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.
Meh, we knew where we were working. I don't know of anyone who felt personally attacked by any of these movies, not even Owner/Operators. Some of the corporate folks probably got their panties in a bunch over it, but for the most part I don't think anything about either of those movies really changed anyone's minds about McDonald's or other fast food. If they did, you'd have to be a pretty dim individual to not comprehend that greasy, cheap food is not that healthful nor does it deliver good nutrition. Let's be real here - it's relatively low quality food (compared to what you might make at home, but this isn't true for everyone) for really cheap (making it very appealing to poorer people) and those people they're marketing to are truly ignorant of the facts of basic nutrition (sorry for calling those people dim, but it is what it is). The fat/sodium content is really high in these products, and that's most of what makes them so delicious to our programmed-to-survive palates. For people who are the "perfect storm" of ignorant, poor, lazy, and easily addicted, McDonald's and other fast food can be very harmful. But so could trying to cross a busy street. For everyone who relies on McDonald's as their main food source, and say it's because it's so inexpensive, I say Mac & Cheese, an apple, and a banana. Go hit up the grocery store. You can find store brand Mac & Cheese for 45 cents, apple and a banana cost maybe a buck together- $1.70 with tax and you have a more wholesome and satisfying meal than McDonald's offers for a higher cost. For $5 you can get a loaf of bread, peanut butter, and a few apples. I know several bachelors who live on peanut butter on bread and fruit. Clean protein, moderate carbs, fruit - you'll feel great and look like an Adonis while not spending much on food. It's just much more convenient to swing through the Drive Thru and spend $5 off the Dollar Menu, or if you have a couple kids, $25 for dinner, than it is to go home, prepare food, and sit down for dinner. It's even more convenient to claim that somehow this is cheaper than the alternative. I think that anyone who eats nothing but fast food isn't very wise, and anyone who feeds their kids McDonald's 3 or 4 times a week is just doing it wrong. That said, it's a delicious treat, hits the spot, and as long as you pace yourself and don't eat out regularly, you should be fine. That, and there actually are quite a few really healthful items on McDonald's menu, and lots more in the past 2 years. Even back in 2007/8 I'd say 25% of the parents who came in with kids under 8 or so got Apple Slices instead of French Fries for their kids. People know about these options, and choose them if they want. Then again, I'm a big, mostly sedentary fat guy these days, so what do I know? (Although I don't eat fast food except maybe once every two weeks, because I don't want my 3 kids getting addicted to it.)
Share Answer: 
Most of this comes from coaching people. The process for coaching is to first identify the issue, then to explain the proper way to do something. This can be done very easily by simply taking them aside for a moment, without other crew or customers hearing and saying something like, "Hey, please remember to smile and be nice to the customers. Fake it if you have to!" The next part is to demonstrate the behavior - which means having that employee see you doing exactly what you explained. That may be passive by simply doing it and when they're around, or it can be active, "Hey, let me show you what I mean, go around that side of the counter for a minute" then demonstrate the expected behavior. Last is follow up. Catch the person doing it right later on, and give them feedback immediately in front of peers and customers when they're doing it right. The real reason so many people are grouchy in customer service positions is they get paid jack diddly squat. It's sad and stupid really, that most customer-facing positions in customer service enterprises pay between $7.25 and $10 an hour. That low wage translates to poor attitude, which translates to a lethargy about doing well, which itself turns into a lack of effort. Without effort, there's no growth and without growth there's nothing but a sense of stagnating in terrible, and if you're stagnating in terrible, how likely are you to engage the next stupid bleepy-bleep-of-a-bleep that walks up to you with their "Gimme a ..." BS? However, if the management team encourages trying hard, rewards it with praise, recognition, growth and more recognition, people will be willing to grow. I know for a fact that I turned at least 3 people who hated their jobs into motivated, hard working *team members* who took pride in their ability to do their jobs very well and even train and encourage others to do that job as well as they did - all without changing anything about the physical environment or the compensation for the job. It just took a change in attitude.
Share Answer: 
Some restaurants have switched to ketchup tubs, like the various nugget type sauces have available. Heinz apparently is in a court case over this very thing right now, because they appear to have violated someone else's patent by marketing these. This could seriously be a dissertation on ketchup - ketchup packets are a really important part of American fast food society. I know that sounds silly, but Americans are generally very "nostalgic" people. We do many things in a nostalgic way, the way our parents and grandparents did them, for no reason other than that's how we've always done it. This could turn into a diatribe about vertical toasters and gasoline combustion engines, concrete roadways and steel-beam bridges - but it won't. Suffice it to say that the ketchup packet, while annoying, tiny, and an undesirable expense to owner/operators, they are also the most effective balance of cheapness, convenience, and nostalgic ketchupy goodness.
Share Answer: 
Good question. This depends on the market, really. Urban areas or rural areas with generally lower incomes definitely do not experience a downturn in traffic after New Year's resolutions are made. Suburban areas definitely experience this - many pictures are out there on reddit of empty post-New Year restaurants. Areas where shopping happens (near malls, in malls, etc.) *definitely* experience a downturn in traffic after the New Year but mostly because most people are not shopping as much.
Share Answer: 
Stand-Up Comedian
What's your worst bombing story?
Dry Cleaner
Why do dry cleaners have autographed pictures on their walls?
MBA Student
How many years of work experience do you REALLY need before applying?
Well... I guess it's not related to the Q&A but sure. I love games. I like pen and paper games like D&D and Call of Cthulhu very much, I also love video games especially, including some MMOs, many RPGs, simulators and strategy games, flash games (kongregate.com is fun for the whole family!). I play board and table-top games like Settlers of Cataan, Risk! and Go. As to the self-induced chemical brain attrition, I enjoyed many psychoactive and psychedelic substances in my youth, which my best friend did not enjoy as heartily.
Share Answer: 
This differs depending on the operation. Most franchisees and corporate offer 1 free meal per day that you work, up to anywhere from $5 to $10, though most that I know of are in the $7 range. Some franchisees do not offer this, and they're completely jerks for it. As for "eating for free while working", every manager is required to taste pretty much every product during the course of the day. You need to make sure the fries taste right at various times during your shift, taste breakfast food items to make sure they're coming out correctly, taste burger patties and completed product, test some shake of various flavors, try all the flavors of drinks from all the different dispensers in the store. It really does get old at times, because you're not enjoying it, you're testing it. It was common for me, when I was working, to get people I relied on to do this. So, if someone mentioned they're hungry or something, I'd have them place a "complimentary" order (required manager override to get it to ring up at $0.00 for inventory management purposes) and go eat it. We didn't have people eating full prepared items endlessly, but in the course of a day at least 25% of the various food items would be made completely and someone would eat them. We, for obvious reasons, didn't make things like Double Quarter Pounders, and it's unlikely the fancy Angus burgers (which we did not have when I worked there) get made and tested, but it's likely about 4 times a day someone's trying the Angus patties for quality.
Share Answer: 
This really depends on the franchisee's policies and the market. In some locations, they really only hire bright-eyed, fresh-faced, clean-cut and clean-recorded individuals. They do this because they have a volume of people like this to choose from. In other locations, a guy with forearm inks (like myself) and a minor record with no felonies might be the very best candidate they can find. Generally, I would say as long as it's not domestic violence and is not related to stealing, theft or robbery, a record should not inhibit you from being employed at a McDonald's.
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
