Shortly after graduating from high school, I clocked into my first shift at my new food service job — serving ice cream at my hometown’s Dairy Queen.

As my first-ever job, that experience gave me a rude awakening into the realities of working for minimum wage at a fast-food restaurant. Eager children from sports games and restless teenagers crowded the picnic tables outside the walk-up window. Cars frequently filled the parking lot, spilling out onto the busy street while waiting in long lines to order from the drive-thru. My first shift began amid these frequent summer rushes, quickly introducing me to the jarring, chaotic world of the food industry.

I struggled to keep up with the fast-paced work environment, cracking under the pressure of satisfying coworkers and customers. I took it personally when my coworkers criticized the quality of my Blizzards or my ability to mop chocolate stains off the floors. I fumbled blenders, buckets of dirty mop water and heavy trash bags full of melted ice cream that spilled into the parking lot after I failed to lift them into the dumpster. 

My coworkers, often teenagers younger than me, would lash out and leave me holding back tears on my walks back home. After three months as a crew worker at Dairy Queen, I felt more than ready to abandon my position and move to Chicago.

As much as I hated my job, however, it did make me feel more prepared to start school and new job opportunities.

I have worked several different jobs in the three years since working for Dairy Queen, and I still consider that first job my least favorite. It led me to swear off food service for two years. Instead, I opted to work retail and customer service jobs until I got a barista job at Foxtrot in June 2023. 

I often think negatively toward my two summers working for Dairy Queen and feel grateful to have moved on from my toxic work environment. However, my experiences did provide valuable lessons, teaching me about collaboration, developing my work ethic and even embracing chaos.

Whether they work in fast food or a highly regarded restaurant, other restaurant industry employees face similar challenges. 

DePaul junior Hays Brooks struggled to deal with his work environment when employed as a busser and server’s assistant at 312 Chicago, an Italian restaurant in the downtown theater district.

“People dining in the restaurant were frequently rude and demanding,” Brooks said. “Management was not considerate of my time.”

He said he’d prefer a job with “much less interaction and scrutiny from customers with incredibly high expectations.”

Although Brooks recently quit working in the restaurant industry, he said he, too, grew from the experience.

For one, his communication and customer relations skills got stronger, as did his efficiency and ability to “negotiate with upper management.”

Brooks had worked other part-time jobs, but he said this position prepared him for intense work situations.

“My experiences in food service were what I’d consider my first real job,” Brooks said. “The demands were much higher, and the responsibilities were greater. It forced me to adapt.”

Michael Myette, a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America and a chef currently working at Perilla Steakhouse in downtown Chicago, said working in restaurants can be fulfilling because of the people you meet but also “thankless.”

Myette has built a career within the industry, working in restaurants for the past seven years and serving as a chef in higher-end restaurants.

“I don’t think I’d be as good at other jobs,” Myette said. “Working in restaurants has helped me become more patient and communicate productively. It’s helped my organizational habits and my ability to work fast — and for long periods of time.”

I left Dairy Queen for good in August 2022, returning to food service nearly a year later after receiving a last-minute job interview at Foxtrot. It felt less jarring to enter that environment three years after joining the workforce, but I dealt with similar problems.

Once again, I faced the pressure of pleasing customers, watching their impatient expressions as they lined up throughout the aisles for lattes and niche groceries. I met some of my favorite coworkers while working there but also had to deal with petty coworker drama and explosive personalities.

Everything I hated about working at Dairy Queen confronted me again, but my previous experiences left me better equipped to cope with it. I no longer work in food service since Foxtrot’s closure in April of this year, but the lessons learned still linger.

Despite its challenges, the skills I gained from working in food service positively contribute to my goals, even when studying public relations instead of restaurants. We all have varying aspirations, but I think everyone should benefit from restaurant work in the same way.

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