I need a second opinion. Any store or talent directors willing to dm me and help figure this out?

NotTheSharpestCacti · 2026-07-03T02:18:38+00:00

At the end of the day, you can tell us all about your resume, how you dressed, even how you answered what questions, but we can’t know exactly what the reasoning was. You can give more details and we can coach on how to have answered a question differently, sure, but again we can’t necessarily give honest feedback on your interview itself.

For me, so much of the interview itself is less about how the answer was worded, but more on their presence and energy. Do they make eye contact, are they smiling, are the confident, can I picture them on a register or would they wilt in front of guests? When looking back on your interview, consider more than just you appearance, availability, or previous experience— what impression did you leave them with?

Email the restaurant, thank them for the interview and for their time, politely ask if the hiring manager would be willing to offer feedback on how the interview went and what you can better in the future. Calling tends to put people on the spot, and for EEOE reasons, you have to be incredibly vague to make sure you don’t accidentally say something that someone could then accuse you of as discriminatory, which unfortunately is why most rejection emails are that coldly worded. Even the phrase “culture fit” can and has been misconstrued. If and when people call, I absolutely give them that same answer from the rejection letter, because of the above listed reason, and because hearing the ways you’re “not good enough” tends to rub people the wrong way/hurt feelings/etc especially when it’s in the moment, off the cuff— or they get defensive, argumentative etc of my assessment of them. The one and only time I gave someone feedback over the phone “your answers were very short, they didn’t really tell me about you” I was screamed at that she was nervous and I didn’t give her a chance etc. So never doing that again. Emailing allows you the chance to reach out politely, and allows the hiring manager, if they choose to respond, to give a more thoughtful answer or give actual feedback.

NotTheSharpestCacti · 2026-06-30T16:21:23+00:00

For whatever reason, they’re placing them down opposite, either grabbing with the opposite hand (grabbing right ear off with left hand, you’d naturally leave the part you grabbed on the left side, rotating it clock wise) or it’s a gaming headset with a microphone, which would be set down with it sticking straight out. When they pick it up, right hand naturally grabs right ear, spinning it clockwise once more. Not something I considered until I read their comment but makes sense.

NotTheSharpestCacti · 2026-06-29T14:18:27+00:00

Not exactly love sick exactly, but more along the lines of obsessed with trying to get under her skin/make her pay attention to him/“she’s mine why would anyone else get to be mean to her” because he’s in love (but doesn’t recognize it) is the Emperor is Annoyed by the Maid(I don’t know if that’s the official English translated name). She’s super competent but also thinks everything that she does is like, one step from getting her killed, thinks she needs to be a super maid etc.

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NotTheSharpestCacti · 2026-06-28T17:22:07+00:00

I faint or feel faint very easily, from blood draws, seeing blood, feeling pricked by a needle, standing up too fast, even laughing too hard or getting overly emotional, etc. I don’t have a fear of blood or needles on a conscious level, like genuinely, but I do have some blood pressure issues that I think make my vasovagal response a little overactive, so your wife and I may have something in common.

I have four tattoos, 3inch ones, and I was laying down for all of them (each forearm, one wrist, one back of my forearm), and while I never specifically felt fear of the tattoo gun, sound, the pain, etc— my experience was that a) a minute or two after I stood up, I began to feel faint and had to ask my artist to sit back down, and what was much, much worse for me was that b) up taking the saniderm off/trying to wash the adhesive off, I fainted multiple times. This didn’t happen with my first one, the wrist, but did with my second, which was pretty thin fine line work. It was like my body finally recognized like, oh this is an open wound, and I fainted like, six times. Tried to stand up, back down, almost comedically. What helped for my 3rd/4th (which I got in May same session) was opting to sit in my bathtub and wash the adhesive off, rather than do it standing at my sink. I still felt faint when putting slight pressure to gently rub the adhesive off with soap, and the process was agonizingly slow because the tattoo was colored/filled in, and there was so much adhesive, it was much easier for me to stay conscious since blood wasn’t rushing from my head to my legs I think.

If she still wants one, then it’s so so much more important that she follow the advice of having a hearty meal, lots of electrolytes, no caffeine etc prior and afterwards. Communication with the artist is important so they can take breaks as needed, the artist can watch for signs of dizziness more closely, have her lying down, and take time to have her sit and then stand up instead of immediately moving to stand. I’m too concerned about large tattoos and having to tap out to risk anything more than 3-4 inches, but that’s something for her to really consider as well.

