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Employee of the month
is a good thing

TO a teenager, working at a fast-food restaurant doesn't exactly make you cool, but like my mom always says, "If you want to make money, you have to put the first foot forward."

What I really wanted was a job working at a clothing store where I could learn all about the latest trends and wear the newest styles, or even at a supermarket where I could get a discount off my favorite snacks, like those chocolate-covered gummy bears.

You have to understand, in high school it's all about making an impression on people. I knew that when others heard I was working at McDonald's they would tease me. And, I was right, they did. Every time I would pass someone in the hallways of St. Francis School they would say "Hey, it's the drive-thru girl!"

To top that off, at the end of my senior year, our school newspaper did a feature on what each senior would be remembered for the most. When I turned to the section under my name, it said "McDonald's Employee of the Month" in big black letters. I was so embarrassed; I wanted to hide myself in my 12-by-12-inch school locker.

THE SUMMER before I started attending Kapiolani Community College, a tourist walked into my new job at Kaka'ako kitchen with her three kids. The woman's children seemed to be very needy. They kept calling, "Mommy, mommy!" The mother's voice sounded tired and irritated. She ordered her food while holding her daughter, then she opened a can of Pepsi for her son, while the other daughter ran off to find a table.

As the woman approached the door, her son dropped the Pepsi can, spilling the sticky soda all over the floor in front of the register. I ran quickly to her and reassured her, "It's OK, I'll mop it up." Then I helped open the door for her. She said "thank you" and walked to her table. After I ran the food out to her, she asked where she could get ketchup for her son. I replied, "Oh, I'll get it for you. I'll be right back."

When I returned my manager, Kim, asked to speak to me. I automatically became afraid, thinking "Oh no, what did I do?"

But Kim told me, "Cierra, I like your work ethic. You immediately assisted that lady without being told."

Until that moment it hadn't yet dawned on me that I had actually learned responsibility and hospitality from working at McDonald's.

When the day of our evaluation for our raises came, she brought up that incident and said, "I am very proud to have you on my staff, Cierra. You are a very hardworking person."

I received a 50-cent raise, which increased my paycheck to $7 an hour. In the time I've spent working at Kaka'ako kitchen, I'm already making more money than I expected to earn. Now when people ask me to name some of the places I've worked I always say McDonald's of Manoa and say it with pride.

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