MrSchroeder
Lombard, IL
Male, 33
I *was* an assistant manager for a McDonald's Franchisee in Tucson, AZ from 2007 to 2008, and was hired with the explicit intention of being management and not a standard crew member. I worked hard in learning the procedures and processes of the corporation, with a goal of a much longer career than I actually had. My every day life evolved while I was there, starting from the least desirable position to overall operations. I wrote a blog detailing my experiences as well.
I had no idea what you're talking about. I think you mean this snippet from a Reddit post about what things you would not recommend eating from the restaurant you work at: “I accidentally left a whole bag of about 100 chicken nuggets out on a counter for way too long. They melted. Into a pool of liquid. I never understood why. But they were completely indiscernible as being the nuggets I once knew.”" The stupid things people will say for karma. No. Just no. The only way I could imagine anything close to this actually happening to McNuggets would require so many levels of poor food handling that it's as unlikely as it gets. The only way this could possibly happen would be for somehow the nuggets to be soaked in liquid for a long period of time, to the point where they begin decomposing and are barely discernible as a solid, then flash frozen so they retain their nuggety shape. After this, they'd have to be left out for long enough that the frozen substance melted and then left out long enough again for the last bits of solid degrade into liquid themselves. Seriously, if a redditor tells you that somehow the basic laws of physics are defied by a fast food product, perhaps you should take it with a grain of salt. Or a dollop of BBQ sauce.
Share Answer: 
This really depends on the store, how common a problem this is, customer flow, and local and state laws. Your best bet is to ask someone who works at your neighborhood McDonald's.
Share Answer: 
Menu is not dictated entirely. Some stores don't participate in sales/specials/promotions/seasonal items. Right now McRib is back - some stores aren't carrying it. Some stores have found they don't sell salads as well, so maybe they price those higher or don't carry the same variety.
Pricing is definitely up to the Owner/Operator, and depends on market. Most of the stores don't have a "Dollar Menu" anymore, or if they do it's very limited. They have a "Value Menu" where items are $1.19-$1.59.
However, franchisees can't "add" items that are not part of the McDonald's menu to their menu and cannot serve food "off menu" as a rule (like a Land-Sea-Air burger (Big Mac with a Fish Filet and a McChicken on the burger patties).
As far as decoration goes, there is a ton of leeway allowed. In Tucson, one of the stores was decorated like an expensive, rich guy's library. Shelves and books, dark floor, the vinyl seats were faux leather, a couple of large lounging armchairs and ottomans... A very impressive design. In Chicagoland, there are several theme restaurants, including a 1950s pastel diner look. However, I do believe that they must predominantly have the familiar Gold and Red in some way and all deviations are probably required to be approved by McDonald's Corp. but I'm not certain.
Here's a couple links with the more unique McDonald's restaurants including one that's a freaking AIRPLANE! http://www.sortrature.com/unique-mcdonalds-restaurants/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/mckroes/galleries/72157622406186208/
Share Answer: 
Generally people would plan when they were leaving and give adequate notice. I do remember several employees who "walked out" or quit with no advance warning. Some had good reason such as being treated poorly by other staff members (one woman walked out after being propositioned by the late-night manager), managers being disrespectful when someone who was not trained to a task could not accomplish the task as expected, and one crew member that I remember in particular had requested months ahead for a week off to go on vacation with her family and the scheduling manager scheduled her anyway, told her if she didn't show up she's fired and so she didn't show up and the manager in question tried to claim it was "quitting". I however backed up the crew member and made sure she got unemployment because the manager said she was fired - and I'd heard it, there was no quitting involved).
I myself walked out with no warning, but my case was pretty special and quite frankly it was a poor decision when I made it, but I felt right about when I did.
I was moved into the store I did my very initial "crew" style training at. I elaborated in my blog and in this thread elsewhere, but the short of it is I was clearly not welcome, and when I addressed the fact that I was constantly verbally abused and was threatened repeatedly by the management team in that store, the Directors of the franchise and Owner/Operator told me I was lying to them. It came to a head one day when the Training Manager (essentially a Director level in the franchise company) was present, and watched three women surround me, screaming at the top of their lungs calling me every anti-white racist cuss word that exists in Spanish and English. The reason for their displeasure was I was following the policy and procedures in regards cooking breakfast sausage 15m before the end of the Breakfast period. Really.
So, finally the store manager grabbed a big metal pan used to bake biscuits and pies and smacked me with it. I tried to walk away but she followed after me screaming at me. It was about the 3rd or 4th time she hit me in the body with it that the Training Manager (who was literally 5 steps away the whole time) stepped in and told us all to separate. I turned to her and said something like, "This is exactly the type of treatment I was describing that you told me was a lie". Her response was, "Go calm down" and I said, "No thanks, I quit instead".
