Shelby Jansen

Saw this young kid at Subway today - timid, maybe new to the country, get absolutely rattled by a customer.

He forgot to wash/reglove before serving. The customer snapped, scolded him, then walked out. And then I was next in line.

This kid looked so anxious I could practically feel it. Even asking whether the extra avocado cost was okay came out nervous.

So I slowed everything down. One salad at a time with clear articulation, no rush, repeated things gently. Smiled. And at the till I told him:

“Don’t worry about him. I had my first job at Subway when I was 14. You get used to things with practice. Don’t let him get to you, every job has difficult people.”

He told me he’s only been there a few days.

Of course he’s still learning. Of course he’s going to f*ck things up. That’s literally how learning works.

If you’re not screwing up, you’re not evolving.

But it made me think about how quick people are to criticise someone who’s new; especially someone young, timid, or different from them culturally or in personality, communication style or appearance. 

Kids. Teens. Juniors. Even adults. I’ve seen this in corporate, and in fast food.

People forget what it feels like to learn. People forget that mistakes are human.

And I remember being judged by customers for looking “different.”

Sometimes for black eyeliner or piercings.

Sometimes for my eye contact.

Sometimes just for existing outside their norm.

You feel that long before you have the language for “bias.”

You just know you somehow get more angry customers, more scrutiny, more complaints... and you don’t know why. 

Confidence doesn’t grow from humiliation.

Skills don’t grow because someone shamed you.

Nobody learns faster because a stranger felt self-righteous about a sandwich.

By 16, I was opening the store at 5am, studying, paying my own rent (blasting Offspring).

Every one of us grew because someone gave us patience - not criticism.

I just hope that kid has more people saying, “It’s okay, you’re learning,” and fewer treating a tiny mistake like a moral failing.

It’s a sandwich, not surgery.

And who knows... maybe one day that kid will be doing surgery, funded by the subway job 👌