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?

More likely that Julie has decided to stop all the food theft and apply a rule which is standard in all big food outlets with automated reordering systems.

If it doesn't go through the till then the stock levels are all out of kilter. If she doesn't approve it then Bill will have two meals and give the other to his mate Ben.

I work at a mcds and this sounds normal
It's a regular whinge from my colleagues
I buy a meal deal from tesco/sainsburys on my way in and leave it in my bag in the crew room
Can a floor manager rather than a business manager approve it?
Then get your own?

Sorry but no, that did not happen under the previous system. Food for breaks was recorded in the shift book on a specific page so the stock levels were correct. People also weren't stealing meals.

She's decided that if she's in, she has to approve the breaks. Not allowed to get our own either, not even drinks. Just have to stand by front counter and wait.

No, has to be done after you clock out!

I think YABU, sorry. If I want to get food on my half an hour lunch break at my office job, the time waiting for it comes out of my break, or time walking to the shop etc.

If it bothers you that much, take a lunch that doesn’t need to be refrigerated.

Your manager should be concentrating on providing her staff a fridge that works.

You’re finding excuses. She may be horrible but that’s a separate issue.

She’s obviously doing it the way HO have taught her.

If you’re not happy with the new system, then take your own lunch in. I use a thermos flask to keep my lunch hot. This would mean you could still have a hot lunch and it wouldn’t be affected by your hot locker.

I worked at McDs in the Golden Years of the late 80s early 90s … we cooked our own lunches as we liked - fried onions on a 1/4 with Cheese are great. As long as you didn’t take the piss you were left to it.

TBH, once the novelty have work off, of free McDs, nobody was having extra anything.

Those burgers cost pence to make, the happiness and loyalty of your staff is priceless.

yeah this is normal i work in maccas, you soon learn some managers are a pain but you have to adapt. Unfortunately its one of those jobs you put your head down and just pretend they don't exist. For these kind of managers i do everything by exactly how they said to do it .

How they put the food into the till is normal procedure

Its just one of those things - procedures have to be followed and manager wont always be instantly available. I can see how its frustrating if its a new change but as others have said it is annoying but normal in most jobs - for example i sometimes have to wait for one of the microwaves to be free at work, or walk to buy food which depending what i want could be 5-10 mins walk each way plus queueing. One of those things ithink

The manager is just following the correct procedure as laid out by Head Office. It's pretty sensible, as it will give them stats on what staff members have, and will give an audit trail for stock taking purposes.

Other managers may have not done things properly, but it seems that this manager is good at their job, and following the correct procedures.

There’s no way your food will go off, if you have a proper cool bag with ice packs.

I live in the med and have taken countless lunches to the beach where it’s 35 degrees, and our lunch was perfectly fine in the cool
bag. You are making a drama out of not being able to keep your food cooled in the locker. Just get a proper cool bag, ikea sell all sizes of them.

McDonald's systerm for breaks has been through the POS systerm for years . I worked at McDonald's from 2017-2019 and we moved from the break book ages ago. If you have to wait for your food it is what it is unfortunately

So there's a shop you can go to or other fast food which would solve your problem then?

Exactly, YANBU.

Take hot food in a thermos.

Solves the heat and wait issue.

We have 2 microwaves at work and people spend half their lunch waiting to heat up food.

I just open a lid 🤣

It’s the policy across all McDonald’s. Other workers have to use their breaks to get food.

Waiting for food doesn't seem like an issue? Surely everyone has to wait for something? Queue in a shop to order, or queue to pay, or wait for it to be cooked if applicable etc?

The system isn't the problem, it's the manager's implementation. Waiting a few minutes is understandable, waiiting 20 is inefficient.

That’s just how it goes sometimes. Do I get to complain to my boss if I have to wait 20 minutes in the shop for my lunch?

You have autonomy and options. The manager is reducing the employee's options by not providing a fridge and not pressing a button. Maybe a minor thing but it's just one of those things that could make life more pleasant by just making an effort not to be a twat about something.

I think you just need a better lunchbox solution. Plenty of people bring picnics to the beach and such and they’re okay. So if your preference is to bring your own, just sort out that problem. Sounds like this is just how it works if you choose to wait for your lunch there so it depends if that’s worth it to you.

Most things you bring for lunch don’t need to be kept in a fridge to be fair. OP has options too.

Not as many as if the manager did just a couple of simple things. In my office if they took the fridge and coffee machine away I wouldn't immediately hand in my notice but wouldn't think well of my employer for it. And eventually, other things considered, I might go and work somewhere which is a nicer environment. Little things just chip away at you.