The McDonald's Experience

[jasonbigley]

How was your time when you worked at McDonalds?

For me, it was not all that great. I got a lot of hours in and some of the coworkers were nice, but I would never work there again!
They only gave us 38 seconds to make meals. A lot of the time, we were short of help and overloaded with work. The managers were cruel. The owner was a terror and would shout at everyone to "go faster!" Everyday I would come home from that place in tears. Most of the coworkers there acted like they were there just to collect a pay check. I was so glad to leave McDonalds behind me.

[Zoneboy]

38 seconds? No wonder they screw up my order so much. :rolleyes:

[AB]

Never worked there, are all fast food places like that with their workers?

[Dusty's Fan]

I took a job there for a very brief period. The manager was an unholy terror. Nasty and rude. Unfit to train new people. Worst employment experience of my life.

[SBTB Geek]

Luckily I've never worked at a fast food restaurant! Definitely a blessing!

[LuLu Rogers]

I worked at McDonald's for 2 days, what does that tell you? :lol:

[Jude The Obscure]

I applied there only once........luckily I was hired by Golden Corral Steakhouse instead the next week (Golden Corral is a post I could make--but I don't have the energy).

I've mystery shopped several fast food places and the standards they want to be upheld are very unrealistic. How can you expect a hot fresh burger when it is slopped together and mashed in a bag with cold fries in under 1 minute?

[Zoneboy]

I applied there only once........luckily I was hired by Golden Corral Steakhouse instead the next week (Golden Corral is a post I

I worked at Golden Corral for about a year from 86-87.

[Jude The Obscure]

I worked at Golden Corral for about a year from 86-87.


oh really? someday we need to compare notes! LOL

I worked there from '90-96

if the location hadn't closed down, who knows, i might still have been there!
:lol:

[Number 9 Dream]

McDonalds was the first job I ever had, lol. I worked there my junior year of high school (so, 1999?) and it wasn't too bad. It was a digusting job (always came home smelling like french fry grease and I gained soooo much weight), but I made a lot of friends and even dated two of the managers that worked there :lol: I left when it changed ownership and became a BITCH to work for. I hated the new management with a passion.

It's not a bad job for a teenager just starting to work, but I wouldn't recommend it otherwise, lol.

[Number 9 Dream]

Oh god, no, lol. I worked grill and only did the short shifts because I was young. I think I only worked until 6 or something? But, no, I never cleaned it.

Btw, Number 9 Dream, did you ever have to clean the Fry Machine or w/e lol...

[Tubehead]

one time i went to eat at McDonalds. i order hambuger. they didn't gave me any meat. they only gave me the bun. i though it was funny. we were goingto bring it back. but we were going to see a moive.

[phoebe7165]

It was probably one of the worse jobs I had. The managers were so mean, except for one, and there was this one girl(just a regular employee) who was such a B to me. I only lasted a couple months. I then started working at BK, it was a much better work experience so I was there much longer(about 3 years) and when I became manager there, I decided I wasn't going to treat my employees like I was treated, and everybody just loved working on my shift. They even worked better because I treated them decent.

[Schmoopie]

I have very fond memories of working at McDonald's in Richardson, Texas back in 1988. The job wasn't great at all, but I will never forget what happened to me there.
First I should say that I had previously worked at Jack in the Box and that is a Loooonnnngggg story in itself. Needless to say I won't set foot in one to this day!

Anyway, most of my co-workers at McDonald's were really nice. I worked the front register, and the cooks and I would joke and so forth during the day. I'd tell them I needed something and then say thank you when they gave it to me. Then they would say "No, thank YOU!" and we would continuously do that back and forth! I can't really describe it, but it was hilarious! I told my dad about it and then he and I started saying "thank-you" over and over. Definitely a "You had to be there" moment.

We would get a football team together on Sundays and play football in the park, which was fun as well. How many co-workers can say that? I don't even do that at my current job!

We had this shift manager that was such a B***H. I seriously hated her. She was probably at or about at retirement age, but everyone thought she was so great.:rolleyes: My best friend would come into the restaurant and she told me that if she ever saw that woman treating me badly that she would report her. I had been treated badly by this woman on more than one occasion. She would tell me I'm too slow, etc.

One day (after I had been there for a while), she told me that I didn't know how to do my job and should be retrained. She told me to memorize this list of "Six Steps to Customer Service" that we had learned in training. I was ordered to repeat them from memory to another shift manager before I left. I was so upset over her constant insults that I was literally near tears. Finally in the early afternoon, the woman leaves. Since it was slow that day, I sat there and read that list over and over until I had it memorized.

So then about 5, the store manager, Mike came in (and this guy was VERY good-looking and extremely nice. Blonde hair, blue eyes...:eyes: ). I asked him where the other shift manager was and he told me that the guy had gone home. I was really upset then. I told him "Oh great, I was supposed to recite this to him before I left for the day." So he says "You can tell them to me." So with the greatest of confidence, I recited that whole list from memory. I wanted to hug Mike when he said "Wow, that's great!" and started gushing about what a good job I had done. Talk about saving the day! I actually went home happy!

