Anyone else notice the middle-aged people working at fast food and Timmies lately?

[ur_funneh]

Yeah, I'd personally like a Nascar driver as my personal chauffeur, and my own personal P.H.D. in philosophy to bounce my crazy ideas off of, but can we please think of something other than ourselves for a minute?

You completely mis-read my comment totally 100%. Older people "are" more professional at what they do. Need for an explanation?

[sylpherware]

Total respect for anybody who holds an honest job.

[vaportrails]

You completely mis-read my comment totally 100%. Older people "are" more professional at what they do. Need for an explanation?

No, I'm just saying that you appreciate these people as customer service people as I would appreciate Jimmy Hendrix as my personal guitar teacher.

[tsat]

I don't know if it was just this past year, or maybe it's been slowly happening over the past couple of years, but I'm noticing a lot of what look like regular middle-aged Jon and Jane Does working at jobs that I thought were set aside for HS kids to earn money for their College education.

I was at Subway yesterday and I couldn't even look the guy in the eye. He looked like a sharp, capable worker who should have 20+ years at a job, putting his kids through university and spending summers up at his cottage. Instead, he's putting extra pickles on my roast beef on parmesan oregano.

Same with Timmies Drive Thru. Where are the hipster kids with the fat ear plugs and pink hair? Here, I got someone who looks like my 5th grade english teacher serving me coffee. It makes me sort of uncomfortable, because I can't help thinking that these people don't belong in these roles.

Am I the only one who has noticed this trend lately?

It makes YOU uncomfortable? Imagine being in their shoes....

Many current middle aged people graduated high school during a time where HS diploma was all you needed to eek out a modest living. But if they got laid off anytime in the last 10-15 years it's near impossible for them to qualify for many jobs, so what's left? That's right, the service industry.

These people pull up their socks, and take a menial crappy job to support themselves and their families. Just to be looked down upon by people half their age that think they're better than them, that figure the only reason someone would work a job like this is because they lack ambition, or they're uneducated and treat them as such.

At least they're not mooching off the welfare system and aren't too proud to serve you a double double while taking your verbal abuse because you need to berate someone to feel better about your own crappy life.

These people deserve more respect than what they're given.

[LostInTruth]

My 55 yr old aunt lost her job last year and hasn't been able to find another one comparable, so she's working full time at McD's instead of going on EI, until she finds another. I find that to be very respectable. People should stop leeching off the system and actually work for their money.

How is she leeching by applying for E.I., after she lost her job, and used to pay into the same system? The point of E.I. is to help you get back on your feet. I think it would be equally respectable if your aunt went on E.I. and was vigorously looking for employment to match her skills. I'm happy your aunt rebounded well though with another job.

[Mr. Robo]

Students are unreliable workforce. They call in sick alot to play hooky and quit faster/never long term. I would gladly have an adult serve me my coffee.

[LostInTruth]

Students are unreliable workforce. They call in sick alot to play hooky and quit faster/never long term. I would gladly have an adult serve me my coffee.

Not the ones who are serious about their employment (I.E. tuition, rent, car payment, etc).

It's a circle though, because those people will (hopefully) grow up and then start to respect their job more once they've found a worthwhile career; and then a new generation of (possible) slackers come in and pick up after them.

[kmarcie]

It makes YOU uncomfortable? Imagine being in their shoes....

To be fair, I really didn't get the vibe that OP was trying to mock them. OP is just trying to say that they DO seem educated and professional and that they DON'T belong there.

As far as Tim Horton's go, I've always seen people working there who are a little bit older.

[deltone]

It makes YOU uncomfortable? Imagine being in their shoes....

Many current middle aged people graduated high school during a time where HS diploma was all you needed to eek out a modest living. But if they got laid off anytime in the last 10-15 years it's near impossible for them to qualify for many jobs, so what's left? That's right, the service industry.

These people pull up their socks, and take a menial crappy job to support themselves and their families. Just to be looked down upon by people half their age that think they're better than them, that figure the only reason someone would work a job like this is because they lack ambition, or they're uneducated and treat them as such.

At least they're not mooching off the welfare system and aren't too proud to serve you a double double while taking your verbal abuse because you need to berate someone to feel better about your own crappy life.

These people deserve more respect than what they're given.

BRAVO!! Best post in the thread.

[Simaahoy]

I don't know if it was just this past year, or maybe it's been slowly happening over the past couple of years, but I'm noticing a lot of what look like regular middle-aged Jon and Jane Does working at jobs that I thought were set aside for HS kids to earn money for their College education.

I was at Subway yesterday and I couldn't even look the guy in the eye. He looked like a sharp, capable worker who should have 20+ years at a job, putting his kids through university and spending summers up at his cottage. Instead, he's putting extra pickles on my roast beef on parmesan oregano.

Same with Timmies Drive Thru. Where are the hipster kids with the fat ear plugs and pink hair? Here, I got someone who looks like my 5th grade english teacher serving me coffee. It makes me sort of uncomfortable, because I can't help thinking that these people don't belong in these roles.

Am I the only one who has noticed this trend lately?

I don't recommed anyone to work for Tim Hortons lol. They apparently prefer older immigrant women/men on their team.

[popcorneater]

lolz I can't imagine middle age people working there wtfbbqrolfcopter. Don't they have brains?

Just go to univeristy for 4 years. I expect everyone with a degree will make 90k annually to start. If not it means they are dumb. Thats what the university says I'm so smart and awesome lolzpoopmypants. I'll buy a 500k condo in no time. 2 mercedes at the least yo's


sarcasm

[NorthYorker]

This is a very natural consequence of economic shift we're going through today. Industrial economy is being replaced by service economy, which is very poor at producing mid-level jobs. You basically have a small bunch of well-paid corporate jockeys managing overseas assets, and everyone else serving them coffee, mowing their lawns and such earning minimum legal rate or less (services is a motherlode of labour code violations). If you take hightech and IT out of equation (and Canada does very poor job developing those), you only have natural resources industry to produce decent-wage jobs, and there's no natural resource extraction in the GTA.

[tsat]

To be fair, I really didn't get the vibe that OP was trying to mock them. OP is just trying to say that they DO seem educated and professional and that they DON'T belong there.

As far as Tim Horton's go, I've always seen people working there who are a little bit older.

i didn't get that vibe either and wasn't trying to imply that op was putting them down.

But being uncomfortable because you're being served your food by someone older and educated is stupid. There's too much bad stigma attached to having a service job because the general mentality is that these jobs are for students, or stupid people. These jobs are all work and very little reward because the majority of customers think they're better than the person behind the counter, or are trying to get something for free by causing a scene and usually don't hesitate to spew verbal diarrhea when they're non fat, medium-foam, latte isn't just the right temperature.

To take a job like this at that age is almost always out of necessity, very few do it because they want to.

[peanutz]

Stop the preaching. No one in this thread was looking down on them.

I feel bad for them, too. Been noticing this type of worker at basic jobs for a while now. It's a sign of the times, I guess.

[xvizardx]

I know an engineer from Asia who came to Canada and had no choice but to work with me at McDonalds when I was still in highschool.

He was in his 40s and he is a very pleasant person, but could not find a job.

He had to feed and support his family.

People do what it takes to provide for the people they love and to survive.