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Featured Image Credit: WACH Fox 57
Topics: Food and Drink, Burger King, US News
Ella Scott
A Burger King employee who stepped up to the plate amid a staff shortage has claimed ‘nobody wants to work anymore’ as she opened up about how intense shifts are impacting her family life.
Nykia Hamilton is a 25-year-old fast food employee working out of a Burger King restaurant in Columbia, South Carolina.
Not only is she having to pick up 12-hour shifts due to fellow employees reportedly ‘quitting’ on her, but she’s also a single mother-of-three, tirelessly working to ‘provide’ for her children.
Hamilton recently found internet fame after a TikTok showing her manning all stations of the establishment - including the front desk and the drive-thru counter - went viral earlier this month.
“[She’s] doing the fries, the burger, the chicken sandwiches. She’s doing everything by herself,” the customer said in the clip, as per the New York Post.
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“She’s doing everything she needs to do to make sure everybody is okay in here.”
Speaking to WACH Fox 57, the woman explained that she was working by herself because there was a staff shortage due to someone exiting the company with short notice.
“Had to do the dishes, do prep, do the floor, do the front counter, drive-thru,” she said in a tearful interview.
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Hamilton said she routinely works more than 12 hours in a shift, claiming she can’t just down tools when things get tough because she has three mouths to feed.
“I be missing out on my kids’ lives when I work so much,” she explained. “I have to provide for them, but I really don’t have time to spend with them, and it hurts me a lot.”
The day after her solo shift, Hamilton was drafted in again to keep the restaurant afloat.
“I closed again by myself last night,” she admitted. “I finally got help today. 11 o’clock and will stay until close at 11.”
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“We just don’t have any employees. Nobody wants to work anymore.”
Despite the ongoing situation, Hamilton is extremely grateful to be employed at Burger King, crediting an unnamed manager as the ‘only reason’ why she’s stayed for so long.
“I wouldn’t have no job because I do have a record, and it is hard to find a job with a record,” she added.
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In a statement, Burger King officials have updated WACH Fox 57 with their work policy.
“At Burger King, it is our policy that all company and franchise owned restaurants require more than one Team Member to be working per shift,” a spokesperson stated.
“We are working with the Franchisee of this location to understand what happened and take any necessary action.”
UNILAD has contacted a representative of Burger King for further comment.