I was waiting for my fast-food breakfast while my cohort of four little girls scurried over the indoor Big Toy.

"They're sure taking their time today," grumbled the man next to me. He wasn't talking about my granddaughters.

He was wearing a purple tee-shirt over his middle-aged paunch. A baseball cap and jeans completed the outfit. He could have been there with his grandchildren, but he was alone.

I nodded my head. I hate standing in line and really hate waiting, but I hadn't reached my annoyance threshold, yet. Obviously, my fellow breakfaster had passed that bar.

"They wait on the drive-through customers first and make the people inside wait," he said to me while maintaining a watchful eye behind the counter and into the kitchen area.

I nodded again and followed his gaze. The young woman, who seemed about four-foot-five, behind the counter was taking orders and was doing a good job with a friendly smile. The prep people were cooking and delivering, and yet . . . on the counter were five food trays. Each had a cash register receipt. In addition, between the trays were another two or three receipts. The young woman would take orders, fill them as best she could, and then wait for food from the kitchen, while she continued to take even more order.

A tray of goodies was handed out to someone who had been behind us. "I was here before him. This has happened to me before," my hungry friend commented. "I was waiting for about fifteen minutes once and I complained to the waitress. She said she didn't realize there was a problem and offered me a free meal. I told her that wasn't the problem and pointed to all the people waiting behind me." He shook his head in disgust, "I think I need to call corporate, again."

I like to hear people complaining. It shows that I'm not the only one observing problems and potential problems in business.

The kernel of this fast-food breakfast story pops up repeatedly in retail and small businesses around the world. It's a good illustration of priorities. Who comes first: the customer in front of you, or the customer who calls on the phone (or ordering on the intercom)?

It's a juggling act that requires people handling skills. You don't want to offend or lose either customer, but by faltering in your juggling you run the risk of losing one or the other, or both. It's like fishing with two poles and a fish on each line. While this is enviable, the fisherman sometimes goes home hungry.

Here are some suggestions for working with multiple customers: