Goodbye to this chapter

And with that we started the journey to close the door on one of the biggest chapters of my life.

I’m 20 years old turning 21 in May, I’ve lost myself a little after leaving college and I miss my routine. I love my part time job at the ice cream farm but I’m an adult now I need to move on and sort myself out. I need a full time job and I need to get my head out of this mental rut that I find myself in. Indeed seems to be the best place to find jobs at the min. Nandos? Full time, more money than what I’m on now, only up the road really from where I am now and I love to eat there (rookie error though never work somewhere you enjoy the food it ruins food for you having it so much in a week aha) lets apply I probably won’t get it anyway.

A week later here I am sat in an interview in a coffee shop and I’ve been told I have the job. I’m heart broken to leave my ice cream family because to this day they did so much for me and the love will always be there but the new adventure begins. So I was hired for one of the bigger restaurants which was unfinished due to a refurb, this meant that I would be working at a couple of different restaurants first.

First day nervous as hell, I was so quiet and anxious back then with no self confidence for anything. A manager with the strongest African accent I have ever met is talking a million miles an hour trying to get to know me and eventually getting me to agree to be his new ‘Nandos wife’. A mad man you may think? Well he welcomed me to the team, my new friend Tom and the business and his actual wife and look at us now we are all the bestest of friends who have been to Africa together! I Met so many new people all at once and was slowly starting to come out of my shell, the job was easy enough as I’d worked in a restaurant before but the whole vibe of the place was surreal, it was like a family. A couple of months in I struggled with timings and my mental health at the bigger restaurant so I moved to what became my new home back to working with Norman and a completely new team now which was again scary as hell. On my first day I dropped loads of plates and ended up having one wedged in my arm. Thank you to my first aider Rhea at the time I feel this bonded us well as you are now one of the bestest friends I have. Here is where I made my home for the best part of what has been 5 years now and I will forever be grateful.

My confidence throughout these years has blossomed in ways I couldn’t have even imagined when I first joined and I’ve learned so much about myself. Don’t get me wrong there have been some dark times through this experience and there have been lessons that I maybe didn’t want to welcome but overall here I am now writing this ready to take everything I have gained from them with me on a new journey.

I’ve made friends that I will never let go, friends I don’t speak to as much now but will never forget, people that did me wrong and I will be glad to see the back of and people that still linger and I don’t know what I want from them nor what they want from me. Either way its time to focus on me and the ones who have stuck by me will always be welcome in my life even though I’m closing the door on this chapter.

If you’ve never worked in hospitality then its hard to actually imagine what you are put through. When I first stepped up to supervisor and was settling in I didn’t realise how sexist some people still were to this day. “Can I speak to a manager” “Yes how can I help?” “Mmm a manager! Is there not a male I can speak to”….. to comments like “ you’re not old enough to be a manager” to the occasional drunken “you’re a bitch, what time do you finish work I’m going to be waiting for you, little ****”

Some really nice customers at times! But these situations make you or break you, at the end of the day there were some that did get to me but you have to have the mind set of no one gets paid enough to be spoken to or treated that way and you need to make them aware of that. Which is what I did, I was the one in charge and our company collectively has a saying ‘it’s just chicken and chips’ which really does get you through as a team.

Times we go to work when others maybe take that day off for granted like bank holidays in the sunshine when we deal with drunk people having the best day of their lives whilst we are in 30/40 degree heat on a grill trying to serve them food as quick as possible. Christmas eve and boxing day when everyone is spending time with their families and we are rushing back from seeing our families to again come and give a good service. These times are testing for us but we get through it as a team because we know it doesn’t last forever. I’ll never forget the worst times we spent together on a shift but I will also not forget the time after when we’d hug and rant it out, clean down the restaurant and take a deep breath leaving the door with a “see you tomorrow”.

Not every shift is like that though. I can’t tell you the amount of times I have bonded with a customer and tried to make the best experience for them and they have responded in ways that you wouldn’t expect. I used to have regulars come in for a catch up with me to tell me about their week after having a good convo the week before about something they were going through. I’ve had people bring me presents because they enjoyed so much and wanted to say thank you. Even just someone asking how your day is going makes all the difference because people don’t take the time to care anymore after covid and that’s a sad fact. I think maybe we took the we deserve good after we went through a pandemic thing a little too far. We don’t need to act entitled or not work hard for good things in life and people need to remember that. We also need to understand the art of being kind not just reposting it on social media when we lose someone high in the media. The act of being kind needs to happen first! But I digress

Hospitality workers are elite. It either makes you or breaks you but look for the ones who need their day brightening or maybe try be understanding if something goes wrong. You are more likely to get something sorted faster and still have a good experience when something goes wrong if you show some understanding and kindness to the person you are dealing with. BE KIND!

It will be hard for me to leave as it has been a comfort for me for a long time but it’s important for me to understand it is time to move on and I’m so proud of myself for taking the step finally for myself. I’m going from being almost the work joker to only working with two people. From kitchen appliances beeping at me and the hustle and bustle of customers piling through the door and me needing to attend to 4 different things at once in 30 seconds to slow and steady, quiet and controlled office/store work. No more mad shift patterns just Monday to Friday easy going. I will find that hard being the kind of person who toxically thrives off of stress but I need to do it and crack on.

It's hard to say goodbye as we have talked about before. But sometimes saying goodbye is an act of kindness for yourself and I think it takes guts to take that risk of letting go of everything you know of to starting a fresh. It might blow up in my face but at least I’m trying to make a difference in my life. So welcome to the new chapter!

When I walk out of those doors this Sunday I think there will be tears, relief and a bit of surrealism after such a long time. I’m excited, nervous and a little numb to the situation but I’m ready for it. I know my work friends don’t really read this but I thank them all anyway for helping me to be the person I am today. Thank you for accepting me, guiding me and letting me guide you at times. I think I’ve become quite a caring, strong and confident person because of this place and the people and I couldn’t ask for more than that really.

The love will always be there and I will never forget.

Goodbye to my Nandos chapter its been real x

Thank you also to Tom and Tabi for my leaving flowers too x