A busy, but rewarding work environment
At Work: Jeremiah Paquette – In-N-Out
Jeremiah has learned valuable life lessons at his job.
Pull up to the window at In-N-Out and you might just find Jeremiah Paquette giving you your meal. Paquette has spent the last seven months working for his boss, Shanya Anderson and he’s learned how to be a hard worker.
“I liked the friendliness of all the workers. Everyone is like a family and not just coworkers,” he said. “I work to increase my skills in life. I think it’s important for people to know how to work under stress, with different circumstances.”
In his traditional white pants, white In-N-Out shirt and paper hat, with his apron tied around his waist, Paquette’s primary jobs include greeting customers, taking orders, restocking various items, and cleaning tables and dishes. It can be busy at times. “One time I remember there was a school on a field trip and their bus shut down across the street, so everyone came into In-N-Out,” he said. “That was probably one of my busiest experiences being there. They probably ordered over 70 burgers in half an hour.”
He handled this experience like a pro, but that’s because he had already met the challenges of training. “It’s busy all the time, so it’s really hard to find good times for people to train you on things when they need stuff done quickly. It makes it hard to progress,” he said. “I definitely am good at repetitive jobs. One of my favorite positions to be at was pay window. Basically you read the car their order, they hand you their card or cash, then you pay on the tablet and then you do dishes in between cars. It was really chill and something I could do by myself.”
Paquette works between 15 and 25 hours a week, earning $17.25 per hour. It’s a nice place to work, too. “All my managers are really nice. They’re all pretty friendly and have a good attitude about work,” he said.
While working takes up a lot of his time, he still finds time to play basketball, video games, and hang out with friends. “I’m in the multimedia academy so I’m usually doing stuff there. It’s definitely my favorite class.”
After graduation, Paquette is heading to college for computer programming, and eventually become a software developer.
This job has taught him to never be afraid of doing certain things or asking questions. “Everyone started out the same way; not knowing how to do anything,” he said. “The less you focus on messing up, the better you’ll get at doing the task.” That advice will serve him well in the years to come.
