Hi!
Yeah, I'd save yourself the pain and re-think McDonald's. I can still hear the beeps of those fryers. Jib is even a different pitch. Or the holding cabinets. Or the ABS being jammed. Oh, and those damn coffee timers. Some people like screaming their orders in the drive-thru. That can spook a person.
I didn't know that heat and autism have a link. I'm going to look into that in a second here.
Even if you were lobby all the time, I'd hate to have you stereotyped and have people come up poking your shoulder and putting their hands together to thank you for doing a good job.
I wasn't diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder until this past February. It was never handled when I was child. Or a teen. Or ever, until I pursued it.
Of course I can look over the memories and realize that when I acted completely out of line it wasn't something I had 100% control of and now I live a life where I'm homebound and only get to leave the house for medical appointments. No friends. No fun. No extended family. Just a dark room and myself. It's grown into a fear. Now, I'm just afraid to talk to anyone in public because once I get riled up it's hard for me to stop.
I was (am) extremely short tempered. Little things set me off. Then it snowballs.
I scream, I hit things, throw stuff. I have a hole in my bedroom wall.
See, I, need routine. If something doesn't go as expected, I panic and that turns to fear on the inside and anger on the outside. I usually end up making things worse and I take it out on the person who informs me of the change. Luckily, the only shifts I were really "in charge" of were overnights and those workers were the best. They were older, friendly and knew what they were doing.
Great manager trait.
The other end is that when I do something stupid and it makes someone laugh, I keep going. That eventually led to Grimace climbing through the drive-thru window. Window #1.
I got fired from my first and most successful McDonald's run because the front counter person was leaving for the night and I had to do grill and front counter/drive-thru myself and I got flustered. It was an overnight. I have terrible processing speeds by the way. I can assemble a Big Mac... in about the same amount of time as a McWrap. (Not fast). I've never been trained in grill and I was alone. I knew some things and could read pictures. (Perfect job for any kindergartener). So that was one of my triggers. When the person up front asked to leave, we were busy. But it was 11p. She was a minor. So she had to go. I knew that. I was already boiling from the orders, she has to go (and leave me by myself) and a group of co-workers were chatting it up in the lobby after doing whatever that night. So cool, my friends had fun and, I have to work midnight. Rub it in some more. Well, when she asked to leave I blurted the first word that came to mind. That was"whore".
Like I said when I'm heated it just blurts out. So she's crying and I feel like an ass, but can't do anything because I'm busy.
I reached out to her mother about that after I apologized to the girl and I guess the girl had a bad father and would call her names and that's why she cried so much, but it shouldn't have happened. I know that.
So having to do front counter, drive through and grill alone while we were busy when a bunch of my friends were laughing it up in the lobby I got super pissed and the first one to talk to me was that girl saying she had to leave because it's 11p anddddd fired.
Well, that and I called another manage a "fag", because he got a haircut like mine. He's still super close to the GM. None of those people work there anymore. Of course the logic of no consequence there was you can call other people names that apply to you. And neither of these were in stern like commanding voices.
But that situation should have been manageable. It shouldn't have happened. If I had maintained focus and composure I might still be there today. Or higher. It was a corporate store until a few years ago.
i just didn't know I had Autism then. Or the ADHD, GAD and the Cyclothymia.
I wasn't being treated. I didn't have the support.
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The heat thing is interesting though because I get the same way. If a ray of sunshine reaches my hand I start feeling super uncomfortable. It gets so bad, too. People want to keep talking, but after a few minutes it's just unbearable and I have to find a place with air conditioning. I don't know what it is or what causes it, but it's annoying.
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I don't really have a point to go along with that story.
Maybe that you never know what's going on behind the uniform? Talk to your parents about the way you feel. I don't know.
Something's there. Even just don't be shithead could apply.
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I wish you all the luck. ❤️