17 Words That Mean Something Totally Different To Fast Food Workers

    No, sir, that coupon does not mean you get three free meals.

    Michael Blackmon
    by Michael Blackmon

    BuzzFeed Staff

    1. Ball Pit

    Camknows / Creative Commons / Via Flickr: camknows

    What you think it means: A place where kids go to play after they enjoy their fast food meal.

    What it actually means: A place where kids play while eating their food. It's fraught with fries, burgers, and questionable sauces, and it always smells like feet.

    2. Standing

    Joe Monin / Creative Commons / Via Flickr: jmonin87

    What you think it means: It means your body is upright and perpendicular to the ground.

    What it actually means: Being on your feet for no less than seven hours in some cases. Your feet throb by the end of your shift.

    3. Drive-Thru

    Jeremy Brooks / Creative Commons / Via Flickr: jeremybrooks

    What you think it means: A position that requires one to take money from a customer in exchange for a good, typically food.

    What it actually means: Taking multiple orders, taking cash and/or credit cards from customers, and trying not to lose your mind.

    4. Holiday

    Bravo / Via tamaratattles.com

    What you think it means: A glorified day off of work.

    What it actually means: A day where people still come into the restaurant in droves, making you dislike people even more. Who goes to McDonald's on a holiday, anyway?

    5. Stock Truck

    6. Lunchtime

    Leonid Mamchenkov / Creative Commons / Via Flickr: mamchenkov

    What you think it means: A time when people come into the restaurant to get some food before they finish their work shift. A peaceful, non-hectic process.

    What it actually means: Total chaos. People forget how to form a single file line, which makes it harder to assist people and get them their food in a timely manner.

    7. Kids Toy

    Ursala Erdbeer / Creative Commons / Via Flickr: ursalaerdbeer

    What you think it means: A complimentary toy that comes with a kid's meal.

    What it actually means: A plastic object that often makes parents more upset than their children if it happens to be out of stock at your particular store.

    8. Break

    9. Regular Customer

    Disney / Via vintagegal.tumblr.com

    What you think it means: A nice person who generally visits the restaurant more than three times a week.

    What it actually means: A generally nice person who visits the restaurant more than three times a week, however, they go completely ballistic if the price on one of their favorite foods increases, even if it's just one cent.

    10. Coupon

    11. Body Odor

    Disney / Via entertainment.ie

    What you think it means: A less than pleasant smell coming from your body, usually because of sweat.

    What it actually means: You smell like fries. And chicken nuggets. All day, every day.

    12. Bathroom

    13. Menu

    Alpha / Creative Commons / Via Flickr: avlxyz

    What you think it means: An illuminated board with gorgeous pictures of the food your restaurant serves.

    What it actually means: An illuminated board that renders customers speechless because they can never decide what they want to order, despite the fact that the menu items haven't changed in years.

    14. Cashier

    Chris Goldberg / Creative Commons / Via Flickr: chrisgold

    What you think it means: Someone who's generally chipper, greets customers with a smile, and happily takes orders.

    What it actually means: Someone who's tired from standing all day and focused on trying to make sure their register doesn't come up short.

    15. Straggler

    Renaissance Films / Via heykai.com

    What you think it means: A person who's left behind, someone who's probably lost his/her way.

    What it actually means: Someone who comes in right before your shift ends. It sucks because you have to serve them, which delays your freedom a few minutes longer. Hopefully they won't opt to dine in.

    16. Acne

    Caitlin Regan / Creative Commons / Via Flickr: caitlinator

    What you think it means:A thing that appears on your skin because your pores get filled with dirt.

    What it actually means: Your pores are almost always at capacity because you're sweating incessantly since you work in a place with limited airflow. Basically, you have perpetual "pizza face."

    17. Fresh Food

    Screen Gems / Via dailyedge.ie

    What you think it means: Food that's just come off of the skillet, fryer, and/or burner.

    What it actually means: Food that has been reheated to seem fresh. For example, sometimes fast food workers will drop already cold fries in the grease for a few moments to trick/appease customers.