So, this post marks the last week and ending of my learning project. Throughout the 5 weekends I worked, I learned a lot about working at McDonald’s and being a good worker. I was able to make myself more outgoing and even helped give more sales (Even though I feel bad for the kitchen workers because they had to make a lot more holiday pies). I started out being shy/quiet at the kiosks to being fun/energetic at the drive thru window. Apparently, a lot of the customers and even my managers like having me at the drive thru window. I am able to work very fast and efficiently there. Customers have mentioned to me that they like seeing me when they come through.

Even outside of McDonald’s, I noticed that it does seem easier to speak to others. I also noticed that I sometimes say my McDonald’s goodbyes as well (“Have a nice day”, “Enjoy your meal”, etc) even when I don’t work! When I got rejected during the journey, it was easy to get over because it happened somewhat often. Working at McDonald’s is fast paced so the horrible feeling I got from each rejection quickly went away. This journey was basically a fast version of Jia Jiang’s journey. Constant exposure to rejection has made me more resistant against it. I now understand that it isn’t really the end of the world if I am rejected. All I have to do is either try again or re-position myself so that I can lower the chances of rejection. Another thing that I did was never give up. Sure it was hard at first, but putting myself out there and forcing myself to interact with others more. This journey is something that I will never forget! I may even try to continue with it!

Lessons from Rejection Proof:

• “Motivation: Rejection can be used as one of the strongest motivations to fuel someone’s fire for achievement” (Jiang 165).

One other thing that I wanted to try was to try to change the way how I interact with customers. Before this learning project, I was a really boring worker. I wasn’t really energetic and looked tired all the time. So while working at the drive thru, I wanted to seem more confident and full of energy.  By doing this, I thought that it would affect the amount of rejections I received in a positive way. The whole point of this project is to ease my fear of rejection so, in order to do that, I have to gain confidence in myself!

So like last week, I asked people if they wanted to add certain burgers or take advantage of deals we had. One other thing I did differently though, was be extra friendly towards the customer. Last week, all I did was just say hello, repeat order and take money. However this week, not only did I say hello, but I asked how they were doing and things like that. I also made sure I didn’t speak too fast and was clear in my speaking. I wanted to treat them like normal people. I was hopeful that they would do the same!

From time to time, I would have short conversations with people. I would talk about weather or things I would do after work. They were very short but fun conversations. Sometimes there would be people who ‘rejected’ me, as in, just ignored me and just wanted to give me the money they owed. But most of the time, people drove to the next window with a smile. This week has truly been my favorite!

“Rejection really is like chicken. It is yummy or yucky, depending on how you cook it” (Jiang 165).

Lesson from Rejection Proof:

• “Character Building: By seeking rejection in tough environments, one can build up the mental toughness to take on greater goals” (Jiang 166).

Alright, I knew that I said last week that I would try to get more people to use the kiosk and do more at the register. However, I thought that doing that again for another week would be boring. So, how did I spice things up? By doing the thing that I am learning to do: Seeking rejection!

To be more specific, I asked my manager if I could work in the drive-tru. Since I was semi-new, I really did not expect them to let me work there since it was a bit harder than working at the front counter. Unfortunately I was right about that and I was told that it probably would not be a good idea. However, I learned from Rejection Proof that I should try to offer alternatives or try to get them. So I asked if I could only take money in the drive thru, which is possibly the easiest thing to do. All I had to do, was sit at the first window, repeat orders and take money. It was really easy.

“If I could adjust my request and approach the “ask” from a different angle, something interesting and unexpected might happen–and often it did” (Jiang 99).

So while at the drive thru, I wanted to start small. When people drove up to the window, I repeated their orders and before I told them their totals, I asked them if they wanted to add our annual holiday pies to their orders. It was like a dollar extra, so I thought that it wasn’t a bad idea. Unexpectedly, I ended up adding a lot of holiday pies to many orders! I want to assume that the combination of the limited availability and cheap price of the pie made people want it.  If I were to try to ask to add anything else (maybe a whole sandwich?), maybe people would reject me. This is definitely one thing I am going to try next weekend.

Lesson from Rejection Proof:

• “Retreat, Don’t Run: By not giving up after the initial rejection, and instead retreating to a lesser request, one has a much higher chance of landing a yes” (Jiang 108).
• “Offer Alternatives: By offering alternatives to get a yes, or even simple concessions, on can make the other person a fan even in rejection” (Jiang 145).

