I’ve been at my new job for a little over a month now. I am starting to see from the actions and attitudes of my coworkers on how they appreciate and respect me in my current role at the restaurant.
You might think to yourself, “here he goes again, another blog post with drama”, but I tell you nope! I’m going to focus on the positive!
I’ll kick this one off like I usually do, with most of my blog posts, with a short backstory so we’re all on the same page. I’ll try to be quick and hit the highlights.
A person who feels appreciated will always do more than what is expected.
Amy Rees Anderson
So, it was about a week or so ago and I was just finishing up a shift at the restaurant. As I normally do after my shift, I catch up with my RGM about the restaurant. That’s when it first happened. Not even a month into working for Pizza Hut. Someone actually acknowledged my enthusiasm and passion for what I do. My RGM told me that she appreciated what I do for her! I was taken aback. I mean, I follow policy and do my job as any employee should but something must have stood out to her.
Now let’s fast forward about a week. The DM called me. I had no idea why he would be, kind of like when RPC called (parent franchise company of Pizza Hut) on my shift and my heart sank to my stomach. I thought I was fired on the spot that night for a customer complaint or something, but that’s another story.
Back to the call with the DM. He asked me to call that afternoon, which I kinda forgot about until later that night when I got off from work. The DM was talking to me about the restaurant and how I was doing and it happened again. Someone else that recognized me for a work ethic that I apparently discovered when I started working at the restaurant. He wanted to help nurture that work ethic and help remove obstacles that stand in the way of the restaurant running efficiently and successfully.
I’m usually not at a loss for words, but at this stage, I don’t know what to say. I am on the radar of two of my superiors, and not in a bad way.
Before you start thinking that this is going to my head. Well, yes! It is a little. Thinking back to other companies that I have worked for. I have never been acknowledged for anything. Sure, some companies sent out blanket memos to departments or messages to all employees to say the company, as a whole, had surpassed a profit goal for the quarter or a particular store had the most positive feedback. But never, nothing one on one that I could remember.
Even now, a month in, I’ve got room to grow and learn more about the company expectations for a restaurant, from customer service to management to quality of the food we make. I’m not being cocky or overconfident. I’m being myself.
I’ve worked at Taco Bell before which is also a brand of YUM, as is Pizza Hut and Wendy’s. There, I was just another employee. I was taught to do everything at Taco Bell, inside the scope of a regular employee, but I was eventually told I was too slow dressing tacos and burritos and was placed running the fryer, dish duty, and coming in early to unload the truck. The management was pretty lethargic at the time and there didn’t seem like any room for growth. There was no challenge to be better or get better. That was then and management has probably has changed several times.
But let me tell you. Working at Pizza Hut is a challenge and I am taking it head on and I’m loving every minute of it! Sure business gets way busy sometimes and it seems rough, but every opportunity that my RGM and RM throws my way, I’m going to try my best and I expect it in myself to exceed their expectations. I can see that I have at least two people in my corner.
TBH, I applied at Pizza Hut initially just because I needed a job at the time and was just expecting delivery or just working in the kitchen. After working there only a month, I’ve learned that there is no boundaries how far I could go, and that’s attributed to a couple of mentors that I’m not going to forget.