Today I had my first day at the new store I transferred to since moving to San Diego. I was pretty much thrown in without so much as a tour of the store and where everything was. Not to mention, I hadn’t been worked in over a month so I had to gain back my mojo.

One of the major things is that the layout is completely different. My old store was converted from a Krispy Kreme that had been closed so the building itself wasn’t built by the company, not to mention it’s a relatively new location (it opened Spring 2007). My new store is a model the company was using around the time it was built & opened, which I found out today was in August 1991! Did you know that each In-N-Out has the month & year of when they opened carved into the granite either at the Pay window or the hand out window? So, if you’re ever curious, just take a look if you can! It’s not obvious, but it’s there!

I worked the dining room for the first half of my shift. It’s quite a bit smaller and more compact than most stores I’ve been in. There’s a small area outside the front with some outdoor seating, which my old store didn’t have at all. We would would get questions a lot about where the outdoor seating was. We had some good rushes and while I was quick with taking care of the dining room as a whole, one is never quick enough to get every table wiped down and swept up before somebody else takes it after the previous customer leaves. If they just sit down, I try and always offer to wipe it down for them if it’s noticeably dirty.

Later in my shift, I was given a drawer (of money) and put on the Pay window. It’s nice to be able to see the line of cars forming up outside from a window instead of a monitor. However, the sink to wash the dishes in is a good distance away and I don’t have a clear view to be able to tell if cars have moved. I was snowed on red trays and dishes most of the time, but I received help from some of my associates every now and then.

I know I just had my first day, but I feel so off my game not knowing exactly how they prefer to run things and where things are kept. If I was a brand new hire, I’d be told more right off the bat, but this way I have to ask questions and find everything out as I go along.

I work the rest of the weekend from 11:15 until 5pm. It’s one of my least favorite shifts. I prefer an earlier shift or significantly later, during the evening.