Day Job Author Life Diary
The joys of having a day job while being an author: this page will serve as a diary for my thoughts and feelings about working at the burger joint in the Wollongong area of NSW, Australia.
I currently work full-time at the local burger joint as a front-of-house staff member, Monday through Friday. Are you ready to follow me through my journey as I work full-time, packing orders, handling online deliveries, and taking orders at the front counter and drive-thru?
I do ask that the next time you go order your takeaway or eat in at a fast food restaurant please remember that the person on the other side of the counter is not only doing their job to the best that they can and as quickly as they can and that also extends to the ones in the kitchen screaming at someone through the drive thru headset isn't always going to get you seen to straight away as they might be in the middle of serving other customers, packing orders or even taking food out to tables if there is a dine in tables.
21st Jul 2025,
Back home after my 6-hour shift, the girl who did the closing last night, Milly, washed the floors. The place looked clean, but the floors were slippery, like those of a skating rink. The sad thing is when the owner Tony asked me who washed the floors I told him her name and he said looks good and clean but I told him that it was slippery he checked it and then said at least it was clean then headed out to one of his other store which one of the other three I don't know. I was like a deer in headlights when he said At least the floor is clean. Lee, Simon and I nearly slipped over, and that's not including at least five customers. When I tried to warn a customer that her floor was slippery, she thought I had just washed it, as it was so shiny.
Thankfully, I didn't have any dine-ins that could have been bad; it's sometimes not easy when the trays are full, but adding a skater rink is asking for trouble. Thankfully, that was our biggest problem today.
Lisa was about to come in when I was just outside the doors this afternoon, no idea how she fared, nor the two teens, Luka and Leo, when they came in to take over in the kitchen, but if it was anything like us, they would have almost slipped like we had either when we first came in the door or in my case as I came in and throughout the day.
Anyway, that's all for today. I'd better go talk to my characters who are trying to get my attention. They've been trying to get me to take notice since 3 pm. It is hard to tell which one.
Talk soon,
XX StaceSteele
22nd Jul 2025
Day two of the stake rink floors were still just as bad. One customer was worried I might slip bringing them their food, as we were still mainly doing Takeaways, even for those eating in. There was no way I was carrying a full tray of four combos to a table with the floors like that. However, otherwise, it was a dead shift with little customers due to the first day back at school.
Talk Soon,
XX StaceSteele
23rd Jul 2025
Day three of the stake rink floors, but thankfully, almost back to normal, nearly took myself out taking a chair off on one of the eight-seater tables as the floor was still slippery at that one. Thankfully, another average day.
Talk Soon,
XX StaceSteele
24th Jul 2025
Lisa came in and asked me something weird, "Did you run out of Chicken yesterday?" My reply was "No, why?" "Because Tony noticed that they said last night that they ran out of chicken." For the chicken burgers, i.e., grilled or fried, which also means they could offer the special loaded fries with chicken and a special hot sauce, as it complements the fried chicken alongside the fried chicken pieces and fried chicken meals. Now this is where it gets weird. I was long finished by the time they said this by 8 pm. I, however, finish at 4:45 pm each day, Monday to Friday, so I'm long home when this would have occurred yesterday afternoon on the dinner shift, although no idea how and somehow, I was being asked, I'm Front of House, although my kitchen brothers Simon and Dominic, have helped cross-train me in the kitchen and I'm still trying to work out how I'm at fault somehow along side Simon as he alothugh made more before he left at 7:30 pm they had run out and didn't prep more as we're the senior staff?? Yeah, it's a normal day here. If the teens cock up, it's the senior members' fault, regardless of whether they're finished for the day.
Thankfully, pretty much another dead shift and the floors are back to normal, small victory, I guess, but I did attempt to stop a possible food allergy poisoning this afternoon. The customer online was meant to be a celiac, said so on their order as they need gluten-free. However, then asked us to substitute the normal sauce for the wings for a sauce that isn't gluten-free. We weren't able to get in touch with them, and neither could their driver best option was no sauce of the wings and give the non-gluten-free sauce in a tub, and I wrote on the docket that the sauce that they requested isn't as expected. I wonder if they took it?
Talk Soon
XX StaceSteele
25th Jul 2025
God, that 6-hour shift seemed to take forever to end, except for these two deliveries of drinks and packaging. It didn't help that all my mind wanted to do was go home and work on my writing.
