Sans Pareil's Robecca Leyden interviews an ex McDonalds Employee.
Have you ever wondered what it's like actually working at the notorious double arches? What's the insider goss on those damn Ice-cream machines never working and what's really in the meat? Well, fret no more because we have sent Robecca one a top-secret mission to chat with an ex-employee. SP:
SP: Ok, I gotta ask, WHAT is up with the Ice cream machine never working?
Honestly those things are made to break, I swear at least once a week the ice cream machine would have a fit and at least for an hour or two we would have to tell people that it was broken, once again.
SP: What is it like to work at McDonald’s?
Being a crew member is pretty chill, I'd just treat it like a fun little simulation. But once you started going through the ranks like being a crew trainer and a manager was pretty rough. There was so much responsibility and not a lot of support. My advice is if you work at Maccas, stick to the red shirt.
SP: On average, how terrible where the customers?
Depends in the day, honestly, on a busy Friday night you'd probably get three or four rude people, and once in a while someone who really threw a fit but on quieter days they didn't pop up too often
SP:What’s a particularly bad story about a customer?
Probably when someone came in screaming that they had been sitting out side for too long (about 5 min) as it was a very busy Friday night and we were a few staff short. She ended up yelling at my old coworker and when i tried to tell her to stop shouting at my coworker she started threatening me with HR and that she would get me fired. Luckily all the customers were there and they were very nice to us when she finally left.
SP: Oh god. That’s horrific. I feel like Kiwi culture is to come up and say nice things after. Hah, maybe I am biased.
SP: What are the other employees like?
I mean you did have to deal with a lot of 15 & 16 year olds and as a manager that could be stressful at times when we were really busy. However, everyone there was really nice and it was like a little community. And everyone always looked out for each other. Honestly, the reason I put off quitting for so long was all my coworkers
SP: Would you eat the food there?
100% I still do. It's honestly not gross. We have to follow so many cleaning procedures and food safety procedures because it is such a big company. So everything is super clean and safe. The only issue is you get a bit sick of it after eating it all the time for 2 years
SP: What of those online horror stories about lack of hygiene?
I can’t speak for all stores in the world and other countries may have different standards, but from the places I've worked or know people who worked there, Maccas in New zealand are super strict about health and safety. Their mindset is that if one restaurant gets a bad reputation the whole NZ business will suffer.
SP:How long did you work there?
For 2 ½ years - too long.
SP: That’s a long time! What was the culture like?
With coworkers it was great. We all gelled really well. But the higher management was pretty awful to a lot of people. Not one person at my store liked the higher ups.
SP:Any scandalous stories you can think of? Go on, give us the tea.
Lots of "incest". So many people dated people at work, then it didn't work out and it would be awkward having to work with them or their friends, and most of the time we were all friends so most of us had to just try to ignore the awkwardness of it all. And I speak from personal experience with this. Never date a coworker!
SP: Did you get free McDs?
Only managers got their meal for free, so if you were a crew member or a crew trainer you only got 50% off your food. And there were specific rules around getting your meal. If you were in the kitchen you were not allowed to make it, you technically couldn't add things to your burger and you only could choose from the favourites menu.
Whhhhhhattt??? That’s crazy cause you know it’s essentially nothing to make.
Yup. Pretty rude.
SP: Thanks for sharing your behind the scenes experiences with us!
Find out if your local McDonalds ice cream machine is broken at www.mcbroken.com (this site is real and hilarious).
If you have an interesting workplace experience to share with us, get in touch.
