I’m A Manager At McDonalds... AMA!

[WhatToDoAboutWailmerGoneRogue]

I’m a Manager at McDonalds

I’ve worked for McDonalds for several years in different stores and have received personal awards for my customer service. I never initially wanted to become a manager, however with the support and encouragement of my business manager I went through the crew development programme to become one.

So... AMA?

I honestly think McDonald's is going downhill. It's to long now to get a simple order for two happy meals and an adult meal your waiting minimum 25 minutes in my local branch. They seem to care more for uber eats and deliveroo and now table service? Most people want to just receive there order on time and fast rather than messing about with table numbers and long waits. I've complained endless times about our local and we just get fobbed off with vouchers

'The OP doesn’t own it. She doesn’t need to explain or justify the company’s hiring practices. She just works there.'

How do you know Op isn't Ronald himself

I can’t speak for other countries, but McDonalds UK would never hire anyone under 16, and as you can see by others on this thread and a multitude of others, they are well known for their extremely strict hygiene practices.

McDonald's isn't known for this at all. If you ever come down to south London, Clapham Jct. the old Mitcham one thats no longer there, The current Sutton one the hygiene and cleanliness is disgusting. With the Sutton branch for the last 3 years they've had an issue with flies because the doors are constantly propped open. If you complain they make your food fresh again? That's not on is it? Flies are everywhere they are flying around. they are behind the counter they may aswell train them to start serving, it might speed up the wait time. Also the toilets always seem to be filthy. And everything caked in grime. I've only ever been to one that I thought was clean and that was in Chichester

Ok, well, if the OP is Ronald McDonald, then that explains a lot. 🤡

What fresh eyes do you need to flip burgers?

escapetothecuntree There isn’t any flipping of burgers involved, and that sort of derogatory language is exactly why there is still a stigma attached to working at McDonalds.

Young people have fresh, new ideas and that’s what the company wants; we encourage our crew to get involved. As I said before, many of them become managers when they’re 18.

I work for one of the biggest companies in the world, I think they're fabulous but just like everyone else, there are always faults!

Are you also deliberately missing the various points in the thread where I’ve said McDonalds isn’t perfect?

I'm not trying to demean anyone, so my apologies for it coming across that way and being badly worded.

Whether you were trying or not is irrelevant, you were demeaning and are were contributing to the negative stigma with such rude, casual language.

But as the OP said, they start from the very bottom. And yes that does mean doing basic tasks repetitively.

Yep, but that doesn’t mean their input isn’t wanted; it absolutely is.

OP also refuses to accept that a very big if not, let's face it, the very reason McDonalds employ young people is because they're cheaper to pay.

I think you’ll find that all I’ve said is that it isn’t one of the core reasons, because it isn’t.

your waiting minimum 25 minutes in my local branch

anitagreen It’s a shame your local is like that, but it isn’t representative of the majority of the country.

Extensive research and feedback over many years has shown us that customers don’t just want to be given their food and sent on their way, they want an experience. Sure, part of that experience is fast service, but it isn’t the only one.

McDonald's isn't known for this at all.

Yes, it is. Its excellent hygiene practices are well known, and evidenced on this thread alone by those who’ve also worked at McDonalds.

The odd branch that is bringing the company reputation down is not representative of the company as a whole.

Those branches will have a company that comes in on a regular basis to help manage the issue with the flies; the external company will be well aware of it and helping them to keep measures in place to address it.

Could I ask how apple pies are cooked so quickly from scratch? I always assumed they were ready-warmed but from what you’ve said this isn’t the case any more. Yet they’re still ready in 2 mins flat for the drive through, and they’re crispy so I doubt they’re microwaved. Is this one of the exceptions to the rule where you have a few ready at any one time?

25 minutes? The longest I've waited in any Mcdonald's ever is up to 5 minutes. That's shockingly shit!

I’m pretty sure the apple pies are pre-made. I bought one recently and saw from the sticker that it had “expired” 40 mins previously. I think they’re supposed to be kept for two hours and then discarded.

And even better you can request a slice of cheese and fresh onion on your chicken sandwich now.

But the ultimate request as I happy ex mc d's employee would be:

drumroll

You know like we had the grand Big Mac? How about a grand filet o fish! A much larger one!! YUM!

When I worked at Md D's the apple pies were deep fried. Is that still what the deal is these days OP?

Sorry McDonald's isn't known for this at all.

Yes, it is. Its excellent hygiene practices are well known, and evidenced on this thread alone by those who’ve also worked at McDonalds.

The odd branch that is bringing the company reputation down is not representative of the company as a whole.

Those branches will have a company that comes in on a regular basis to help manage the issue with the flies; the external company will be well aware of it and helping them to keep measures in place to address it.
But it isn't this has been the same for THREE years. You go in there one day and see for yourself the staff are rude and not interested honestly the amount of people who complain in there is ridiculous and yet nothing happens. If they was that concerned about the flys getting in from the doors constantly open which is there the bins are (10 second walk from the front door). Why not get air con and keep the doors shut like normal shops instead of propping them open ?