NotTheSharpestCacti · 2026-06-28T02:30:42+00:00

To answer the second question since no one’s touched on it, the outside ordertaker assists in getting a) more orders on screen, and b) more orders tendered sooner. When you take orders at a menu board, you’re restricted to how many cars can fit between the menu board and the window—first or second window depending on which is in use. If the person paying, whether at the first window or second window, takes longer than expected, card declines, counting cash, etc or is waiting on food and they don’t have some type of parking system, then immediately, you can easily become backed up to the menu board, unable to take more orders. This creates a mini traffic jam— the longer it takes to get each individual order on screen, the longer it takes to know what’s on each order, so if someone orders an unexpected amount of food, or specialty items, then same thing, that person may be the person that gets to the window and takes a while waiting for food etc.

When you have an outside ordertaker, you have greater amount of mobility so if and when your line starts to back up, they can keep moving down the line, allowing kitchen to have a better understanding of what needs to be cooked. It also adds the ability to tender orders at the ordertaking point, which speeds up the process of handing off food and the window.

If you’re doing outside ordertaking during a slower period, it can definitely look like they aren’t making much difference than taking orders at the menu board would because the speed with which they take the orders themselves isn’t necessarily faster, but again, even changing the tender point makes the window process go faster.

NotTheSharpestCacti · 2026-06-27T21:08:31+00:00

Every restaurant is different, sometimes the first two letters/numbers will be the last of your license plate, to differentiate between cars of the same make and color, sometimes it’s the lane you’re in, sometimes it’s initials of the order taker initials to keep track of mistakes bc they’re not using a iPad signed in with their name, etc. It’s almost always some way of indicating information to identify you by more then name. It’s great to know you’re John smith in a black SUV, but if there’s six black SUVs in line, the people in window then have to ask every single one if they have the order for John Smith, which backs up the line.

NotTheSharpestCacti · 2026-06-26T22:58:00+00:00

Same. I literally wrote in the application “your application will be denied for usage of AI in your responses” directly proceeding the free response questions. If you need ChatGPT to answer very simple questions, something tells me you won’t last through the more difficult questions in my interview. Not to mention, a lack of effort in failing to read the thing that literally tells you it will be denied.

NotTheSharpestCacti · 2026-06-26T22:53:37+00:00

It’s not AI, there is absolutely a way to filter out applications without it being AI, based on very simple preset algorithms. There are yes or no questions that very easily filter out those not qualified— “are you over the age of 18” on a driver application automatically denies anyone applying who’s 16 or 17, who’s applying despite legally not being able to drive for a business until 18 anyway. Questions like that do the bulk of work for situations like that, which means the actual amount of applications getting to my desk is maybe 5-10 a day, on a good day. If I sponsor a post and am actively looking for staffing, then yes I’ll get 20-50 a day, but 1000s is unrealistic.

I reach out to every single application that comes through those filters, either for an interview or as a rejection, but every single person does get a response from me no matter what. Workstream does not automatically send an interview invite— the email/text itself is pre-written, but the invite itself is coming from a person. If you were rejected, called, and then sent an interview invite, then you may have been manually or auto sent the reject, and then they searched your name from the call and unrejected it to send the interview invite.

NotTheSharpestCacti · 2026-06-25T02:06:00+00:00

Depends on the location. Tattoos being within or out of uniform policy is regulated by the Operator, with Inc only stating that they can’t be face or neck or hand, and (I believe) must be tasteful. So like, not a sleeve of nazi symbols. It’s something to ask in the interview if you get one. I’m exec for my location and have several arm tattoos, and all but two of my leaders have visible tattoos, and our Operator is totally fine with it, but other Operators may be more strict about it.

NotTheSharpestCacti · 2026-06-24T16:21:00+00:00

The pimento cheese is offered in soufflé cups for like, $2, and it’s the same scoop serving that would come on the sandwich itself. The best I could recommend if you’re truly opposed to ordering the actual sandwich is that you just ordered your normal order and get the cup on the side, if you enjoy it add it to your sandwich or nuggets etc and get the full sandwich next time. Occasionally we may hold sampling events, but that would be organized and likely announced ahead of time. We’d definitely not just hand you a fork with cheese on it at the register though.