Now, just have to hope that the drinks put in plain sight don't become invisible over the weekend somehow. Then again, it's the same with the small delivery bags that are too hard to go to the box and get more out.
Talk Soon
XX StaceSteele
28th Jul 2025
Today made me remember why I need to leave that place; the floors were not swept properly, and chips were not cleaned from the warmer. Tables not wiped correctly, rubbish that should have been cleaned from the floor and around the bin, yes, rubbish that should have been picked up, nope, left for me to deal with, thanks, front of house close last night, not even sure who was on last night to leave that BULLSHIT for me. Starting to wonder if their mummy still has to clean their bedrooms for them. BREAKING NEWS, people, I'm not your mum, never going to be. I have five already, I don't need or want more.
And to top it off, someone over the weekend stuffed up an online order and gave the customer store credit, not sure if Tony knew, sent it off to Lisa, among the photos of the mess that was left for me to deal with.
Only just finished counting the tills, and people were already in the store before we opened at 11am. k, they were many there 5 mins before, but I was still counting the drive-thrus' morning count had to serve them with still 2 mins to open. The doors were closed, not open, but hey, come right in. ven though the door has the opening hours 11am - 9 pm, it's fluid, right? Don't worry that the kitchen might not be ready yet.
Dominic is good at what he does, though, so he was ready, but not the point. 1am open means just that, then it took off after that, people coming out of the woodwork, but somehow I managed to get the week's front of house order list completed and photo sent off to Tony to get the required stock ordered in between running front till, drive thru and packing orders which I seem to be able to do on my own and help in kitchen as needed, but hey the teens can't manage the basics but yet ticked it off on the cleaning chart as if it was done when you can see its not not even sure how that works anymore.
There is more, but if you want to know what happened next, you'll have to join my Patreon once it's approved and join any tier. You can find the content on Patreon as it has just gone live.
Talk Soon
XX StaceSteele
29th Jul 2025
I walk to work each morning as it's not far from where I live. I crossed the road and started walking close to the store at 10:37 am, and walked to the earn and return bottle place to help pay for my online laybys. o find two cars already in the drive-thru, I shook my head really we're not McDonlads people and not open 24 hours and I don't work for free I spend enough time at that place not to volunteer because you want something sooner than opening hours let alone my offical start time Tony would loose his shit if I clocked on that early.
I sang out, "Ah, dude, we don't open until 11 am. I haven't even done the open setup, and I'm not even on yet." As the second car reverses out of the drive-thru, the other must have driven through when I sang out six people in the car, all looking at me as if I had said something in an alien language, or maybe Japanese, I have no idea.
Although the other five just looked at each other, the driver said, "I figured."
I honestly don't know how they missed it. The chairs are still on the tables, the lights in the main store are off, so are the main menu TVs and no music, but surely we have to be open, right?
Although this hasn't happened in a while, I started to think people might have learnt when we were actually open, clearly not. fter they pulled away, they went and got rid of my seven bottles big money, I know, but at least less I need to find for my online layby gift cards for my holiday in three months' time, four weeks of annual leave. 'd been in the door maybe two minutes, perhaps 10:40 am, and another one heads into the drive-thru. I rub my hand down my face. I'm still not even clocked on thinking today is going to be fucking great.
They must have woken up that we weren't open, as by the time the headset setup, they had left, and I had to set up for fucking free ass wipe, not happy. They had already left. I clock in, I leave my headphones on, I don't leave before 11 am if I can help it, and everything is done, I don't fucking care. o cry to Tony; maybe he can point you in the direction of someone who does.
At first glance, the place looked clean. I thought maybe I got lucky, then as I started to do the tills and I started to find food and a bit of tape on the floor in drive thru, warmer in the kitchen still dirty and rubbing in drive thru in cable hole of drive thru headed back to fron after counting till to find something that could easily get the place closed down rat shit in the walkway in the entrance to the staff area. MFG!
The teens have not been cleaning properly for the last week, and now we have fucking rats, unbelievable, but somehow I'm no longer surprised. What the hell did they think would happen? Thankfully, I found it took the photo and cleaned it up before customers started to come into the store, but this is messed up. There are sixteen years and act what maybe three leaving food around, of course, rats are going to find their way in.
That's all before 11 am. Want anymore, you'll have to find out through my Patreon.
