Understaffed, Stressed, and Tired

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With the blazing fryers causing non-stop heat, the burgers cooking on the sizzling grill, and the frantic workers rushing around to get the orders out, the conditions at Sonic Drive-In are very draining. Because of the suboptimal working environment, Sonic stays understaffed a majority of the time. Although the entire drive-in suffers from the short staffing, the kitchen has taken the hardest blow. Alysha Sutton (general manager of Sonic Drive-In) talks about the issues at hand.

For example, a problem arose after the COVID-19 pandemic when the government gave out stimulus checks to help families in need.

“Stimulus checks paid more than jobs,” Sutton said.

On top of this, little to no one wants to work in the kitchen, so it’s always understaffed.

“The kitchen is the hardest job here. Carhops make more money,” Sutton said.

In a fast-paced, stressful environment, it is very difficult to keep people from leaving. The search for new workers has been long awaited, and there’s no sign that the search will stop soon.

“[Sonic has been understaffed] at least 5 months,” Sutton said.

Being one of the few drive-in restaurants in the area, Sonic could always use more workers.