Loraine Maurer started working for McDonald's in 1973 and has been a loyal employee ever since.

The 94-year-old customer service savant has worked at a variety of locations in Evansville, Indiana in her 44-year career. Although she loves the food, it's not what keeps her clocking in every day.

"If you don't like your job, it's a job, but I love it," she tells PEOPLE. "The people, the clientele, that's why I stuck with it."

It's no surprise that her customers have become a kind of extended family. After 44 years of serving the community, you can't help but become an important part of people's lives:

"I know what goes on with them," she says, " I know some of their children. Some ask me to say a prayer and I do, I know their lives.

Dozens of people stopped by the restaurant to celebrate Loraine's long service. ""After all these years, she remains committed to serving her customers with one of the most delightful smiles around," said Chip and Katie Kenworthy, owners of the McDonald's store Mauer works at.

Mauer, a mother of four, eats McDonald's for every shift since she started in '73. Staff even deliver it to her home on days she can't come into work.

Although she loves the food, she loves her customers more:

"My customers make my life," she says. "I have traveled with them, gone to ball games with them. They're friends, not just customers."

Miss Loraine, you could offer a master class in customer service - job well done!