30th Jul 2025
I just try not to clock on too early. Anyway, for once, the place was pretty clean; however, there was more rat shit, which is to be expected due to the store having rats.
Step up this morning went through pretty easily, considering that, other than the TV menu system, none of the teens seem to be able to turn all three IVs off at once, and they're all keyed to the same remote, now if they went to stand in the place were the stores logo is on the ground all three would go off at once WOW AMASING. Does it happen? Do, they manage to turn two of them, then have to turn the third one on its own when I turn them back on, where I need to, to get them all back on for the start of the day, it doesn't work. Two might turn on at best, and the third doesn't, and if you point the remote at that one, it will turn the other two off. I have to walk to the power, turn them off, restart them, and try again. What should take maybe two minutes becomes more like five as the TVs have to reboot. h, and this has been happening with the TVs since February 2025, when our menu changed to the current one.
I've even told them how to turn off all three at once, but why do something so simple? They seem to be all space cadets, although some are worse than others.
Had maybe till 11:10 am when the first customer and Menulog went off with its first order.
Want more? Join my Patreon.
Talk Soon
XX StaceSteele
Hey everyone, I'm sorry, but I've been experiencing internet issues since the 30th. It took me a day to get the entry for the 30th up on the 31st. I'm going to try to catch you all up on what happened since then, so here it goes. Please bear with me as my internet is still experiencing issues, and we've been informed that we'll be receiving a new modem.
31st Jul 2025
It was a fairly average day today; however, I had two in the kitchen from 12 pm. Dom gets a hand with Jacob, who has just returned from a holiday with his girlfriend, who used to work with us.
However, I'm now having to clean rat shit off the dine-in tables and floor of the main room in the morning as the little pest has decided my life isn't hard enough at that shit hole.
I managed to get photos and sent them on to Lisa, then cleaned them up. Then, after getting all my normal morning check list done, I had to quickly wipe down the tables now, too, as I couldn't be sure that was the one that the little shit had been on, which I doubted.
At this point, it has to be a cosmic joke, because what else could it be?
Otherwise, thankfully, the day passed rather easily with both Dom and Jacob in the kitchen; however, I did seem to surprise Jacob when I mentioned that I could use the grill, as it was the first he knew of that I could make smash patties like the kitchen staff. OLF, that was fun looking at me all puzzled as Dom rolled more mince as I set up the order so Jacob could take over as he came in.
I was talking to Jacob later, and I said that he looked surprised that I could do the smash patties. He said Yeah then asked why I had learnt. I said out of necessity rather than wanting to, since Dom's on his own in the kitchen three days a week. I also brought up that it must be hard for him to see me doing so well with my writing, as I knew it was the elephant in the room, as he's been trying to get out for as long, if not longer than I have, but with no luck. He said he was a bit jealous of it, but it had made him more determined to get out by the end of the year.
1st Aug 2025
Another average day today, although lighter after the conversation with Jacob the day before. Dom did find it funny that he was surprised that I had learnt to do smash patties like normal kitchen staff 100% not what I wanted to add to my to-do list or what I can do list.
Sadly, yes, more rat shit, but the skating rink floors were back to make my day fun.
4th Aug 2025
What can I say at this point? Yup, more rat shit and skating rink floor. This time, you could slide around the dining room with them, trust me, one of the customer's kids did. Other than that, it was a dead shift.
5th Aug 2025
Thankfully the same sort of thing another dead shift however I'm to deep clean the office which is very basic a table and were our staff stuff goes the bags in the boxes and yes the teens can't seem to find them and its even worse when the box is still sealed as its scary that they have to open it by using you guess it sissors I even srubbed the floor and made a note mind you I shouldn't have to, to tell the night staff to wash the floor in the offce again. Ironically, we're due for a health inspection. I shake my head at the irony.
I took photos of the office floor and sent them to Tony to prove I had done it, or I would have been messaged over WhatsApp later to ask.