9am train it is awful they are alll like it in London for some reason. Then to top it off the fish fingers always come so over done they have to be done again it's really bizzare only ever fish fingers.

No questions for you, OP, but I just wanted to say hello as I remember you from other threads and have always found you gracious and kind.

OP have you tried the new cheese and bacon flat bread thing? I think it's new anyway.

It looks disappointing on the photo and even worse in real life. My friend ordered one and it looked like a slice of someone's foot.🤢

Could I ask how apple pies are cooked so quickly from scratch?

NeedingCoffee We don’t microwave them, we cook them in their own separate vat. They have the longest cooking time of all products at 5 minutes 55 seconds, but we can hold them for 90 minutes in their own dedicated apple pie cabinet where they are kept warm.

After 90 minutes, they are discarded. We don’t sell a lot of pies so we don’t tend to hold many at once, maybe two or three at a time, so if you’re ever waiting that’s why.

Drive-thru’s will sell more than in-store’s though so they will hold more, hence more chance of you getting them straight away rather than having to wait several minutes.

I’m pretty sure the apple pies are pre-made. I bought one recently and saw from the sticker that it had “expired” 40 mins previously. I think they’re supposed to be kept for two hours and then discarded.

Haworthia Yeah, they come frozen and then we cook them in their own vat; they have a 90 minute holding time.

Stickers should be checked before pies are sent out to ensure they are in time; if they are not, they should be discarded.

And even better you can request a slice of cheese and fresh onion on your chicken sandwich now.

luckycat007 You can! But we do have to charge for extra ingredients.

You know like we had the grand Big Mac? How about a grand filet o fish! A much larger one!! YUM!

Unfortunately the Filet’s are one of our least popular sandwiches, so the chances of making it bigger are slim

When I worked at Md D's the apple pies were deep fried. Is that still what the deal is these days OP?

Still cooked in their own separate vat yeah

But it isn't this has been the same for THREE years. You go in there one day and see for yourself the staff are rude and not interested honestly the amount of people who complain in there is ridiculous and yet nothing happens.

anitagreen That’s probably because they still have the same BM, who unfortunately by the sounds of it is not doing their job properly.

Why not get air con and keep the doors shut like normal shops instead of propping them open ?

They will have air con, but they shouldn’t be propping any doors open; they should be automatic.

No questions for you, OP, but I just wanted to say hello as I remember you from other threads and have always found you gracious and kind.

TerfsUp Thank you, that’s so lovely to hear; I really appreciate it

OP have you tried the new cheese and bacon flat bread thing? I think it's new anyway.

9amTrain It’s relatively new, been around two or three months. I love it! I have it for my break food every breakfast break I have

@WhatToDoAboutWailmerGoneRogue it was the same when I worked there. Quarter pounders Big Macs and mc chickens were most popular. I never got why more folk didn't get filets. H thinks they are too expensive as they are smaller but he loves them too. I always had the same thing on my break - filet, 4 nuggets and irn bru 😊

I'm a creature of habit lol.

I hope they never discontinue the egg mc muffin- that's gorgeous too 🥚 🍳

What orders do you get more of during the winter months as opposed to summer months?

I'm a creature of habit lol.

luckycat007 Me too

What orders do you get more of during the winter months as opposed to summer months?

Filzma Sales of hot drinks sky rocket during winter, while blended ice and ice cream sales lower. Sandwich changes aren’t seasonal; customers eat just as many Big Macs or Nuggets in the winter as they do in the summer.

Makes sense OP. Thanks for this AMA. Ordered from a fast food chain yesterday and I must say made me appreciate how much went into it.

Makes sense OP. Thanks for this AMA. Ordered from a fast food chain yesterday and I must say made me appreciate how much went into it.

Filzma You’re welcome; I absolutely love talking about my job and always have

A lot of people think it’s an easy job, that anyone can do it (as evidenced above with the derogatory flipping burgers comment), but even at crew member level it really isn’t.

It’s a very hard job, physically demanding too as you’re constantly on your feet, and it can be quite stressful at times; not everyone is able to do it.

I don’t understand why there are negative connotations and such judgement about people making an honest living. Working at McDonalds doesn’t mean you’re uneducated (or even illiterate as a poster said earlier on this thread). It’s a great company to work for and everyone has their own individual reasons for it, just like any other job.

I'm pregnant and think that general advice is to avoid mr Whippy style ice cream due to listeria risk. How often do McDonalds clean their McFlurry machines? I would like one!

How often do McDonalds clean their McFlurry machines? I would like one!

magpie24 They have two scheduled cleans: a daily and a weekly

The daily one happens overnight and is internal, the weekly one is the big one where we take the entire machine apart and clean each individual part inside, from the very small to the very large.

I'm also a manager at McDonalds and would also answer these question verrrrry differently!

Including almost being forced to demote myself when returning from maternity leave!

Heatiskillingme As I’ve said throughout, the BM can make or break a store, but a good BM following how the company wants McDonalds to be run ends up in an experience like mine and many others.

Thank you for answering

🍦 for me tomorrow!