Good chance I'll be working at McDonald's soon. Advice?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Some background here. I’ve had no fast food experience, but I do have food handling experience. I’m 21. A bit late to start working at fast food perhaps. But I’m in a transitional period. My last two jobs were grocery jobs. But the market in my area is flooded with grocery workers and I can’t seem to get a grocery job. I lost my last job because the store I worked in overhired at its grand opening. But enough with the background.

I passed the first interview, but I have a second interview on tuesday.

I don’t want to be overdramatic here, but I really need this job…

Any advice, tips, help of any kind would be greatfully appreciated. Any kind of advice about how to work at a fast food place, how to deal with customers, anything. Interview advice would also be appreciated since I haven’t gone completely through that hurdle yet.

2

Hmm, the first time I applied for a fast food job was at Domino’s Pizza (well, close enough to fast food). I was 15, in high school.

I filled out an application and gave it to the manager, who spent about 5 seconds looking it over and said “When can you start?”

I said, “Now.”

He said, “Come on back.”

And that was that. I ended up working there for a year and half.

3

Never worked at Maccy D’s, but I’ve done stuff Ithink is strangely similar: I’ve worked in a busy pub, and I’ve worked as a forklift driver (I’ll explain this seemingly unrelated absurdity in a minute)…

I can’t help you on the food preparation part, but from what I understand of McDonalds, that side of things is very rigid, and therefore easy (eg, fries go in the oil for precisely x seconds, etc). I think it’s hard to goof up. But the customer service part, I might be able to help you with. It’s fast food. People don’t want to wait. Prioritising will be your biggest deal. This is what I found working in busy pubs, and it’s also what I found as a forklift driver, because my ‘customers’ were semi truck drivers waiting to be unloaded (just the same as a queue of thirsty pub patrons or hungry burger joint ones), and I found that experience taught me little shortcuts to get them all outta there faster, but primarily to keep the order of service (most guys are willing to wait so long as they don’t think they’ve been queue-jumped).

Learn to work with your colleagues. If you have a customer who wants a burger and a shake, and you overhear another guy ask your colleague for the same, yell out to your colleague, “pull up a second shake please, I’ll get your burger!” That sort of stuff.

It might not be rocket science, but I think a lot of people underestimate these jobs. To be good at them does in fact take a bit of effort beyond basic “surly, pimply teenager-who-doesn’t-want-to-be-there” level.

4

I worked in McDonald’s in high school and for a year afterwards. They make it very easy to just follow their procedures.

I actually learned a lot working there. I learned how to deal with difficult and unreasonable people both customers and bosses. The customer isn’t always right of course, but s/he is still the customer so get used to dealing with jerks. I preferred working in the back because you could just crank out burgers and tune out a lot of the other stuff.

Other than that, good luck, show up on time, pay attention to the training and you’ll be the star of the place. One thing about McDonald’s is they have a policy of promoting from within, so if you wanted to you could rise up in the company to a corporate job eventually.

Now that I’m older, I kind of miss the gig (like Kevin Spacey in American Beauty) show up, cook this many burgers, go home. I miss the clarity of it all.

5

The customer is always right, even when they are wrong. If a guy orders a burger without pickles, then comes back to complain that it doesn’t have pickles, say sorry sir, we’ll fix that right up for you. A new burger costs Mickey D’s about a quarter. It’s worth it just to shut the guy up. A guy complains you didn’t give him fries when you know damn well you did? So what. Give him more fries. It’s not your job to worry about the profit and loss sheet for the store. That’s the manager’s headache. Your job is to make the guy on the other side of the counter happy. Anything you can’t fix right then and there on the spot, let the manager deal with it. Always be pleasant, no matter how much of a jerk the guy or gal on the other side of the counter is being.

I worked at Mickey D’s a couple of decades ago. A lot of the equipment has changed since then (microwaves instead of grills, for example) but the basic philosophy of Mickey D’s hasn’t. You are just a number to them. They expect you to come in, work hard, and don’t complain. They don’t care if you quit and they won’t lose any sleep if they have to fire you, so always come in, do a good job, work hard, and be pleasant. If you have a good attitude and you are willing to work, the job is easy and you won’t mind it a bit. The pay sucks and you’ll go home smelling like a french fry after every shift, but there’s worse things you can do for a living. It’s the people who think the job is easy and don’t want to work hard that end up miserable and don’t last long.

For the interview, just be pleasant and let them know you are willing to work hard. Relax and be yourself.

6

I worked in Burger King for a while.

In the interview, tell them you’re good with people, and a quick learner, the obvious stuff.

Once you’ve been hired, ask them to train you. If you don’t, you could just end up mopping floors and emptying bins the entire time you’re there. This happened to a few people who were hired at the same time as me. During quiet periods, ask your manager if someone can show you how to use the tills, that kind of thing.

As for the customers, some of them will be annoying. Keep on smiling.

Good luck!

7

If you’re 21 and male you won’t be working on the counter. You’ll be at the back, making burgers and fries. Try to emphasise your food handling experience, especially if you have any food safety certifications. They’ll appreciate someone who knows what they’re doing.

8

If you smush a pickle chip on the grill with a spatula, the vinegary goodness will make a clean spot on the greasy surface, fun for slow periods when you’re supposed to be doing something productive.

Ok, not really good advice probably, but one of the fun things I remember from working there a million years ago.

Opening is way better than closing, setting up clean things is far easier than breaking down and cleaning dirty ones, so if you’ve not got any other scheduling stuff going on, you might want to think about trying for early rather than late shifts.

9

Are you in college? If not, take some night classes or something. If you’re like me, you will come to loathe working at McDonald’s before too long, especially if it’s a busy location. The one where I worked for 2 years was in a strip mall near a high school, and would often be jam packed for several hours at a stretch. You may suffer innumerable minor injuries, possibly some major ones if you’re clumsy or just unlucky[sup]1[/sup], people will sometimes scream at you and/or try to scam you in a big way[sup]2[/sup], your pay will always suck, you will probably get your shift bumped around randomly on a regular basis, other people will call in sick or fail to show up on a regular basis, closing shift sucks, and you may get robbed.

[sup]1[/sup]One time a grill dude sliced his hand open on a sharp grill scraper/cleaner device. He needed a bunch of stitches and was out of work for a couple weeks.

[sup]2[/sup]A woman once claimed that she gave me a $50 at the drive-thru but I stuck it in my pocket and only gave her change for a $20. Fortunately for me I was already known for having highly accurate money counting skill, and the manager told her to piss off. Under different circumstances it’s possible I might have been fired.

10

Can I just say that I’m floored, totally, to hear that McDonalds has 2 interviews. Shocking, really. I’ve had relatively high-paying developer jobs which required fewer.

Anyways, best of luck. Chances are they’ll be expecting nothing more than some background on previous work experience (‘where’, ‘when’, ‘how long’ and ‘why did you leave’ type questions) and a basic “hi, how you doing” introduction with the manager/franchise owner to ensure that you’re personable and presentable. In short, don’t stress you should do fine.

Worst case scenario, you stroll down the street to Burger King and apply there.

11

I worked at Burger King when I was 21 and male and I almost always worked the front counter or drive-through. Admittedly that was many, many years ago and a different franchise but I find it kind of hard to believe that McD’s would segregate workers by sex.

And add me to the list of those flabbergasted at the notion that McD’s would have multiple interviews.

12

What you will like or dislike about the job depends on your personality. I worked at Toys R’ Us and CVS and hated working the register. You have no idea how obnoxious the general public can be. I was much happier stocking shelves and unloading trucks, I imagine I’d rather cook at McD’s than ring people up.

13

Unless McDonald’s has changed one hell of a lot since I was there, you’ll get the job. Turnover was pretty high. I’m surprised about the interviews too. The first time I applied, I went in to ask if they were hiring and I was given the job before I even filled out an application.

It’s going to be hard work for little pay and no respect. I wish you luck, Blalron, and I hope you’ll be moving on to better things soon.

14

I worked at McDs as my first job. At the resturant I worked at, there was a set protocol for who got to be up front at the registers. Everyone was supposed to start in the back and work their way up to the front.

Unfortunately for me, I couldn’t follow the protocol. I’m a fainter, so they didn’t want me working back with the hot grills and vats of grease, afraid I’d fall in and be burned if I passed out, so I was put on the front counter immediately. This caused a certain amount of resistance.

My co-workers mockingly called me Rainbow Brite because I was so cheerful and dilligent. It was my first job, and I wanted to be a Good Worker. Half of the chew-outs I got from the manager was because I too closely followed the training video.

He bitched at me for washing my hands too often. We had one of those disinfectant dispensers near the soda machine, and every time I handled money, I would use it before I touched the food. My manager called this “ridiculous” and demanded I stop because it was adding precious seconds to my oder time. (There were timers on the registers indicating how long it took between order and delivery time, and I think that the manager would get bitched at if the average number of seconds was too high. No time for hygiene!)

The video also said that while we were sweeping the dining room, we were supposed to ask customers at the tables if their food was okay and if a customer complained their fries were cold, we were supposed to give them a new batch. He got pissed when I did, saying I shouldn’t have asked.

