Leidner wrote a book, Fast Food Fast Talk: Service work and the routinization of everyday life, in which she worked in and observed working life in a McDonalds and compared it to an insurance company. Her book focused on the routinization of service jobs and its effect on the people working, the customers consuming the product, and the effect it has on the company. This paper focuses on a McDonalds in the Southside of Jacksonville, FL and how it compares to the observations made in Leidner’s book.
Going into this project, there were not many expectations made about what to expect in the McDonalds observed. The following are the expectations that were kept in mind while the field observations, discussed later in this paper, were conducted. …show more content…
50). This was based on statistics of how many workers under 20 are employed across all of the McDonalds that are in operation, based on Leidner’s book. Another was that, workers would work in more than one position throughout their shift (Leidner, p. 52). Leidner emphasizes that the workers are often cross-trained and able to perform multiple positions should the need arise. There was the expectation of speedy service and clean surroundings (Leidner, p. 53). This is something that is emphasized across every McDonalds in operation worldwide. The expectation of workers smiling at the customers (Leidner, p. 73) was something that McDonalds emphasizes and it is interesting to see what this looks like in action. Cleanliness is emphasized in McDonalds training so there was an expectation that workers are not standing around but are keeping busy (Leidner, p. 77). There was an expectation of a present manager (Leidner, p. 78) that was helpful and encouraging to the workers. A pleasant demeanor is something that McDonalds emphasizes so there was an expectation that the workers would be pleasant …show more content…
73). This position interacts heavily with the customers and it is important that the person working in this position is prepared to handle many situations and does not have to come up with their own response. Being professional and courteous is something that is necessary and is taught to the workers who interact heavily with customers in service jobs. The six steps of window service are put into use in McDonalds locations
Going into this project, there were not many expectations made about what to expect in the McDonalds observed. The following are the expectations that were kept in mind while the field observations, discussed later in this paper, were conducted. …show more content…
50). This was based on statistics of how many workers under 20 are employed across all of the McDonalds that are in operation, based on Leidner’s book. Another was that, workers would work in more than one position throughout their shift (Leidner, p. 52). Leidner emphasizes that the workers are often cross-trained and able to perform multiple positions should the need arise. There was the expectation of speedy service and clean surroundings (Leidner, p. 53). This is something that is emphasized across every McDonalds in operation worldwide. The expectation of workers smiling at the customers (Leidner, p. 73) was something that McDonalds emphasizes and it is interesting to see what this looks like in action. Cleanliness is emphasized in McDonalds training so there was an expectation that workers are not standing around but are keeping busy (Leidner, p. 77). There was an expectation of a present manager (Leidner, p. 78) that was helpful and encouraging to the workers. A pleasant demeanor is something that McDonalds emphasizes so there was an expectation that the workers would be pleasant …show more content…
73). This position interacts heavily with the customers and it is important that the person working in this position is prepared to handle many situations and does not have to come up with their own response. Being professional and courteous is something that is necessary and is taught to the workers who interact heavily with customers in service jobs. The six steps of window service are put into use in McDonalds locations