I currently work at a fast-food restaurant like several other teenagers. Every person I know who works at a restaurant has a story involving people being rude. In each of these stories, the person being rude is usually an older person. This is not supposed to be offensive to older people, I am merely pointing out a trend I noticed. 

To start, most of the fast-food employees are teenagers as it is one of the most popular after school jobs. This means the teenager is being paid minimum wage, and likely less. So teenagers get off school and go directly to work only to be met with an older customer who thinks they are better than the employee. Yes, it may be the result of the customer's already bad day, but the employee is not to blame.

Working in the fast-food industry has changed my demeanor towards other fast-food employees. I was never mean or rude, but I have learned to go out of my way to be kind and leave them a tip. After all, we should always strive to treat others how we wish to be treated. A person being kind may just be the highlight of someone’s day. You never know what is going through an employee’s head. Maybe they are struggling to support their family or maybe they pay their own bills. Fast-food employees deserve compassion for their hard work that usually goes unnoticed.