Andrea

[OH Nuts!]

I have very fond memories of working at McDonald's in Richardson, Texas back in 1988. The job wasn't great at all, but I will never forget what happened to me there.
First I should say that I had previously worked at Jack in the Box and that is a Loooonnnngggg story in itself. Needless to say I won't set foot in one to this day!

Anyway, most of my co-workers at McDonald's were really nice. I worked the front register, and the cooks and I would joke and so forth during the day. I'd tell them I needed something and then say thank you when they gave it to me. Then they would say "No, thank YOU!" and we would continuously do that back and forth! I can't really describe it, but it was hilarious! I told my dad about it and then he and I started saying "thank-you" over and over. Definitely a "You had to be there" moment.

We would get a football team together on Sundays and play football in the park, which was fun as well. How many co-workers can say that? I don't even do that at my current job!

We had this shift manager that was such a B***H. I seriously hated her. She was probably at or about at retirement age, but everyone thought she was so great.:rolleyes: My best friend would come into the restaurant and she told me that if she ever saw that woman treating me badly that she would report her. I had been treated badly by this woman on more than one occasion. She would tell me I'm too slow, etc.

One day (after I had been there for a while), she told me that I didn't know how to do my job and should be retrained. She told me to memorize this list of "Six Steps to Customer Service" that we had learned in training. I was ordered to repeat them from memory to another shift manager before I left. I was so upset over her constant insults that I was literally near tears. Finally in the early afternoon, the woman leaves. Since it was slow that day, I sat there and read that list over and over until I had it memorized.

So then about 5, the store manager, Mike came in (and this guy was VERY good-looking and extremely nice. Blonde hair, blue eyes...:eyes: ). I asked him where the other shift manager was and he told me that the guy had gone home. I was really upset then. I told him "Oh great, I was supposed to recite this to him before I left for the day." So he says "You can tell them to me." So with the greatest of confidence, I recited that whole list from memory. I wanted to hug Mike when he said "Wow, that's great!" and started gushing about what a good job I had done. Talk about saving the day! I actually went home happy!

Andrea


It's amazing what a dampening effect a shi**y mgr can have on others. I have a real b**ch as my immed mgr - but everyone else I work with (both above her and my peers) are really sweetie pies - so I'm able to tolerate her.

[GARFIELDKOOL]

How was your time when you worked at McDonalds?

For me, it was not all that great. I got a lot of hours in and some of the coworkers were nice, but I would never work there again!
They only gave us 38 seconds to make meals. A lot of the time, we were short of help and overloaded with work. The managers were cruel. The owner was a terror and would shout at everyone to "go faster!" Everyday I would come home from that place in tears. Most of the coworkers there acted like they were there just to collect a pay check. I was so glad to leave McDonalds behind me.

I worked at McDonald's for 3 years, and 3 different locations. You might think I enjoyed it, but let me just tell you the pay was horrible. What kept me around was that we had a great squad at my first location. If it weren't for these cool people to work with, I probably wouldn't have lasted. My manager was a real ass hole. He was so uptight and treated us like sh*it. But he was transferred out of that location and into another because he was stealing money. the guy that replaced him was cool as a fan. He was my best boss of all time. But after months of working with these guys, they changed managers, and the crew was broken up. Like your experience, they thought they could have the food up there as soon as they call it and it wasn't happening. We went as fast as we could. Nowadays, when I go to McDonald's, everyone is so slow, and the managers do not motivate the workers, like they did when I worked there. I guess nobody cares anymore.

[phoebe7165]

We would get a football team together on Sundays and play football in the park, which was fun as well. How many co-workers can say that? I don't even do that at my current job!

Well, not football and not McDonald's, but when I was a manager at BK, I would close alot(because nobody else wanted to) and I worked with mostly high schoolers. One summer, when they were on summer break, we had gotten to start playing Scattagories after work, since the kids didn't have to be up early in the morning. We'd close, clean up the place and when we were done, we'd sit out in the dining room with our sodas, break out the Scattagories game and play until 2-3 in the morning. It's a wonder I didn't get in trouble from parents or my bosses!! But I remember we all had alot of fun doing that.

[BarneyFife]

When i was younger i did Maintenance work for McDonalds, which consisted of cleaning and fixing things. But with the huge turn over of employees, workers calling out everyday, or just not showing up for their shift, the Manager and i was forced to open up and run the store ourselves until we could get someone else to come in. I would take the orders in Drive Thru and hurry back to the kitchen to prepare them, while she did the same thing on the front counter. Plus we had to do all the other things like, making sure there was enough biscuits baked, salads made, meat cooked, lobby cleaned and so much more. It got to be a pain in the butt after a while. And i don't think the General Manager and Owner cared because we were the only two on the time clock and it was saving them money. And of couse with me having to help run the store, all my Maintenance work was always backed up. I'm so glad i got out of the reataurant business.

