Indian man shares how being humiliated by customer in Canada pushed him to job hunt

An Indian man who worked 12-hour shifts at a fast-food chain in Canada said being humiliated by a customer over a five-minute wait pushed him to seek a new job.

Kamal Nanda, an entrepreneur, recalled how a customer threw a drink at him while he was working at the restaurant. The incident made him realise he did not want to continue in a job where he felt he could be treated that way.

In an Instagram post, Kamal shared snippets of his life in 2023 and 2026, showing the contrast between his time working at the fast-food chain and his current work-from-home setup.

In the first clip, recorded in 2023, Kamal was seen working in a restaurant kitchen. The text on the video read, “I left my family and a stable job in India to flip burgers 12 hours a night for $16 an hour.”

The second clip, from 2026, showed him working from home at his desk. “I work from home with real work-life balance and travel in Canada for work,” the text read.

Kamal said the incident with the customer happened after a five-minute wait.

“We were short-staffed. They yelled, cursed, and threw it anyway. That night I told myself: I’m not here to be treated like this,” he said in the caption of his post.

He then began applying for jobs “vigorously,” using whatever time he could find - before his shifts, during breaks and even while he was working.

One interview he took during his lunch break, in the middle of a shift, turned into a freelance project. There was no payroll and no guarantee of steady work, but Kamal decided to take the opportunity while continuing his fast-food job part-time.

For around seven months, he maintained both jobs.

His routine involved working from 9 am to 5 pm at his new job, driving for an hour to the burger job, working there from 6 pm to 11 pm or sometimes midnight, and then driving another 30 minutes home.

The freelance work eventually turned into a full-time opportunity, allowing him to leave the fast-food chain for good.

However, his career journey did not immediately become stable. Kamal later left for another opportunity but was let go just two months after joining.

The setback pushed him to search for work again. Over the next 30 days, he said he attended 10 interviews and received three offers.

Kamal attributed the progress to upskilling every day, taking a chance on an opportunity that was not guaranteed to be stable and continuing to apply despite his demanding schedule.

“If you’re on a shift like that tonight: this is not the only thing you’re here for,” he said.

He encouraged people looking for a way out of difficult work situations to work on their resumes, reach out to people, network and apply for roles that match their skill sets.

“You’re busy. I get that. However, find one or two hours anyway. Be patient. It takes time. Keep working on yourself,” Kamal Nanda said. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kamal | Marketing + AI Funnels (@kamalnandaa)

Kamal Nanda has over 20,000 followers on Instagram.- Ends