Like many of us, you’ve probably ended up at McDonald’s more times than you’d care to admit. And if you’re like me, you’ve stared at the employees, wondering what’s going on behind those eyes, wondering how they have the strength to push through such a tough job for such little pay and thanks. Luckily, there are about a million and a half Ask-Me-Anything subreddits where employees and former employees share what it’s like to work at McDonald’s.
Curious? Here are 11 things that McDonald’s Employees want you to know.
Mobile Ordering Is Helpful
Many people wanted to know whether ordering through the McDonald’s app is helpful or painful for employees. The most common response was yes, it’s helpful. Seeing customized orders listed out clearly is great, and it eliminates something many workers hate: Customers staring at the menu, taking a long time to decide what they want.
Late Breakfast Orders Are Dicey
Some McDonald’s systems switch to the lunch menu at 10:20 a.m., 10 minutes before the 10:30 a.m. breakfast end time. Because of this, breakfast orders placed in that 10-minute window are sometimes canceled by the system, and then expected to be replaced manually by employees. It’s a gamble whether or not that’s actually going to happen.
Fries With No Salt Take Longer
They’re gonna fry them fresh for you if you ask for saltless fries. Don’t do this when you’re in a hurry, you know?
The Job Can Be Life-Threatening
Think there are no thrills and chills working at McDonald’s? Think again. “We were robbed at gunpoint one morning,” one employee recounted. “One of the openers left the lobby doors open when they came in for their shift. Two guys came in with guns and robbed us.”
The Filet-O-Fish Window
A few cooks mentioned that a Filet-O-Fish has a 30-minute window before it’s thrown away. This isn’t exactly the freshest fish in the world we’re talking about. This pollack wasn’t swimming this morning. Request a fresh one; you don’t want the 29-minute-old fish. Haven’t you seen “Airplane?”
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The Fry Window
Many stores have a seven-minute window before they have to make fresh fries. One of the most popular questions that came up in thread after thread was about when to grab fresh fries, and if you have seven minutes to spare, ask for freshies. Busy hours during the lunch rush are also great for fresh fries, as they fly off the shelves and need to be fried in fresh batches throughout this time.
Clothes Don’t Lose the Smell of Oil
You think working a fryer all day doesn’t take a toll? It does. Much like a bonfire, it can take a long time before the smell of fried canola oil leaves your hair or your clothes. If it ever does.
Pies Aren’t Always Fresh
There were plenty of instances of users asking what the oldest food in the store was. The answer was always the pies, which can sit in the warmer for hours, even all day in some instances.
That won’t stop me from loving you, though, McDonald’s apple pie. You’re too good.
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The Sausage McMuffin Trap
The difference between a Sausage McMuffin and a Sausage McMuffin with Egg sounds pretty obvious. One’s got an egg, and one doesn’t, right?
People don’t seem to know this, and I read more than one account of an employee getting berated by an angry customer who expected an egg on their sandwich. Maybe this one’s on McDonald’s. Is it time to rename these things?
The Infamous Ice Cream Machine
There is no subject that was broached even close to as many times as the ice cream machine. In every single thread I combed through, I saw comment after comment asking why the ice cream machine is always broken.
There were as many threads full of employees offering up reasonable explanations (terrible UI, complicated maintenance, timed self-cleaning, and more) as there were of employees saying that the machine in their store usually worked.
The truth is that there is no big, evil secret behind the ice cream machines. Sometimes they’re on and working, and sometimes they’re not.
Not a Secret: Clean Up Your Spills
This should not be a secret to you, but perhaps it is: McDonald’s employees have a lot of things to do besides cleaning up your spills. There wasn’t a single AMA I read that didn’t include stories of customers who spilled their drinks and left the restaurant without cleaning it up.
Grab a napkin. It takes 10 seconds.
More McDonald’s Stories You Might Like
- McDonald’s Breakfast Menu, Ranked (Including the New Spicy Egg McMuffin) — Not sure what to order for breakfast at Mickey D’s? Check out our ranking to see which item came out on top.
- McDonald’s Monopoly Is Back After 10 Years with Some Serious Prizes — Let the games begin! Whether you’ve played in the past or never knew about it, you’re going to want to check out the prizes.
- The Least Popular Items at McDonald’s, According to Customers — Hey, they can’t all be winners. See which menu items customers could do without and see if you agree.
