How's the cleanliness/sanitation level in your store?
Good. I am borderline OCD, so I am probably exactly what you want for a person serving you food.
What about other McDs? I never worked there myself, but back when I was in high school, the stories I used to hear from my friends who worked there... But years later I ended up knowing a guy who was a former Mickey D's manager, and he said he'd eat at any of them with no hesitation.
I'd prefer my own store. I also generally trust other McDonalds because I know what is going on, and what problems to look for. Most of the time they do a decent job. Also, the amount of gross stuff that I have heard about from here probably numbers on one hand.
Tell me about your rules and guidelines on coffee please.
In glass pots on warmers coffee is good for 30 minutes. We have a special kind of stainless carafe that does require an external heat source and it will keep coffee good and hot for about 2 hours. The McCafe stuff would take the rest of the day to explain, sorry.
Why is the ice cream machine broken all the time?
Generally, two reasons:
- Its the most complex machine in our restaurants. It has the most moving parts, requires the most parts to service, and has to have the best trained people to maintain.
- If its late at night, probably because they wanted to clean/close it early
How often do Vandals change your Angus Burger sign to read Anus Burger?
I don't have one, but it doesn't happen that often.
Do employees get free food?
Depends on owners. At my stores, managers get food free, crew gets half off.
What's actually in those chicken "nuggets"?
Chicken nuggets are all white meat. They are probably the parts that cannot be cut into full breasts, and are pressed and formed into the nugget shapes. To be honest, I have not been in a factory so I couldn't tell you 100% sure.
Unfortunately no. Most store managers have a bonus based on food cost. Feel free to share though :)
I'll pay! I was even ServSafe certified at one point in my youth! Lets do this. I want a Double Quarter Pounder with a fish patty inbetween the beef and chicken selects wrapped in bacon on top.
Also, Apple Pie McFlurry.
I'd figure it out. It would be a bit expensive (for McD at least), but I generally want the customer to get what they want.
Apple pie mcflurry = no problem.
[my emphasis]
DQPC with fish/bacon wrapped selects = might be a bit of a challenge to get the order taker to understand what you want.
It depends. Overall guideline is based on the quality of the product coming out of it. Usually 5-7 days. It also gets filtered and cleaned daily.
Has anyone ever ordered a "McGangBang?" (by name) Have you ever even heard of it?
Yes. We generally will make it, although i usually request that the customer orders something that will make them sound like less of a moron.
Have you ever witnessed an employee purposefully tainting customer food (such as spitting in it, or worse)?
No. If something like that happened in front of me now, I'd fire without a second thought. When I was crew I would have made sure that a customer didn't get that food. Even assholes don't deserve tainted food.
Why are my drive through orders always missing items?
At my store, we average over 1,000 orders per day. There is bound to be error. Also, you might be a difficult/larger order which increases the chances of error. And there is the small chance that you order like a moron.
Is it true that at the drive-thru they forget parts of your meal on purpose to maximize profits......do they?
Answered in other threads. Short answer: No. Long answer: Nnnnnnooooooooooooooooooo.
Do you throw away the burgers when the timer goes off?
Yep. I wouldn't want gross old food, so I try to make sure my customers don't get it either. Although, we don't prestage burgers any more. Only their meat component - like the chicken.
Why do so many stores vehemently guard the sweet and sour sauce? I love that stuff, but they act all put out when I ask for it, usually only willing to give me one or none at all.
Its costly. Our policy is that you can have 1 for a small nugget, 2 for a medium, and 3 for a large. An extra sauce or two is free. Some customers will insist they need a sauce per nugget, which is either gross, or we are stocking someone's pantry at home. Policies differ between stores. Stores with food cost/condiment cost problems will probably be the ones that are more stingy.
Are the McChicken's just big chicken nuggets or is the main ingredient something far less...premium?
More less big nuggets. The breading is different though, and I think they use dark meat.
Big Picture
What is the best value for my buck? As in, what costs McDonalds the most, but is cheapest for the consumer?
Probably a happy meal. Happy meals cost us just about as much as the menu price to sell. Toys are expensive.
Inflation. Prices have risen with inflation since I have started.
How much attention do you pay to your competitors?
At the store level, not a lot. The company does watch things pretty closely.
Do you ever feel guilty when morbidly obese people order high calorie foods?
I get that people are responsible for what they put in their own mouths. But every time I go to McDonalds, there are a half dozen people actively engaged in eating themselves to death.
No. McDonald's has plenty of good choices, but I don't feel responsible because I didn't make them for the person. Should Olive Garden waiters feel guilty? I would just about guarantee that their menu is less healthy than ours.
As for the deals, its a loss leader. We hope that it will bring you in so you can order more. We profit from the meal deal, but if you bring a friend who orders a premium meal, like a Crispy Club or Angus Deluxe, we might make more.
This is a loss leader, and you can find them in any food/retail establishment.
How do you feel about "Super Size Me"?
It was an interesting movie. Some things it pointed out were great - like how shitty the food we serve to schools are, and how this country sells crappy food cheap.
Overall though, its a bit biased. You can lose weight eating only McDonald's as well. Its certainly not mostly healthy, but there is a good deal of stuff on the menu to keep a decent waistline. I've been eating McD for almost 8 years, and I am slightly overweight, but not ridiculously so. If I were even a little disciplined, I could change that. Generally, people like to blame someone else for their problems, which is most definitely true in this case.
