What It’s Like To Work At 7-Eleven On 7/11: My Story

The date was July 11th, 2015. It was the summer after my freshman year of college, and I was working at a newly opened local 7-Eleven to make some money on the side. Over that summer, I was also doing work for Fordham’s radio station. I’d take an over two hour commute (train, ferry, walk) to cover the Staten Island Yankees, but that’s not important right now. I didn’t write this to get praise for my work ethic as a young college whippersnapper.

Every July 11th, 7-Eleven offers free slurpees to customers. It’s a nice gesture by the corporation, because 7-Eleven is not named after July 11th. It’s named that because when they first existed, their operation hours were 7 AM – 11 PM. Now, they’re all open 24 hours.

At the start of that week, I saw my work shifts taped to a piece of paper on the refrigerator in our back room. I was scheduled to work from 7 AM – 3 PM on Saturday, July 11th. “Buckle up, Tommy Boy,” I thought to myself. “You’re in for the experience of a lifetime.” I was pleased to get the 7 AM – 3 PM shift, as I imagined mornings are not prime slurpee time. The 3 PM – 11 PM shift was likely slurpee palooza. The overnight shift from 11 PM to 7 AM was likely the least busy, but I refused to ever work that shift out of fear of being robbed and held at gunpoint.

I woke up that Saturday morning prepared for the challenge of a lifetime. It started off slow in the morning, but then the rush came. These primitive savages came in hordes, flocking immediately to the slurpee machine located on the far side of the store. Now, it’s important to note that not every slurpee is free. It’s just a very small cup that you’re allowed to get for free. Not everyone knows this. Some animals would fill up a large and assume that it’s free, so I’d have to stop these potential thieves.

Others would walk right in and right out without even acknowledging me or my fellow co-workers. This made it difficult for us because we still had to track how many free slurpees would be given away. There was an option on the register to ring up a free slurpee, although no payment was obviously required. Some would shoot me a dirty for asking them to hold up a second or see how many cups they were leaving with. Meanwhile, I’m just a humble 19-year-old trying to do my job.

This went on for hours. The heat intensified. My body was numb to the AC in the store after awhile, especially as more crowds filtered in and soaked up all the cool air. Sweat was dripping down my face as the sun beamed in from the window.

Later in the day, an older man walked in, looked at me and my friend behind the counter, and stopped in shock. He said, “I’ve just never seen this before.” We were confused. He clarified he was making reference to the fact that we were both caucasion gentlemen, while the majority of 7-Eleven workers tend to be Indian. If the day wasn’t bad enough already, I know had to be bothered by grotesque racists.

Eventually, the slurpee machine went out. It’s one of the things I refused to ever learn how to fix. I knew I’d only be there for six weeks and avoided all tasks that seemed too complicated and involved too much manual labor. So I delegated for someone else to fix it.

Finally, the clock struck 3 PM. I closed out my register and took the five minute walk home. It was a grind of a day that I’ll never forget. But I’m glad it happened, and I’m stronger because of it.

So if you go into 7-Eleven for your free slurpee today, don’t be afraid to thank them for their service and maybe give them a hug. I know they’ll appreciate it.