6th Aug 2025
Tony comes in, speaks to Dom, then goes past me and asks, " How's it kicking?" 'LIKE A HOLE IN THE HEAD BUT YEAH'. ot that I said that, but my mind was confused because I was wondering if it had to do with this crap hole or just anything else, as I was starting to pack for my holiday this morning. Anyway, he then pulls me aside and asks me to do the same with the drive-thru floors because the teens don't scrub them. I did ask him about the new Till Count form I designed. He said, "Whatever Lisa wants," and "Oh, okay." She said it was "perfect," but ok. I said we were redoing the cleaning lists, as the teens don't clean properly, and it's pissing me off. I told him that they're acting like I'm their mum and this place is their bedroom, which it isn't. BREAKING NEWS I KNOW! said it's like one of those bad 'your mum' jokes, but I'm the punchline, and I said I'm tired of them not doing their jobs, considering that they want them here to work, not just get paid. He agreed, but I doubt he was really listening.
The same thing happened once I cleaned it; I sent him photos, and he was all weird. Now that's one sexy floor."
My response was "Lol when someone puts their back into it." vs my head WTF!
Same thing, but this time Lisa was there, so I told her that they'll need to rewash it tonight, yeah she said she'd do it as she was in the kitchen and its not spelled out on in the cleaning list they only have to sweep, I'm sorry that would make sense that they'd have to wash it as well. It's not the kitchen area.
Nearly got stuck at work till 5 pm, not my normal 4:45 pm finish, as the girl that was meant to relieve me had a reaction to needles she had that day, OF COURSE WHY NOT, it's not her fault, don't get me wrong, but still it just never seems to end. Lisa's like Can you stay to 5 pm please, Ah, no, I have a phone call that needs my attention at 5 pm, for the household internet needs to be seen to, and I am the only one that can understand what the woman is saying, as I have an IT background, maybe? Just maybe? My father is in his 70s, so no, it wouldn't work with him. Honestly.
Thankfully, she found someone to take over in the kitchen so I could leave at the normal time.
Sadly, when the phone call did come in at 5:45 pm, the IT Tech was probably on another call before ours. It had still been playing up, so I was told they'd ring back on Saturday to check. Fine, whatever, 100% it's the modem at this point.
7th Aug 2025
Average dead shift, but for once, no rat shit; however, we've been warned that the health inspector's now due anytime. Sounds about right. Although they didn't show.
8th Aug 2025
The place was thankfully clean when I came in, but Lisa took over from me, so it should be, no rat shit, so maybe it's gone after not finding anything to eat. I doubt it, thought rats are creatures of habit.
One came into drive thru I was wearing the mic around my neck and I was counting the till yeah I'm ready to take your order the guy was watching my when I turned the mic on to tell him I'm still only counting the tills he's welcome to wait 10 mintues but we don't open till 11 am hard to believe at this point I know. Or come back as at the moment I can't help you.
First official customer of the day, truckies from Sydney, they came in after I opened the doors at the front. OMG, some people understand that doors closed mean that they might not be open. I told him about the guy in the drive-thru. He was like People don't Google that stuff, apparently not. The guy from the drive-thru came back, and he was pissed. I laughed. I no longer care. We open at 11, that's when I serve. The guy had cash, so my till count would have been out if I had served him before I counted it.
It was pretty dead at first, but we had a preorder that needed to be completed by 12:30 pm. That's fine, right? We had a three-day special start today, however, not on the system, and I had one in the drive-thru wanting two. It's like it's everywhere on the internet, and I'm like, I know, but my hands are tied. It's not on the system. I don't know what to charge you. Dom had no idea how to make them. Two cooks on, we should be fine. However, there was one normal order and one DoorDash in front as I set it up to be done, so we had enough time if it turned to shit within seconds of me doing a drive-thru order, the wave of endless customers, delivery apps, warps and drive-thrus, BRING ON THE FLOOD. Yes, even when we have two on in the kitchen, it can overwhelm us, and yet, there is still just doing the serving. Go figure.
I couldn't even get out there, and both Dom and Jacob are trying to pump them out. It's not a good day when we have both of them trying to keep up.
About 3, Tony puts it in the group chat for front, saying he forgot, yeah, it happens every time. Anyway, we wouldn't have been able to make it anyway as we had the wrong cheese. We needed white cheese, which Lisa was bringing from the other store, and we normally only have American cheese in stock.
Want more? Join my Patreon. Link to full entry here. #WORKPLACEHELL, #BRINGONTHEFLOOD, #OPENNOTOPEN
Yay, I've managed to catch you all up now. Hopefully, the modem will be here on Tuesday, but time will tell. I'll do my best to keep on top of everything now to head over to the Author diary to add updates there.
Talk Soon
XX StaceSteele
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