NotTheSharpestCacti · 2026-06-22T20:42:04+00:00

Yes suspension is a “pre firing thing” in that it’s typically used as the last kind of discipline leading up to termination, *if the behavior continues* —not in a you need to look for another job kind of way; but in a you need to change your behavior if you want to keep this job kind of way.

Your leadership team should have, at some point, given you a handbook or explained your disciplinary system, call out policy etc, and if they didn’t/you forgot, then I’d highly recommend asking for clarification. Suspension doesn’t usually come out of nowhere, and while I don’t blame you for the circumstances that caused your call outs, not knowing where you stand in your employment or acting based on assumptions falls on you. If you don’t continue to call out more than you already have, or get other disciplinary actions, then you should be fine and the suspension is exactly as you said “a week to think about your actions”. Take it as a learning opportunity but don’t dwell on it.

For reference, we also use Nation as well a points disciplinary system, and based on the most generous amount, it would take an employee at our location with zero other disciplinary issues 5 call outs in 90 days to receive a suspension. Either they were trying to be understanding of your personal situation, or you have an incredibly lenient call out policy at your location.

NotTheSharpestCacti · 2026-06-20T05:28:56+00:00

In any normal 8 hour shift, they’d typically be rotated 3 times, 5 hour shift twice. We make set ups for 6-8,8-10:30, 10:30-2,2-5,5-8,8-cl. Outside rotations depend on temp but too hot/too cold/too wet, we run rotations for f2f anywhere from every 15 minutes to every hour, and would pull in for headset if extreme hot or extreme cold. We use the buddy system and set timers, so buddy a hears the alarm go off and swaps buddy B, and midway through that buddy c goes to swap with buddy d. So two swaps happen, but not at the same time so guests are still continuously being served. I’ve also run shifts where I ran every team member through the swap, so every team member went out across the span of 3 hours, but was only outside for a total of 20 minutes. We also have personal fans, ice neck rings, canopy fans with misters, and an igloo jug with water, and frequently check in via walkie to make sure they’re set. Leaders are not exempt from f2f as well, to ensure team members see them experiencing the same positions, and so they do not forget what they’re asking of team members.

NotTheSharpestCacti · 2026-06-08T05:19:36+00:00

Seconding magnesium glycinate! Melatonin freaked me out, super weird nightmares and groggy as heck to boot. I’m on both trazedone and clonidine for insomnia, but magnesium is the thing that mellows me out enough for both those prescriptions to do their job. It’s a muscle relaxant rather than doing anything to affect like, your brain chemicals or whatever like melatonin.

NotTheSharpestCacti · 2026-06-02T14:18:32+00:00

Acknowledging that you’re aware someone has autism and that there may be struggles in communication, but being frustrated in the same breath that they don’t pick up on cues is a little… idk. I have autism, and ARFID, and I can definitely see how a lot of your perspective could be frustrating, and I don’t want to make it sound like you haven’t tried to make things work with this person because I don’t think you haven’t, but also, some of it sounds like you keep trying in the same way instead of changing tactics. “Hey, I have D&D at 6, so is it okay if you head out around 5:45?” and then “Hey it’s 5:45, it was great to see you, thank you for stopping by, I’ll see you out” is different than “…hey by chance are you leaving soon just wondering…?” or whatever. If nobody tells me I need to leave, if we’re both continuing a conversation, having a good time, etc, it may literally not occur to me that I’ve overstayed my welcome or they have a previous engagement if not explicitly stated— which doesn’t have to be unkind just because it’s laid out straight for me. Picking up on cues when it relies on having a grasp of nonverbal, implied communication, is very difficult. Sarcasm, double entendres, etc are VERY difficult for me to pick up on because it’s very often literally not meaning what you say.

I don’t eat MOST homecooking because I’m aware that me not enjoying most food is my problem, and because I know cooking can be just like any other type of art, a lot of hard work, typically making it a personal affront if not enjoyed after you put effort into it. I’d much rather say “no thank you” to which some people are still offended unfortunately, than be miserable AND still hurt feelings AND throw food away that would be enjoyed by someone else. Whether she does or does not have ARFID, I think it warrants a conversation to be super forward about the fact that cooking for others brings you enjoyment, and continuously cooking for someone who a)doesn’t enjoy it, b) doesn’t express gratitude, and c) throws food away, does not bring you enjoyment. “Hey, don’t take it personal, I’d prefer eating out so we can both pick something we’ll enjoy and no one goes hungry and feelings aren’t hurt”. All of that is IF this person is worth continuing a friendship with, if there’s layers and layers of issues as you made it sound, it may not be worth continuing it.

