Once in a while, I would eat at a fast food store. Moreover, if you are in Kuala Lumpur while waiting for ETS to return to Ipoh in KL Sentral or wait for a flight at KLIA, you have to stop because it is easy and fast.
Sometimes when with my fiancé, when I have no idea where to eat, then ‘fast food’ is the answer. If I go back to Lumut to hang out with my friends or my sister, it must be at the Mcdonald’s in front of our house.
“4 or 5 piece connecting table. Eat a lot after eating, boxes, plates, cups, trays are all scattered like new after being hit by Garuda. Like a broken barge. Like a pig pen, it’s easy to tell the story.” This is a common situation that is always seen, it seems normal.
I used to be like this. After eating stay. In the past The time before sailing. When we sail we see people’s places, see their culture and habits, I change.
Once upon a time, I ate at Mc Donalds Buersplein, Rotterdam circa 2009/2010. At that time I noticed that after eating, the people would clear the table, pick up the talam and put it back in its place.
When it comes to pilgrimage around Buersplein, Coolsingel, Karel Doormanstraat and Lijnbaan, the scenario is the same. A shop like this. After eating, people there wipe the table with a tissue, lift the tray and rearrange the chairs. Customers do it all, not employees. That means they come beautiful and go beautiful. They take care of the workers ’hardship to pack or clean up their own food waste.
I think this is a good practice to follow.
So back in Malaysia I practiced the habit after eating, tidying the table, collecting trash, throwing it in the trash can and placing the mattress in its place.
At that time, I was in KL Sentral. Many look at me. Kind of an awkward thing for them. Wouldn’t it be weird to pick up a Mcdonald’s tray after eating? Very rarely made by people. I don’t know what other people think. Elsewhere the same. In the Midvalley, people look awkward. In Times Square people look awkward. IKEA is the same. It’s like I’m behaving in a very strange way. It’s super weird, it seems. And this habit I practice until now.
Why did I do that?
The first reason I saw the behavior of Dutch people with such a habit during the ‘foreign going’ era was very good to follow. Good things we take. We throw away the bad ones.
Both of them, in 2011 to 2012, there was a case of fast food franchise workers being abused by customers, not necessarily because the video was viral. The commotion of one Malaysia. Fighting all the common people on social media at that time. Many said that even the employee should be scolded. His salary is a paying customer. I’m kind of wow. So the money you pay is like a license to insult and insult other people’s work. Great game. There is a service tax ready for them to tidy up the dining area that customers leave. See what that attitude is. That pig’s disgusting attitude.
I decided, for these workers, I will help them. Not with ringgit money but by continuing the habit of tidying up where we eat as a sign of solidarity to this fast food franchise employee. Let people say get rid of the habit.
Yes, the profit of this shop will pay their salaries, but that is not a license for us to swear at them or leave the place where we eat like a wild boar’s nest. At home, we also eat and lift our own tableware. Why not do the same thing outside?
There is nothing wrong with doing it. It symbolizes that we are a society with a noble character. Our sign is not like and there is civic awareness. Yes! indeed, their work pays off, but don’t let all the pigs like pigs stay away from eating.
This is the benchmark of the community’s mentality. We long for world-class facilities, first-class everything but the fact is our habits and behavior are ‘low class’. No class at all. So change!
After eating, clean the table. The best thing is when the younger siblings, brothers, sisters, aunties and uncles who work there thank us. A bit of our behavior is also rewarded with kindness.
Even the laziest is at least a good layout so that employees can easily continue to lift without having to sort our garbage first.