Pros
• Fun, fast-paced, keeps you busy (your performance is timed) • Small employee discount • Typical fast-food restaurant. Mashed taters are powdered, but everything else is fresh or pre-packaged and chilled. Tastes good most of the time. Salsas are made in-house and chicken is marinaded on location, as well. • I worked with a good team as a cashier and drive thru, so orders can fly by like a breeze, but it can vary location to location. • Grabbing food while closing is a must. If your burrito station is nice enough, CUSTOM BURRITOS! Leftover churros, mac, anything that can’t be saved for the next day... Tonight’s dinner! • Prep is easy, as all ingredients are the bare minimum to make the ENTIRE menu. That being said, the menu is quite large and memorizing it can be difficult, especially if you’re thrown into drive thru and expected to learn on the spot, like I was. Best suited for fast learners and those who can get over being flustered for mistakes. You are required to be aware of all of your locations, and it’s generally yours or your station partner’s responsibility to restock the appropriate foods and packaging before rushes. • Good labeling system, we all knew when something was prepped and when it was time to go. • Not very physically demanding? Makes you work fast and move from A to B to C in (x) amount of steps, but the heaviest things required of me was to refill the ice machine out front. Tortilla boxes are cumbersome, but manageable one by one. • Fun regulars and the craziest food creations/combos. Many elderly will come in with printed copies of emails about a promotion or deal we’d be having; it was cute, despite it being completely unusable without a barcode. Veteran and elderly discounts, as well as solid deals or free entrées with paper coupons and the mobile app. • You’ll be required to count quickly and remember large orders, prices, or receipt totals. Not to mention, you will be required to count your register and account for all bills and coins at the end of a workday.
Cons
• Very fast paced (not an issue for myself but for others it can be daunting) • Rude customers, many don’t understand that raw chicken needs to be COOKED and wait times happen in food service. I’ve had hangry men and women scream in my face because we were in a MASSIVE rush and were unable to fill large orders, or were running out of finished cooked chicken. So many people will act like YOU’VE ruined their day because they couldn’t get their favorite extra 3 cups of salsa, when they’ve already taken plenty. • Mildly to moderately unsanitary, depending on location. Some nice gems, but hard to find. Rice and beans are hard to clean off of the floors, salsas cake and smell after being spilled on the trash cans, mac n cheese gets crusty, etc etc. With my location, we were blessed with good managers who weren’t afraid to be strict when the time came. Our dining area was always clean, but I know many other locations that neglect that aspect. • Hot food burns. Working quickly will ensure you some hand or forearm injuries. • I tried to transfer from one location to another and tried at 3 different locations in an area. None of them even bothered, even though I was proficient in my position. Two were very rude, one kept giving me dirty looks. I suggest knowing Spanish, as it IS a Mexican restaurant and you’ll be catering to many workers and families who order in Spanish. • Microwaves. Microwaves everywhere. Broccoli, tortillas, all the sides are microwaved from the walk-in. Sorry to break your hearts, but your Mac and cheese, corn, tortilla chip soup, and beans are all heated up in strong microwaves and kept over hot water. Chips and tostada shells are deep fried, along with the churros, and as a cashier you’ll be expected to learn these things eventually. Potatoes are mixed with hot water to make a mash.