When Kahui Peters and Caleb Weaver began their careers experience at McDonald’s, they knew they had a few things to learn—but they had no idea just how much.
“It was way harder than I expected,” said Kahui. “You have to really focus on time management.”
The students’ role varies each week so they experience all aspects of the store’s operations, from cooking burgers to interacting with customers at the front counter. They learn to do side jobs such as cleaning—which includes memorizing which pair of gloves is required for each of many different cleaning tasks—throughout the experience. One of the toughest parts, Caleb said, is keeping track of the specialized lingo needed to follow instructions and pick up skills from more senior staff.
“It’s so intense,” said Caleb. “It’s harder than it seems.”
With hungry customers watching and waiting for their meals, Kahui and Caleb say they are learning to use a different mind set than the one they bring to computer-oriented tasks and schoolwork.
As Kahui explains: “You have to get it right the first time—there is no backspace.”