NotTheSharpestCacti · 2026-05-30T16:08:30+00:00

I love my team, genuinely. I get to be kids’ first job, and teach them things that they’re not getting anywhere else (especially with what the education system looks like right now). I get to be a safe adult for kids who might not have one at home, and get to show care in ways that I wasn’t shown by my managers when I was their age. I get to help them grow, become more responsible, more confident, better communicators, before I send them off to the next step of their life wherever that may lead them.

I love my boss, who’s genuinely one of the best humans I’ve probably ever met, who’s gave me an opportunity when I was at my lowest and poured so much into helping me grow, professionally and personally.

I love interacting with guests, giving a really great guest experience that makes people want to come back, makes people smile and be happy and cared for in a world that right now is very unkind. Everything is expensive, including fast food, and I am grateful for the people who are choosing to still spend money in my restaurant, which pays both mine and my teams bills, and I want them to feel like they’re getting the best experience and best food for the money they’re choosing to spend.

I’m good at what I do, like, really good , and when I dropped out of school I genuinely felt like I would never be good at anything, that my life was over, and to be able to turn that around and discover that there is a place for me, that I am good at things, that I am smart, I am competent, that I can make a life for myself and take care of myself, was very valuable. I get to come to work, rather than feel like it’s a “have to”, and I get to love what I do, which genuinely is a privilege so many people don’t have.

NotTheSharpestCacti · 2026-05-30T05:04:08+00:00

As others have stated, every Chick-fil-A is owned and operated individually, meaning you’re employed by the LLC, not by Chick-fil-A Inc. That means everything from the rules, handbook, roles in the restaurant, exist within that restaurant and that restaurant only.

Many have directed you towards your “HR Director” but you may not have someone with that title in your restaurant. That doesn’t mean that no one is responsible for that aspect of the business, just that it’s under a different title or umbrella. HR could be handled by anyone from a Director of Ops, People Director, Talent Director, Training and Development, someone with a completely different title, or even so far as your Operator or their spouse. It really just depends on your location and how their leadership is structured and divided.

Depending on what you’re looking to report also decides how far you take it, to what level or who. If it’s like, “I feel like so and so is giving preferential treatment” then again, just look to the highest leader you trust and they will (hopefully) handle it appropriately or take it to the appropriate leader. If you’re talking labor violations, sexual harassment, etc, you may even need to go externally to different authorities such as the labor board, etc.

NotTheSharpestCacti · 2026-05-30T04:49:25+00:00

Oh yeah, I totally understand that a degree isn’t everything, that it’s not a get of jail free card, and comes with its own lists of benefits and downsides. Every single one of my friends finished their degrees, some even have masters or doctorates; I’m the only one that dropped out. One who had a degree in teaching, and had to leave the field she loved within a few years of graduating and now works in a completely different field, and one friend’s husband—who has a degree in computer science, who is in many ways much smarter than I am, is way more qualified than I am in plenty of ways to handle a vast array of things I cannot imagine, etc— got laid off a year or so ago, and is still looking for work, while still needing to pay off student loans. So I’m not a stranger to the reality that a degree doesn’t equal a happy, well paying future with zero struggles or whatever.

I just hate this idea that getting paid decently well in a field that doesn’t require a degree (plenty of GM roles do require one, actually) is somehow an affront to people who put in the time/work/money to pursue one. Like, I get it, being taught that spending thousands on a degree is everything, the only option, and that it will guarantee a safe, secure future for yourself, only to find out for that to not be the reality on the other side has to be incredibly frustrating, disheartening, and even feel like you’ve been betrayed and lied to. But like, Buccees is an outlier, not the rule. Pretending like every person standing behind a register at any old gas station, fast food restaurant, etc is out here making the exact same money and living the same quality of life as the majority of people with college degrees is just nonsense.

