The manager of a fast food restaurant shared her frustrations on TikTok after working a shift completely by herself.
The TikTok video, in which Emerald Ramos, who manages a Sonic Drive-In, explains her many duties has gone viral for good reason — and it underscores some of the reasons so many businesses are having trouble retaining workers .
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Ramos manages a Sonic Drive-In.
You may know Sonic for its bellhop service and unique beverages, but to Emerald, it’s more of a source of exhaustion. She shared a video to break down just what she has to do to keep the store running.
She says she gets paid the same as the rest of the crew.
Fair is fair, but it doesn’t seem fair for a manager to be paid the same as a recent hire, particularly when said manager has many more responsibilities. If Emerald is indeed managing the store and not making a manager’s salary, that just isn’t right.
She runs the restaurant, top to bottom.
Here we can see Emerald mixing up one of Sonic’s signature beverages. She’s taking orders from customers, preparing food, and cashing them out on top of all her other managerial chores.
Cleanup is a big job.
Cleanup at a fast food restaurant is a matter of following the steps, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. It’s made even more difficult when one person has to do the entire job all by themselves.
It looks exhausting.
Well, it doesn’t just look exhausting, it is exhausting. While Emerald works diligently without an audible complaint, she does confirm that all of these responsibilities are wearing her down.
Time to take out the garbage and recycling.
Part of keeping the backroom tidy at a restaurant is breaking down the big cardboard boxes that deliveries come in and moving them out into the recycling area. With no other help, Emerald has to do the job alone.
Closing time.
The end of the video features a quick montage of Emerald cashing out, shutting down the registers, arming the security system and leaving for the night. The caption says, “It was fun,” (really??), but looks ahead to better opportunities in the future.
The video clearly struck a chord.
Many of us have worked in fast food or food service jobs, and seeing this video served as a reminder of how difficult these jobs can be, particularly when they pay as little as they do. Virtually everyone who’s worked one of these jobs knows what it’s like to run a store while short-staffed — or, in the worst-case scenario, all alone.
What do you think?
Check out Emerald’s full video here, and then share your thoughts. Should these workers be paid more? Do you have horror stories from your time in the fast food industry? Let us know in the comments!
