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?

Take a sandwich. In a lunch box. With an ice pack

order chips
eat sarnie whilst waiting

No, her manager needs to approve her lunch in a timely manner so the OP can have the small perk she's entitled to. The manager knows when her break is, so no excuse to not approve it straight away.

As PP has said, take a flask in of hot food. Eating McD’s every shift isn’t healthy.

Managers always agree breaks in service environments where breaks aren't on a fixed rota, unless a small group of staff can be trusted to arrange cover amongst themselves.

This sounds standard

If you aren't on the clock then you're just another punter who should be the other side of the counter

I'd be taking hot soup in.

Manager was completing a task which took 10 minutes
10 minutes waiting for the actual food is normal

OP should be complaining about the broken fridge and would get more sympathy than moaning about waiting for food like most people have to

That's rubbish op; I know what it is like to be exhausted being on your feet all day. That break is very much needed. I had a supervisor, although she acted like she was the flipping director of the dept store (I mean delusions of grandeur or what)?! She was on a power trip and quite liked the control, being extra pedantic. This was when I was a lot younger, and thank god I don't deal with that crap now!
In those circumstances I would bring in my own food.

Oh while I am here, do you know what brand of caramel sauce they use on their frappes? Also the caramel cream used on their seasonal toffee lattes? 🫣🤫

Edited to say: I have heard Macdonalds are notoriously bad to work for in general.

If you dont want to wait then just take your lunch in with you.

I've done this since i was at primary school and it was never refrigerated. I take my lunch in now and its in my bag till i eat it. My children take packed lunches to secondary school and they carry it around in their bag till its time to eat.

It seems a bit odd that you cant skip the que as you work there though.

Could you try the opposite and get a food flask? Take left over stew, pasta, macaroni cheese etc?
My husband has one and it stays well above the safe limit for food temperature for 4-5 hours (and he works outside).

You have my sympathy for a manager that takes against you. I had one like this is a job in my 20s where she'd praise something until she found out I'd delivered it, then all of a sudden it was rubbish. Annoyingly she loved the useless staff who were always late, always calling in sick etc.

But because she dislikes you, you can't be the one to complain about it. Find a workaround and take that power away from her.

You get those tuna salad things in a tin - if you stink out the staff room then others might complain the food needs to be quicker 🤣

What an absolute jobsworth she is. Some narcissists just love the tiny power they have over people. I order mine from a cafe over the road when I get to work and its ready to pick up at 12.30 or I take hot food from home in a flask. I only eat one meal a day (salad when I get home) so I like to eat something hot.

If you want to try keeping your lunch cool, you could also freeze a bottle of water so there's a bigger volume of cold in there.

Or my friend at school had a mum that used to make sandwiches for the week and freeze them. They'd defrost in the boiling hot locker. You could try that. He did occasionally get an extra crunchy lunch!

Chuck in a few kippers, and some mackerel for good measure!

1. 10 mins wait isn't normal at McDs, and actually will impact on their stats because meals are supposed to be served off within 300s of paying.
2. This never happened at any of the 3 McDonalds I worked at or the 5+ I was seconded to for staff cover. You just got your food yourself.
3. Julie is a cowbag.
4. Can you raise it with the area "people manager" (HR person) when they come in once a week to do their thing? Just ask for a quick word.
5. Why is Julie always on shift during your break? When I was FT at McDs, we had several managers (even at the smallest store I worked at), usually 2-4 on shift at once, who took turns to do service, grill and office. There should always be a manager available to swipe their card in case a customer needs a refund or similar. Imagine if a customer had to wait 10 mins to resolve an issue! It sounds like Julie isn't running on the right amount of managers on the floor.

Oh and 6. Working at McDonald's is backbreaking and soul-destroying in equal measures. What happens in other jobs is irrelevant. The long break is the only ray of sunshine in a dismal and depressing job with little to no prospects unless you're in with the manager (which you aren't). Don't let people on here tell you YABU from their cosy WFH or office jobs where they've never lifted a grease trap in their lives, you know you're not BU to want this one basic thing.

No, you're not being unreasonable. Staff work incredibly hard in Mcdonalds and deserve a sit down during their break. Really, you should be able to put your order in at the touchscreen or on the app and then have table service if they take that long. The approval thing shouldn't be necessary because they'll see your name on the order and know you work there! The manager could approve it at that point. A break should be just that, a mental break to unwind and sit down. You're on your feet for hours prior to a break.

Yes, I know someone who works in Mcdonalds. This person suffers verbal abuse from customers throughout the day. Having to then stand with them while they wait for their order on their 'break' adds to the stress and upset of it all.

I'm not working in an office

I too work a long, back breaking, customer focus role with little progress options

We get half an hour lunch. If 15 minutes is taken up waiting for food (and I don't go to McDs specifically because it ALWAYS takes an age to get the food) then so be it.

So, having worked here, Julie defo has an issue with you. This takes literal seconds to approve and then delegate the delivery of the meal to the crew member.
You have a crew feedback method- re the fridge. Complain. In writing. Mention the wait as a secondary element.

Is this food free?

Maybe put the order in 5-10 mins earlier than you would, or if it's that big of a problem bring your own lunch so you don't have to wait. If the food is free as other posters have implied then I'm not really sure why it's such a big deal?

Is this your first job @EmptyTheFrickingBins ? As everyone else has said, most people spend part of their break waiting for food.

Is this your first job @EmptyTheFrickingBins ? As everyone else has said, most people spend part of their break waiting for food.

You can't understand why standing at the till waiting for twenty minutes on a 45 min break is an issue?

No, it's not my first job either. I'm 40 next month.

Do you have to stand by the till? Surely there is somewhere you can sit nearby where one of your colleagues can see you to shout you over when it's ready?

But you could look at your phone/read/ go to the toilet or something else whilst waiting.
Or bring lunch in and go out during your lunch - it’s your choice.
what do you want to be doing during that 20 minutes instead?

No because it's what many people have to do on a 30 minute break...