I'll always remember something my Assistant Manager said to me one day: "Taj, you're a good guy and your heart is in the right place, but you lack a sense of urgency." As someone who's prided himself on being diligent and hardworking, this was a little difficult to stomach. But Chau was right. Even though I was working hard, I wasn't working efficiently. I was really focused on one task, but I wasn't giving a second thought to the fact that I had more things I could be doing. Working in a restaurant, in which time is literally money, has been really great for developing my work ethic. Again, not that I was some kind of lazy bum before, but now I am able to focus my energies into a highly concentrated manner in order to work quickly and accurately.
The bane of my existence when I first started was closing lobby at the end of the day. This entails sweeping the entire restaurant, cleaning the bathrooms, wiping the tables, restocking all the silverware, taking out the trashes, and then mopping the entire restaurant. I think the first time I did this, it took me over an hour and a half. Granted, this was partly due to the fact I was still learning how to do it and what needed to be done. I remember asking people lots of questions and then kind of waiting to be directed. That's all different now. I don't wait around for anyone to tell me how to keep myself busy, I just do it. Whatever needs doing, I do. And now I can close lobby in less than an hour. I get started on it earlier, I do what I can during the shift to take out little chunks of the duties so that when we're closed, I don't have the entire thing to do from scratch. As I mentioned in my previous post, this is the kind work ethic that I would never have developed if I had just done volunteer work. I love the work I do at Seattle Children's and at Swedish, and I'm sure it's really helpful, but the nature of the work reflects in how all the volunteers carry themselves: not working with any palpable energy but in a slow, comfortable pace. Pace, pace, pace, that's what it's all about at Qdoba, and directing your energies in a way that is useful.
The pinnacle of this notion was the one day in February when there was an insane windstorm. I had worked from 9-3 pm, given a two hour break during which I worked out, and then returned to the store at 5. When I got back, I was shocked to find a massive line. As it turned out, the power had gone out in the entire surrounding area except for at Qdoba. I started wrapping burritos as 5 pm and did not stop until we closed at 10:30 pm. Every single person came to us for food because no where else was open and because we were the only place with electricity. They came to us because the store was warm, while their own heaters had been shut off. It was like the Apocalypse. Every last scrap of food was eaten in our store that day, to the point where we could only offer people bread and beans, or the halves of crispy taco shells. For the most part, everyone was grateful for what food they could get and a place to be safe. There were a few people who were really rude and completely oblivious to the situation as they complained to us about our poor service because we didn't have what they wanted to eat, or because we didn't sweeten the deal by giving them free food (some people are just unbelievable). What allowed us to weather this storm (within the actual storm raging outside) was being flexible and able to respond to the extreme circumstances without blinking an eye. If there was a day when "sense of urgency" was pounded into me, it was that day. Ever since then, nothing has compared to that, but I still carry that with me in my work, so that I'm always on top of everything now. Where before I was concerned my assistant manager would be looking at me all disappointed that I wasn't getting things done properly, he now often gives me fist bumps and expresses how great of a job I'm doing. I know that this might not seem like much, or it might be silly that I'm proud of my accomplishments at a fast food joint, but I totally am. It's a kind of work that has humbled me, that challenged me to set aside my predispositions and face the fact that I sucked at the work because I had that mindset. And I've emerged a much more diligent and efficient person because of it.
The bane of my existence when I first started was closing lobby at the end of the day. This entails sweeping the entire restaurant, cleaning the bathrooms, wiping the tables, restocking all the silverware, taking out the trashes, and then mopping the entire restaurant. I think the first time I did this, it took me over an hour and a half. Granted, this was partly due to the fact I was still learning how to do it and what needed to be done. I remember asking people lots of questions and then kind of waiting to be directed. That's all different now. I don't wait around for anyone to tell me how to keep myself busy, I just do it. Whatever needs doing, I do. And now I can close lobby in less than an hour. I get started on it earlier, I do what I can during the shift to take out little chunks of the duties so that when we're closed, I don't have the entire thing to do from scratch. As I mentioned in my previous post, this is the kind work ethic that I would never have developed if I had just done volunteer work. I love the work I do at Seattle Children's and at Swedish, and I'm sure it's really helpful, but the nature of the work reflects in how all the volunteers carry themselves: not working with any palpable energy but in a slow, comfortable pace. Pace, pace, pace, that's what it's all about at Qdoba, and directing your energies in a way that is useful.
The pinnacle of this notion was the one day in February when there was an insane windstorm. I had worked from 9-3 pm, given a two hour break during which I worked out, and then returned to the store at 5. When I got back, I was shocked to find a massive line. As it turned out, the power had gone out in the entire surrounding area except for at Qdoba. I started wrapping burritos as 5 pm and did not stop until we closed at 10:30 pm. Every single person came to us for food because no where else was open and because we were the only place with electricity. They came to us because the store was warm, while their own heaters had been shut off. It was like the Apocalypse. Every last scrap of food was eaten in our store that day, to the point where we could only offer people bread and beans, or the halves of crispy taco shells. For the most part, everyone was grateful for what food they could get and a place to be safe. There were a few people who were really rude and completely oblivious to the situation as they complained to us about our poor service because we didn't have what they wanted to eat, or because we didn't sweeten the deal by giving them free food (some people are just unbelievable). What allowed us to weather this storm (within the actual storm raging outside) was being flexible and able to respond to the extreme circumstances without blinking an eye. If there was a day when "sense of urgency" was pounded into me, it was that day. Ever since then, nothing has compared to that, but I still carry that with me in my work, so that I'm always on top of everything now. Where before I was concerned my assistant manager would be looking at me all disappointed that I wasn't getting things done properly, he now often gives me fist bumps and expresses how great of a job I'm doing. I know that this might not seem like much, or it might be silly that I'm proud of my accomplishments at a fast food joint, but I totally am. It's a kind of work that has humbled me, that challenged me to set aside my predispositions and face the fact that I sucked at the work because I had that mindset. And I've emerged a much more diligent and efficient person because of it.