the day. Most of my coworkers will be glad to avoid this post, i belive. Me on ther other hand, i kinda like it. Its more entertaining then making burgers at the counter. I never got to know the names of my coworkers. and i never tried to remember all types of burgers and what goes into them.
After Picking up the packages, i will then walk to the lift, which is just beside. Lift to the ground, and walk towards the exit which is accross the floor.
They are called riders , people who deliver the food, quite fancy name i must say. The counter is a pair of table beside the exit. Where you will find crowd of riders, waiting for there respective food chain employee to showup. When i enter, i act like the entire counter is mine and there is a reson for it. For every 100 packages burgerking delivers, Mcdonals bring 50, KFC 10-20, haldiram 5-6 and kripycream once in a blue moon. When i enter, i clear half the crowd. I wish i can explain it to you the tension right before walking up the stairs and to exit, how they get alert, stand up and buzz around me like jirra in a hot oil.
I settle, call the code and look at there phone, if the code match, i delivery the package. Fairly simple and easy. ideally first order will be prepared first, but thats not the case all the time. They are riders who get there packages in 2mins, and other for a hour. We usually get away by blaming on the counter, by we i mean me and couple of food chain employees. Misplacing the packages is a big thing, when i dont check code on rider’s phone and just give it to them, they many be lyeing about it. its rare but it happends, 3-4 times a day. that will cause unjustifiable delay in deliverying food to coustomers, blatent argumentments with coustomer care of food delivery app. some time we have to pursuade coustomer to cancel the order. it rare, but mostly riders and app are concerned then us.
I would like to talk about one particular Thursday at the work. its a reqular business, regular thuesday. its one of a few dozen trips to the exit. I missed quite a few packages the before day. when a paticular rider, trying to pick the package with out showing the code in his phone. I went a step furthur then usual and insisted. A Subcouncious express of power, To prove a point and almost in sense of bully. Rider on the other hand burst out to say words, trying to intimidate me. I saw worry with a pinch of anger in his eyes. I Continued to look at him, undistracted, While i am smiling behind my mask. Quite suprised by how untouched i was, by what i coused him, felt comfort in that confrontation. I didn’t Like the harm i coused him, just unaffected by it, like i am not sorry. it was his responsibility to deal with it.
On that day and later, i questioned myself quite a lot of times weather i do the same, if the other party was 8 feet and thrise my size. Propably yes, but i am not sure. Mostly Situations row my actions, belives as oars.
I never knew that about myself before that day, i wonder many more things are undiscovered about myself.
To be brief about how i exited that job. I got Fired by my reginal manager, for appologizing and seeking apology from the costomer for the argument, happened the day before. While i was aranging the order, i heard a coustomer use demeaning word towards a coworker. i added my word and continued the argument till i board the lift, as the coustomer recorded the incident. That video, appraently floated on twitter later. Tried to get my hands on the video but failed. I dont even know why they are fighting in the first place. I am neither proud or sorry about it, just stuff happens.