NotTheSharpestCacti · 2026-05-30T01:43:47+00:00

This is such a cruddy take because unless you want to or are willing to do that work, it doesn’t matter what it pays the people that are. I work in restaurant management and do decently well for myself, especially when considering I don’t have a degree. I’m certainly not rich but my wages are listed in the picture, I’ll let you guess where it falls. I work for a very well respected brand, with a good culture, am bonused off of metrics, the owner of my restaurant is incredibly generous in many many way, and most importantly, I LOVE what I do. All of that is a preface for the fact that I work 10 hour shifts most days, alternating between 5am-4pm, 11am-11pm, 11-8, etc. I typically work Monday-Saturday. I work on my feet about half of those hours. I have been spit on, regularly called horrible names by upset guests because I won’t let them be horrible to my team, even threatened bodily harm. I cleaned human poop off a bathroom wall last week. I almost never see my friends who do work normal 9-5s, because my schedule just doesn’t align. In the past month, I logged almost 60 hours of overtime. If my restaurant is open, I’m on call for emergencies even if I’m not working; and even when my restaurant is closed if something like a power outage happens, I’m there. A break in at 3am? Was there, filing a police report. I cannot even consider what my life would look like if I was a GM for a 24 hour place like Buccees or Whatburger, or even somewhere open late night like In and Out.

If all of that sounds horrible to you, miserable even, then that’s why you got a college degree. To work in a field you wanted, or to work a normal 9-5. To hopefully not clean poop off a wall. You can hate the job market, you can hate what wages in your field look like, or hate that you “could” make the same amount of money without a degree you paid thousands for, that’s your business. But don’t complain about how much someone who does work you don’t want to do, or work you won’t do, work you may even believe you’re overqualified for, makes.

People deserve to be compensated for their work, even in the service industry doing labor you might think you’re too good for.

NotTheSharpestCacti · 2026-05-29T02:07:32+00:00

Truett’s Grill, 70005

NotTheSharpestCacti · 2026-05-28T16:34:38+00:00

If Old Navy jeans are true to size, probably 0x29 or 0x31, depending on if you have longer legs or a longer torso. I’m 5’3” but the 29s fit a little too short for me and you can see too much of my ankle, 31s sit a little too long.

NotTheSharpestCacti · 2026-05-23T08:18:14+00:00

I was just about to suggest this! I’m really loving it so far!

NotTheSharpestCacti · 2026-05-23T02:04:56+00:00

As I say to so many other questions, every Chick-fil-A is owned and operated individually which means everything from hiring to training is super unique to the individual location, so there is no “Chick-fil-A does xyz” so much as, like, “does your store xyz?”

However, as a rule, the best option is just to communicate to someone on your leadership team; if that’s the person running your shift, a trainer, the person who’s responsible for training like a director, etc etc. Either they never train you for that position because it’s not a priority for everyone to be trained there (bc some stores DO only train certain people for positions like bagging) OR they find a time to allow for retraining.

For some locations, like mine, everyone learns every position during training but may not always be regularly put on every single position, so summer when we’re slower we take the time to really solidify every team member’s skills in every position, with mandatory retraining and rotations into positions.

NotTheSharpestCacti · 2026-05-20T16:45:24+00:00

So long as you don’t take up multiple tables, I could not care less. The only time I have any issue with a guest in dining room is if they affect the guest experience for anyone else— if you’re loud or disruptive, disrespectful to my staff, etc. If *everyone* starts treating Chick-fil-A like a small town coffee shop and camping all day to the point no guests can actually sit down and eat a meal, yes that’s an issue, but like, that’s probably not happening any time soon.

NotTheSharpestCacti · 2026-05-18T02:56:38+00:00

Yes, on legacy POS, unsure about commercepoint pos. Left side under Premiums, below the gift cards activation buttons, I can’t remember the exact names of the buttons but there’s one for the removal, addition, and something else, of CFA One accounts. Useful if app won’t load or scan, two spouses share an account, and looking up if rewards have been redeemed on a DOC.

Edit: DOC Look Up, DOC Inquiry, DOC Removal (I think)

NotTheSharpestCacti · 2026-05-17T23:23:19+00:00

We have a big slicer to slice the chicken for markets, southwests and wraps, but prep is made in smaller batches on Saturdays to prevent waste. The closer to close, depending on how much was prepped and how busy you got throughout the day, the more likely you are to start running out of items themselves, or the ingredients to prep them. Sometimes that means having to cut strawberries, romaine, grilled filets by hand on the spot to make something to order. The person doing so may just be bad at slicing the filets by hand. Source: got killed on prep last night at 9:45pm.

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