Is there still a lot of competition for jobs at McDonalds during the recession?
Yes. It's disheartening.
Sorry, I don't even remember that. I have very little power over the menu. I make a suggestion to my supervisor, who makes a suggestion to our corp person, and so on.
I'm a business student and we're studying MCD extensively. What would you say is the biggest challenge for MCD domestically?
Change. Customers habits change, which is one of the reasons McD has begun focusing more on premium items - McCafe (its surprisingly good, especially at the price), Angus, Premium chicken, etc. Diversifying the menu has created a huge challenge for McDonalds managers and crew. The job is much more difficult than when I started as a crew person 8 years ago.
Not really. Most of the suggestions I make are concerning pricing or policy, which are made by the owners. It's very difficult to change the menu, because there are so many stores.
Also, why do Mexicans work so much faster than any other ethnic group working at McDonalds's?
In my experience, it has to do with perception. Mexicans perceive their jobs as being important. They are working to feed a family. Jobs in Mexico can be quite a bit worse than McD. In contrast, white people tend to see McD jobs as bottom rung, and therefore don't put as much effort in.
Why can't you serve breakfast later than 10:30 or all day for that matter? Do people really want quarter pounders at 10:35 AM?
We don't have the capacity in our restaurants to serve all day. We actually cook eggs on the grill, as well as sausage and stuff. We just don't have enough grill space to sell both. It also complicates things by at least double. The cost to be able to do both would be huge for owners, since adding a grill would in most cases requiring a significant remodel.
Also:
I'm not the [original poster] but can answer this question...in our store, the same equipment is used to make breakfast and lunch and we change the settings. Grilled chicken, for example, is cooked at a higher temperature than eggs on the same grill. Also, there isn't enough room in the UHC cabinet (the thing that keeps the food hot after it's cooked) for breakfast and lunch when the lunch rush starts to hit at 11:00.
I can remember a few years ago when there was discussion about offering breakfast all day, but obviously it hasn't happened (yet?)
About the Author
How did you get there? Work from the bottom up?
I started as a teenager. A bit of irony there. Out of the 17 or so apps I turned in, McD was the last. I got the job and have worked there since. I am now 25.
How much do you make?
As for what I make, about 50k. I could make more if I put the effort in to make my bonus.
I noticed that your bonus comprised 1/4 to 1/5 of your yearly income. Would you, and other managers, be more motivated if a greater portion of your income was based on a bonus? Would a larger percentage of your pay being 'incentivized' deter you?
I don't know, I am pretty happy with my bonus. If they portioned more to bonus, I'd expect the bonus to be hire. For example, right now my base is about 45 plus a 10k bonus, for a max of 55. If they want to make my bonus 1/3 of my salary, then I want to top at 60k or 65.
I think it's a lot harder to make my bonus than it is for a casual dining restaurant, mostly for one reason - numbers. If I want to get my bonus, I have to get my 60 managers and crew to move in one direction. The kitchen manager at a casual dining restaurant probably has less than 20.
Big mac. Predictable, I know.
Have you ever slept with any employees? When I worked at McDonald's in high school it seemed everyone was sleeping with everyone.
Well, kind of. When I was a crew person, I started having sex with the person that is now my wife. She was a crew person at the time. I have not had any boss > subordinate relationships.
Kind of a funny story. I was a crappy crew person by my standards. I was promoted largely because I think they wanted to promote my [now] wife and didn't want any conflicts of interest. I excelled past her, and got transferred.
I generally eat at my store once per shift (5 times a week or so.)
Are you embarrassed to tell people you work at McDonalds? Also, when did this become your career option? Did you suddenly realize college wasn't for you and you wanted to work at McDonalds for the rest of your life?
Yes, I get embarrassed. It kind of sucks, especially at my age. For example, until recently, I was the only one that owned a home and my cars, but I was still embarrassed. It mostly has to do with the stigma that McD employees are morons.
I haven't decided that McD is what I want to do with my life. I am mostly where I am now because I haven't figured it out.
I'm an unemployed 19 year old. No previous experience. Should I start my employment careering at a McDonald's?
It kind of depends. I'd generally always recommend college, since a degree looks pretty good on paper. If you apply yourself and want to go through the management program, you can learn a lot. I've heard (sorry, no citation) that something like 1 in 8 Americans work for McD at some point, so it can't hurt too much.
That said, it gets looked down on a bit, so you kind of have to deal with that.
Reddit has a category called "I Am A" where someone who "is a (something)" answers questions. In this case, a McDonald's manager came on to answer. I've synthesized the comments after the jump.
McGB + apple pie flurry = perfect meal of hybrid items (and a great deal too)
ReplyDeletebrian - you never got the beef wrap snack thing from mickeyds did you
ReplyDeleteThe Mac Snack Wrap--yes I have had it. Poor, but I suspect the McGB is a whole lot better.
ReplyDeleteYeah -- the MSW seems like it was more of a convenient MacGyver job since they didnt have to add any new ingredients to create it.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather do a bourgeois McGB with one of the premium chicken joints, although that somewhat takes away from the appeal of dollar-menu-only ingredients.