 

Surprisingly, this weekend was somewhat successful!

For a little bit on Saturday, I was at the kiosks again but for the rest of the Saturday and all of Sunday, I was at the register taking orders. Even though I wasn’t at the kiosks, I went ahead and asked people if they wanted to use it. If they didn’t want to, I simply just took their orders the old fashioned way. No problem with that at all!

However, when people did say no to the kiosk, I asked them why they didn’t want to use it. Most of the time, people simply said that the layout was confusing or people couldn’t make their order a certain way. I have used the kiosk myself before and I had no problems with it. So, I really couldn’t understand why people had problems with using the kiosk. One answer I did get a lot was that it took too long to order on the kiosk if the order was very small. So I can understand how placing an order the regular way would be easier/faster.

“There is a reason behind every decision that people make, whether it’s logical and well thought out or emotional and spur of the moment. Knowing the reason behind a rejection can help dissipate, or even dissolve, any of the pain one might feel otherwise” (Jiang 97).

I got a good feeling about next week!

Lesson from Rejection Proof:

• “Ask “why” Before Good-Bye: Sustain the conversation after the initial rejection. The magic word is “why,” which can often reveal the underlying reason for the rejection and present the rejectee with the opportunity to overcome the issue” (Jiang 108).
• “Find Empathy: All rejections are shared by many people in the world. One can use rejection and suffering to obtain empathy and understanding of other people” (Jiang 222).

A week has passed and I can already tell that this project will be a doozy.

Before I worked, I was hyped up to begin my journey and learning, however, I forgot one important obstacle.

Me.

During this weekend at McDonald’s, I was tasked with trying to get customers to use the kiosks, which are basically big tablets that customers can use to take their own orders instead of going to the front counter. I was glad that I was able to do this because it was a perfect beginning to my project. However, as customers came in, they walked straight to the registers to have their orders taken. I was rejected before I even started! At this point, I realized that I had to put more effort into this.

So, I put on a smile, greeted people when they walked in and asked if they wanted to use the kiosk. Of course, this was difficult because at times, I would stop myself from asking people. However, it felt great when people did use the kiosk after I asked them too. They were all happy about it and stuff. One thing I did learn too was that older people really do not like the kiosk at all. I think I asked about 7 or so older people and only 1 said yes (I had to help that 1 with using it though). There was one person, who immediately got angry and stormed out of the restaurant after asking him. It felt horrible, but i’m hopeful that there won’t be any one like him. Guess we’ll see!

Lesson from Rejection Proof:

• “Rejection is Human: Rejection is a human interaction with two sides. It often says more about the rejector than the rejectee, and should never be used as a the universal truth and the sole judgement of merit” (Jiang 92).

Hello there! My name is Anthony. For an english project, we were tasked with learning a certain skill. That skill, had to relate to a book we read during class. I chose to read a book called “Rejection Proof” by Jia Jiang. In this book, the author spoke about his journey to overcome his fears. The author wanted to become an entrepreneur and was rejected by investment companies. This event jump started his 100 day journey to becoming rejection proof.

Now, why has this book interest me? Throughout my life, I have been afraid of rejection, which has caused me to avoid asking people for things. I don’t like asking my parents for money or asking them to go out with friends. I do not like the feeling of rejection. It always makes me feel like I have done something wrong. I like this book because of how Jiang went through his 100 day journey. He wanted to experience as much rejection as he could. In the beginning, he asked strangers for $100, asked a Five Guys employee for a burger refill and asked for Olympic Doughnuts at Krispy Kreme. Later down the line, he gave a college lecture, attempted to give a haircut to a hairdresser, and work at a job for one day. Most of the rejections he sought for, weren’t even rejections. He experienced many new things because he sought out rejection.

So, how will I go about my own rejection proof journey? I plan to use this blog as a way to tell about my rejection experiences. How will I seek rejection? Well, I have a job at McDonald’s, so I feel that I can have the rejection come to me instead of seeking it myself. What will I do? Well, I’ll play it by ear at first. As the days go on, we’ll see where I end up.

 

“By challenging myself to seek out rejection again and again, I came to see rejection–and even the world around me–very differently.”

-Jia Jiang