It was very difficult to be put in that position, but the harsh reality is that even though I demonstrated excellence, and helped to grow the store I was originally in for about 15 months into an operation that developed several top crew members and several management trainees/candidates, and in the first month I was assigned handling inventory in full I negated the previous year's losses, and I was able to do a myriad of other tasks far more accurately, efficiently and effectively than my peers, the Owner/Operator intentionally ignored my reports of harassment and abuse, violence in the workplace, and overt racism - I was one of two non-Hispanic employees in the store out of approximately 25 or 30. Now, a white guy claiming racism is a bold thing to say. I speak relatively fluent Spanish and know what I was being subject to. As you can read through my blog and all these posts, I almost exclusively had positive experiences and tried to be a positive influence. Except this.
In the end (I shall not discuss it) I was compensated relatively fairly well for the whole incident, although I have not continued my career with McDonald's after that. I may one day return, but it seems unlikely to me as there are in fact several better applications of my capabilities, knowledge and experience than in a McDonald's restaurant (although I did love it. Never had so much fun, got fit, and was in a position to develop people and a workplace environment more thoroughly than any other before or after).
Share Answer: 
CBP Officer
Do you catch less marijuana at the border now that it's being decriminalized in some States?
Programmer
Why are so many developers such bad communicators?
Football Official
Do you think it's ok for NFL refs to play fantasy football?
Several million dollars a year of product testing and development is the short answer. I think the deal is they use seriously high quality potatoes (because they have buying power), and ensure consistent cut size. The fries go through a very thorough cleaning/soak to get some level of starches out of them. Then, they get flash fried (par-cooked), and then flash-frozen. At this point they're packaged and sent to stores. There was a really good "Modern Marvels" episode called "Fast Food Tech" that Netflix probably has.
Share Answer: 
No matter how well it’s designed, it’s still a speaker and microphone system, often with an LCD or LED screen, which is exposed to sun, wind, rain, snow, and everything that comes with those 24/7/365. Not to mention that it consists of electronic devices that are running continuously, which causes it’s own wear and tear, as well as it being activated and in use nearly constantly in most moderately busy stores. Next take into effect the equipment inside the store. It’s worn literally constantly, which means from 19 to 24 hours a day. The equipment usually consists of either simply a headset which is connected to the 2-way receiver/transceiver wirelessly or a headset connected by wires to a belt pack which houses the battery, talk and channel buttons, and connects to the 2-way receiver/transceiver. While each type is constantly in use - again 19 to 24 hours a day - each type also encounters its own issues. The headset only style might fall off the head of the wearer constantly, striking the ground *every time* the wearer bends their head forward more than 15 or 20 degrees. If the wearer is really swift, they may catch it 4 out of 5 falls. But fall it will. Part of the reason for this is that all of the communications devices and batteries are stored in the headset. It’s heavy and by nature has imperfect balance. The device is in motion endlessly and the electronics fail due to constant use. There are generally several headsets as they’re also used by management to hear orders and used to communicate with kitchen teams as well. In some stores, everyone wears a headset. They may have a rated lifespan of about 2 years, a functional lifespan of 1 year, and get used for 3 years. The belt-style headset systems are awesome and terrible. On the one hand, they’re not a stupid headset falling off you every time you, because even though they consist of a headset as well - it can be lighter weight and better balanced because it doesn’t need to house receiver/transceiver and batteries. Those are on a belt at your waist. The problem these types have is that they’re constantly smacking into things, generally the sharp corners of brushed aluminum prep tables and the counters. I’m sure you can understand what this might due to sensitive electronic parts? Also, they face the same issue of constantly being in use 19to24/7/365. These have a rated lifespan of about 4 years, a functional lifespan of about 2 years and are used for a long, long time. I’ve seen some as old as 8 and I’m sure there are 10 year old sets still in use. Last, two huge, brief factors of the inside-the-store equipment. First, grease. Grease is in the air everywhere in a McDonald’s. It gets into the electronics, even though they’re usually mounted away from the kitchen area and they’re housed in reduced-airflow systems. Second, idiots and jerks. I’ve already discussed how many McDonald’s employees are not the creme de la creme. Many of them are disgruntled, or immature, or simply jerkfaces who don’t give a whit about life. They’re the sort who like to destroy stuff for fun’s sake. Idiots and sensitive electronics leads to those electronics not working optimally.
Share Answer: 
-OR-
Login with Facebook (max 20 characters - letters, numbers, and underscores only. Note that your username is private, and you have the option to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
(A valid e-mail address is required. Your e-mail will not be shared with anyone.)
(min 5 characters)
By checking this box, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to Jobstr.com’s Terms and Privacy Policy.
-OR-
Register with Facebook(Don't worry: you'll be able to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
Browse Jobs
Host a Q&A
Search
Submit Your Question
Host a Q&A
Last 7