They’re also pretty anal about the uniforms, I discovered. They didn’t have a pair of uniform pants that fit me-- they were all too big, so I bought myself a pair of slacks in the same color and style. I wore them for weeks before the manager noticed, and when he did, he ordered me to go back to the baggy uniform pants.

Get used to smelling like french fries. That stench gets into your skin, I swear. The one good thing is that the grease makes your hands soft.

15

At our Burger King the girls are out front, the guys are in the back and the English-impaired immigrants do cleaning. It’s not a rule or anything, it’s just how things are. After noticing this I started paying more attention to the counter staff at other fast food places.

KFC next to us: all girls
McDonald’s one store down: girls
Chicken Treat: girl
McDonald’s at the local shopping centre: a mix
Red Rooster: girls

Could just be a statistical anomaly.

16

I did “The McDonalds Thing” when I first started University and needed some work to pay the bills.

It wasn’t that bad a place to work. The girls on the registers were pretty hot, and after about 6 months I deliberately got myself transferred onto the Front Counter so I could hit on… er, talk to them. [Glen Quagmire] Giggity Giggity Giggity![/Glen Quagmire] :wink:

Anyway, the things I learnt were this:

I. Yea, thou shalt smileth unto yon Customers, and agree wholeheartedly to their outrageous demands.

II. The food doth lacketh Nutritional Value, but verily, it doth be affordable and stomach-filling.

III. The Product Level shall never be correct… Yea, for there shalt be a glut of Product when the Customers art lacking, and there shalt be a want of Product when the peasantry come calling in search of sustenance.

IV. Thou shalt not have sex with the Hot Front Counter Girl that the Assistant Manager has his eye on.

V. Thy Managers art picky about yon Uniform, and Yea, there shalt be no Uniforms in yon size.

VI. Verily, the smell of French Fries shall permeate every article of clothing and every pore of yon body.

VII. No matter how many hours thy toil, there shalt never be sufficient coinage by way of remuneration

VIII. The Angry Female Crew Trainer that hates everyone probably IS a lesbian.

IX. Thou shalt not suggest said Angry Female Crew Trainer join thyself and the Hot Front Counter Girl that the Assistant Manager has his eye on for an evening of sinful debauchery.

X. To quoteth Jeff Foxworthy: “No matter how crap your job is, someone, somewhere is doing something involving Hot Tar for $5 an hour. So just remember, when your job sucks, think: Hot Tar, $5 an hour.”

You’ll probably learn a whole bunch about teamwork, and in all honesty, it’s not that bad a place to work.

The biggest problem you’ll have is realising you’re a Burger Lackey at McDonalds, but if you can get past that, it’s not that bad.

For the record, I also worked at Burger King (at the same time I was at McDonalds, near the end of my time there) and I have to say McDonalds beat Burger King hands down as the place to work.

Has anyone seen that movie Waiting…?
Working at Burger King was exactly like that. It was uncanny, actually. Without the party at the end, though. :frowning:

In your interview, remember to stress your love of customers and all things customer service related, previous food experience, and desire to stay with the company long term (even if this is a blatant falsehood).

And just remember: You could be working ankle deep in faeces all day. Someone has to. :wink:

17

Given the choice, I know which I’d pick. Perhaps my username will provide a hint. :wink:

18

When I worked for McDonald’s in the early 70s, it was indeed segregated: males worked the grill and heavy maintenance and us women folk made fries, poured drinks, worked the counter, and bussed tables. I know males work the counter now, but I think they still prefer the girls up there now.

Plan on running your ass off. When it’s busy, you should be in constant motion and multi-tasking. I found it to be very exhausting.

And yes, the two interview thing is beyond weird. Usually you can just walk past the joint and someone will throw a uniform at you.

19

Did you get interviewed by the King himself? Is he really that scary in person?

Sailboat

20

I’ve never worked in a fast food restaurant of any kind. But I stayed at a Holiday Inn last night. :smiley:

OK seriously. If you are on the counter, I would say that the most important thing you could actually do is LISTEN to what the customer wants.

I usually to go to McDonalds for lunch or dinner at least twice a week and at least once a week for breakfast. Out of the last 20 times I went, 18 times the order was WRONG. I always order my double cheese burgers with mayo and mustard ONLY. It never fails. They will put mayo and ketchup on it. Sometimes they add onions. More than once, I have gone to the drive up and ordered breakfast. The last time I ordered a hotcakes and sausage platter and a Big Breakfast. When I got home, there was no syrup and no butter for the pancakes. They left the sausage out of the big breakfast and didn’t give me any hashbrowns.

It’s stuff like this that gets the customer upset. And rightfully so. It takes less time to do the job right than it does to do it wrong and make a customer mad. My philosophy is simple. If a job is worth doing at all, it is worth doing right the first time.