Spent half of my break waiting for food

[EmptyTheFrickingBins]

I started a job at McDonald's a few months ago and it's mostly been great but we have a new business manager and she absolutely hates me for some reason. I'll call her Julie for clarity.

Julie has implemented some new policies like rather than asking kitchen directly for your break meal, it has to be put through the pos system which means it needs a manager to approve it. I spent 10 minutes yesterday waiting for a manager (Julie) to do this, and then a further 10 minutes waiting for my food. My total break was 45 mins long so I spent half of it standing at front counter waiting on a nine hour shift.

I do usually take a packed lunch but the crew fridge is broken and we're not allowed to put food in the walk in. I can't leave it in my locker because the crew room is absolutely boiling and even with ice packs food goes sour before it can be eaten.

I spoke to Julie about it and she seems to think I'm being unreasonable not wanting to spend half of my break standing at the counter like oliver waiting for more. It wasn't particularly busy yesterday even! She was in the office counting the safe, which I'm sure could have waited for the 30 seconds it took to put my order through!

Aibu?

sounds pretty standard, I think most people spend half their lunchbreak waiting for food in a canteen or shop unless they bring their own.

you can spend that waiting time looking through your phone etc

Well, the bit where she took 10 minutes to approve her end was perhaps unreasonable but equally the middle of counting money isn't ideal to have to stop...

As for the wait... well, we all have to wait. We all have to use up significant periods of our break waiting for food if we go out like that for it.

Is there nothing else nearby like a Boots or Sainsbury's or something to pick food up at?

You happen to work in a food place. Most people spend most of their break going to a shop, queuing in the shop then walking back to work. You're lucky to have on-site food. It's a pain but I can imagine why your boss doesn't like you if you're complaining. First world problems.

Yeah, that sounds rubbish. It's a silly setup if manager is approving everyone's meal, as she will presumably have to do that repeatedly throughout the day? So will never be in a rush to approve staff meals.

I'd make a point of leaving the premises, going for a walk or even just sitting in a bus stop somewhere during your break. Get a wee thermos for hot or cold food from home.

She wasn't in the middle of counting the safe, she started after I asked her to approve my meal. Previously it took less than five minutes to get food, not twenty!

The only other offerings are a toby cavery, a kfc and a petrol station that sells prepackaged sandwiches and such.

Could you take something which is shelf stable?

She hasn't liked me from the first moment she met me for whatever reason.

Going to a shop is a bit different to being made to stand in one spot waiting for food like a naughty school kid!

Go and get a sandwich then, or take in food like protein bars and a banana, packet of crisps or nuts.

I'm sorry but I don't believe that a, say, cheese sandwich from home left in a locker for 4 hours in a room that isn't catching fire with heat goes off and becomes inedible.

Your new manager's rules are probably to stop your fellow workers taking food and giving it to their friends. So that isn't unreasonable.

Can you order early before your lunch break starts?

Why? Her McD's lunch is usually free as a perk of the job. The system worked by telling the kitchen directly what you wanted for lunch, no wait needed. Julie has decided to be a fucking bitch and delayed OP's lunch. Deliberately making her wait rather than approving her order.

This is only temporary until the fridge is fixed, right? Not sure it’s worth making a fuss over

Has she done this for all staff or just you?

Well that wasn't the way it read in your OP

What actually happened was you were very lucky to food that quickly

So buy petrol station sandwiches or hope the Toby can get you some chips quicker

I’d take some ready to make food that doesn’t need a refrigerator and put in a formal complaint about the fridge

Or Julie is following a protocol because of abuse of the free food system

And OP just has to wait like everyone else who goes to McDonald's on a short lunch break

Blimey, all the posters tripping over themselves to say it’s the op in the wrong.

Op, if that’s the new system the manager wants then it needs to be something she can do quickly, not power trip and make someone use half their break waiting.

@BriefEncountersOfTheThirdKind or you can order through the app and collect it, no waiting for the people who don't work at McDonald's.

You dont have to stand and wait. Sit and read a book or scroll insta or something.
This is a non-problem.

Julie sounds like an asshole who shouldn’t be a manager - implementing unnecessary shite systems that benefit no-one (to make herself look good, no doubt). And she’s not being professional enough to hide her dislike for staff members. I also work in a kitchen & it’s no trouble to keep working while my lunch is being prepared. Poor you, I hate managers like Julie - they make work a misery.

I used to work at a McDonald’s and this was standard procedure - you had to order through the till, like guests. It also required a manager's approval too, so this was normal. If she chose to start doing a job after you’d asked, then that’s not great of her, but the actual ordering and needing approval was normal for us.

You still have to wait....

As a practical solution ice packs and a cool bag for your packed lunch.

I work in a big attraction and we wait ages for food so I take a lunch and flask and go sit in my car.
It's Much more relaxing It's clean. No idiotic chatter. I have the radio.

In summer plenty of ice packs Winter is ok with heating on.

It's that a possibility

Unfortunately yes I did have to spend half of my break waiting by the till. First for her to put the order through and then for my actual food. Can't sit down because you can't sit near the counter and if I wasn't there then I wouldn't have gotten any food.

I have a cool bag and ice packs but unfortunately after six hours at 30c +, my food was disgusting and didn't feel safe to eat.

This is definitely a head office thing. Is there anyway your meal can be approved earlier? Your request is put in at 8am, but scheduled to be ready for 12.30? This would be much easier for your manager too. Having to approve staff meals in real time would be annoying if you a busy.