[Hollywood Rock Chic]

Though, I did not work at McDonalds, I do work at Jack in the Box, when I was a teenager. It was the worse job, ever. I hated it. My boss was an incompetent twit. I also worked with this female, shift leader, whom, was a complete and utter pyscho. You are worked to death. I lasted at Jack in the Box for 18 months, until, I could not handle it anymore and gave my two week notice. Nowadays, when I am at a fast food restaurant, I treat their employees with the upmost respect, because I know, for first hand, how difficult their job is.

[Purffin]

I've never worked in fast food but it seems very stressful and on top of that they pay the workers minimum pay which is not right since McDonalds is a multi-billion dollar company.

[Schmoopie]

Well, not football and not McDonald's, but when I was a manager at BK, I would close alot(because nobody else wanted to) and I worked with mostly high schoolers. One summer, when they were on summer break, we had gotten to start playing Scattagories after work, since the kids didn't have to be up early in the morning. We'd close, clean up the place and when we were done, we'd sit out in the dining room with our sodas, break out the Scattagories game and play until 2-3 in the morning. It's a wonder I didn't get in trouble from parents or my bosses!! But I remember we all had alot of fun doing that.
That's nice! I think it's great when co-workers get along so wonderfully outside of work.

One thing I meant to mention. I never realized this until a few years back, but I worked pretty hard at Jack in the Box. The manager I had was a total a$$ and every fifteen minutes, I would have to go out and inspect the dining room and so forth. I noticed that these days (like today for example), it's hard to find a clean table at a fast food place. It's like the places aren't as picky anymore. Usually I end up having to wipe off the table myself. I could understand if there was a huge line of people but not if people are just standing around at the counter.

Andrea

[Dusty's Fan]

I forgot to mention that the manager had me on my feet for a little over 6 hours straight on my first day of duty without any break, not even giving me a chance to sit down once or go take a whiz. If that happened to me on a job today, I would be filing reports like crazy for that kind of inhumane treatment.

[Stuck In The '70's]

one time i went to eat at McDonalds. i order hambuger. they didn't gave me any meat. they only gave me the bun. i though it was funny. we were goingto bring it back. but we were going to see a moive.
That happened to me once too.

[veggie-tari-jenn]

I worked there for 6 mos --It wasnt awful...but pretty bad....My Ex Boyfriend was already working there but that wasnt a bigg deal cause we were still friends and are to this day...I worked all stations and was a party attendant at kids b-day parties too...some of the kids that came in were snots and literally threw the cake....whole cakes on the floor because they didnt like them....or threw food at us....the parents just laughed and didnt do anything at all......It was my first job... I was 16 and it grossed me out...and by complete coincidence thats the year I went veggie.

[Pus$y Galore]

...and by complete coincidence thats the year I went veggie.


You wouldn't have had any worries being veggie and working at Micky D's - I've yet to see or taste anything that resembles real meat or dairy there! ;) :lol:

[BTO]

one time i went to eat at McDonalds. i order hambuger. they didn't gave me any meat. they only gave me the bun. i though it was funny. we were goingto bring it back. but we were going to see a moive.

That reminds me of my sister when she was young. She worked in a ice cream shop and made a banana split for a customer. He came back a few minutes later and said there was no banana on it. :lol: She said it was embarrassing.

[veggie-tari-jenn]

You wouldn't have had any worries being veggie and working at Micky D's - I've yet to see or taste anything that resembles real meat or dairy there! ;) :lol:

Very True....haha:) :D

Thats funny that you would get that bun with sauce on it and no meat...when Iw as working there...people would come in and order that when they didnt want the meat pattie and they charged like a buck for it.

[Pus$y Galore]

Very True....haha:) :D

Thats funny that you would get that bun with sauce on it and no meat...when Iw as working there...people would come in and order that when they didnt want the meat pattie and they charged like a buck for it.


Not that the paper-thin meat patty is anything to write home about (unless you want to resole your shoes) but why would anyone want their mushy, squished buns???

I only grab their fries and maybe one of their "milkshakes" that don't really contain any ice cream in them.

Although I'm hungry right now, and the smell from the McDonald's across the road is starting to get to me.....;)

[James]

I also worked at a McDonald's growing up in Hamilton, Ohio, back in the summers of 1992 and 1993 when I was not in college. I only worked part time (I took summer school classes); some weeks I would work less than ten hours. Usually I worked the lobby, cleaning up the eating area. My supervisors kind of pushed me to talk to the customers, which was a challenge for me (and still is to this day, even though I have moved on to greener pastures!) since they were total strangers to me. Like the saying goes, don't talk to strangers! Other times they had me preparing the fries, at which I wasn't the fastest, which probably explains why they kept me in the lobby. As far as making the hamburgers, I only was on the grill (a "clamshell" which cooks both sides of the patties simultaneously) like once or twice--thank God I was moved, even though I never burned myself!

I made a pretty big writeup on this over at Roadfood.com (http://www.roadfood.com), but my entry seems to have been misplaced. :eek: