IAMA mcdonald’s night shift worker

How regularly are the drink and ice cream dispensers cleaned? Thanks for the hard work, I know it’s not easy.

This also depends a lot on location and who is working. If we have our scheduled maintenance person (if there’s one at all), then it’s every nice. Drink machines are done manually. Ice cream is automatic and shuts off in the morning, because we don’t serve it between 4am-11am (breakfast menu and all that).

If there’s no maintenance person, this might not get done because of the rest of the work load. However, I’ve worked with a manager who is incredible at his job and gets all of the cleaning done even when there is no maintenance person - i don’t know how he does it, but i know he does it well.

ETA: I should mention i don’t know the maintenance for the ice cream machine (though, i do know it’s a pain and takes a while when it’s broken to get it started again). Something i’m hoping to learn in the future, though. I just know it shuts off automatically.

ETA: I should mention i don’t know the maintenance for the ice cream machine (though, i do know it’s a pain and takes a while when it’s broken to get it started again).

Former McDonald's employee here who was responsible for the ice cream machine during the overnight shift - it WAS a pain, and it DID take a while. Doesn't help that the training for it basically amounted to "drain the machine, take it apart somehow, soak the parts in cleaner, then put them back together and pray".

Oh boy i’m sure looking forward to that /s

honestly though i do want to put the effort in to learn it cause i like the mcflurries, have experienced the ‘ice cream machine broke’ prior to employment and know the pain, and so, what a powerful move it would be to know how to fix it

How often does a nice occur?

every night if you don’t count the typo!

Why does a 24 hour mcdonalds close for an hour when i need them most?

Changeover. At my location we technically close between 3:50AM and open at 4:10AM, where we switch between dinner/all day breakfast and to the full breakfast menu only. If you order food after changeover there’s still gonna be that sweet sweet wait, because we have to set everything up and check the temperature too.

What's the pay and benefits like?

extra +$2.50 per hour on top of your individual wage. minimum wage here is $15.50CAD but you can get raises, and that won’t change the premium pay

Benefits include free food if the overnight manager thinks you’re cool.

How does the free food work, do you have to ring it up/track it in some way or just have whatever you want?

Manager will use their manager meal code which makes it free. Or, they will promo it out - which we usually use for when people get free fry offers on the app of when we used to have those mccafé things with the 7 stickers for a free medium hot drink. When something is promo’d out you have to hit ‘exact cash’ so there’s no extra or missing money in the register.

So whether it’s with the manager’s special code, or the promo function, it gets ‘accounted for’.

Sometimes there is waste though, and the manager will just count the waste items and then let us eat. this is usually for muffins, donuts, and cookies that have been out since the day before and we bake or thaw the fresh ones that morning. They’re not technically supposed to this, and especially not with the meat products because kitchen workers can ‘drop extra’ to get free food. I usually cook to order to reduce waste, and if there is still food by 4am it means it’s been there too long and gets thrown out regardless.

Ahh ok that makes sense, I recall (this was the late 90s) my friend who worked there said he couldn’t believe how meticulous the inventory is tracked. Funny you mentioned the food waste thing, a guy he worked with was fired for taking some orders that were supposed to be thrown out. I can’t remember the details but there was nothing wrong with the food but cancelled orders or something.

Yeah, for stuff like that you just need to ask the manager. Taking it without manager’s permission is technically theft. And sometimes the manager says no and you just gotta deal. At least if you ask then they can count the waste and it’s not ‘missing’z

What’s the most underrated menu item?

I’m not sure honestly. I don’t like most of the type of food we make. (As i’ve mentioned in another comment, i like cooking on the side and still take making food for other humans pretty seriously, and try to make it fresh and presentable)

I’m also not sure how the average person would rate most of the food, anyway, so i’m not sure what’s reasonably rated or not either lol.

Personally, the skor mcflurry with fudge is pretty tasty. and lightly salted fries, too. If you’re just a customer and can’t drop fries yourself to make sure they’re fresh, lightly and non salted fries are usually fresh. You can also ask. And, of course, dipping the fries in the ice cream is a must.

skor mcflurry with fudge

I would consider moving to Canada for this. Why can't we have nice things in the US?

Damn, they don’t have it there? My sincerest apologies, cause it’s one of my favourite.

Your next best bet is getting skor bar from the store, putting it in a ziploc bag, crushing it up and getting a fudge mcflurry to mix it in yourself.

Is Ronald McDonald a good boss? Is the hamburglar as bad as everyone says?

Ronald McDonald wonderful boss he greets me every day. hamburglar is a menace he is still out there… my nemesis

Do you guys also have McChickens that get rock hard at night? I used to bang the spicy McChickens on the table because they were rock solid.

oh absolutely. I’ve had a few nights where we take several mcchicken orders so i drop extra, and we don’t take any more throughout the rest of the night. They get… questionable. And more importantly, thrown out.

I never heard this before, does that not happen with other burgers etc?

it does happen to the burgers too, but reg meat takes 50 seconds on the grill, and quarters take like 2 minutes iirc. We can do cook to order and it’s a lot less of a wait than the chicken products, which is between 3-7 minutes depending on which one we need.

The meat does start to turn darker brown after 15 minutes, in which i throw it out and just drop it fresh because it takes so little time compared to chicken products. The burgers definitely do get discoloured and sad, but the mcchicken turns sorta grey and rock solid. And, again, tossed immediately lmao.

What is happening in the future?

Depends a lot on the location and sometimes the store. They just got shamrock shakes back for a month (feb 14 - mar 13) but not in my province and not in any walmart mcdonalds.

Sometimes they will post upcoming promos like LTO food or happy meal toys in the crew room, but there’s nothing new atm that isn’t already available

Ok I don’t think you realize this, but you said Sep ‘23 and Nov ‘23 in the title which are in the future…

whoops. meant to say 2022. behold, the side effects of being night crew

Is it ok to ask for fresh nuggs or fries? Or does it cause you to throw out food?

Absolutely you’re allowed to. You can also ask how fresh the fries or nuggets are. Just expect to wait 3 and half minutes for either of those (could be more or less time for other products but fries and nuggets take 3 and a half minutes each)

And yes, we might have to throw out some food but that’s not uncommon if it gets really slow and food sits for too long, so i wouldn’t worry too hard.

what is the longest that a burger or fries will sit out before having to be replaced? in other words, worst case scenario, how old is my burger or fries?

p.s. thank you for your work a good mcdonalds meal literally fills my soul with happiness <3

5 minutes for any kitchen product, 7 minutes for fries. Technically.

Sometimes they will sit there longer. If we’re up a cheeseburger, i just made it, and we get an order for one a moment later, we can use it. But if it’s been a few minutes i take it myself and throw it in the waste bin.

Fries can definitely end up sitting there a while longer… By maybe 5-10 minutes, but i’m not really keeping track. If someone orders fries and a crispy chicken, which takes 7 minutes, then i’ll try to keep an eye on the timer and drop fresh fries halfway through (since fries take 3 and a half minutes). This is usually for when it’s not busy and i can be on either side and not worry about a full screen of orders.

We’re more likely to have extra fries than extra burgers still sitting for more than 5 minutes. You can ask how long the fries have been there (they either just came up or we don’t remember), or you can ask for them fresh and it’s just that 3 and a half minute wait.

So I guess UberEats threw that out the window huh?

yup lol I try to make delivery orders fresh if i can since they’ll already be waiting the drive time, at least make it as fresh as it can be you know?

I used to manage a few Five Guy's locations and this was something I drilled into my employee's heads. If it's for a phone-in, do NOT drop the fries until they arrive to pick up the order. Five Guy's fries get super soggy if they sit and it was easier to let people know that they would have to wait 3 1/2 minutes than handle all of the complaints about soggy fried.

Only had one customer get upset over it and I actually ended up banning her from the store when she started using racist and homophobic slurs towards my crew, then threatened to kick my ass.

All over a lousy 3 minutes.

That’s a great idea and i usually try to time it with the burgers, but I’ll mention it to the manager on my next shift about just dropping fries when they get here instead.

Sorry to hear about that awful customer though, yikes. Sounds like they would’ve done the same if the fries were soggy, too… No winning with rude customers like that. Good that you banned them, at least.

Do you enjoy your job?

Yes, and sometimes no. There are always bad days, this is part of life. Recently, work as been really good. The new overnight manager is great, gives free food to all the crew, and we make jokes to each other but still get all our respective work done by the end of the night.

The people you work with can really make or break any shift. I really like working with one manager, the one who trained me, and even when we were getting swamped with orders the entire night i still had a good shift because of how pleasant he is to work with, even when the stress is high. I’d say the same about the current overnight manager too, she’s sweet and good at her job. Rest of the crew (which is usually only one or two other people, front counter and sometimes maintenance) are chill too :)

Btw this is true no matter what you do for a living. I thought about quitting my current job but the truth is I like my boss and colleagues, get paid well, and have great pto. Some of those might not hold true at my next company. Good to hear the people are good at your job.

Yeah, i love most of the people i work with honestly! Big part of why i haven’t quit yet and how i got through some harder shifts and even weeks. I’m not sure what i’ll do if the people i actually like working with are gone! Well, I told them if they ever quit, i’m quitting too, and we’re starting a band.

What can I do as a customer that makes your job easier? What's something customers frequently do that bugs you?

I can’t think of a whole lot honestly. the only thing is when people order a lot right before we close (my location it’s supposed to be 3:50AM but it can be different for other stores for sure). This delays the cleaning and set up i need to do. There is clean up you cannot do before changeover, so when the store does close there’s a lot you have to do right away. If i’m still finishing dinner orders at 4am then i’m behind on a few minutes. Not the end of the world and we still have to serve you either way, just a little frustrating especially if it’s been a long and busy night.

There’s only one thing worse than ordering big right before we close, and that’s being rude. At any time of the night. I never mess with anyone’s food regardless of who they are or how they act. But if you’re rude it’s not making my job easier by any means. I can understand if people have had long nights or don’t know how our kitchen works and why they end up waiting 10 minutes. I get why humans get frustrated sometimes, especially when we’re hungry. But just remember the workers are human too.

Is it easier for the staff if I order through the app or at the drive thru?

Probably the app, but that’s just a guess. My location doesn’t have a drive thru and thank god for that. Another commenter mentioned that they want drive thru to go as fast as possible, so I’d imagine if you’re placing a mobile order then the order is there right away and you’re in and out not taking much time in the lobby. But that’s just the logic that makes sense in my head.

— If any mcdonald’s workers who do have a drive thru have any input for this, id love to hear your thoughts on that too cause im not as qualified to answer

What is it like being a time traveler?

really good for my pores, actually

What's the employee discount card do? Can you use it at any McDonald's and as many times a day as you want?

employee discount is 50% off. I don’t think they let you use the discount for junior chickens since they’re not as expensive (but some managers don’t care, especially if they actually know and like you).

And yes, you can use it at any location. I’m not aware of any limit for it but i can’t imagine there is one. It just needs to be approved by the manager on shift.

Nice. Can it be used on, say, your friends as well?

this one is a lot harder to actually do, because technically the discount is supposed to only be for food that is for you. But again, most managers don’t care that much. From what i’ve seen as long as you’re paying for it it’s not a big deal to them. it can really depend on the person here.

Is the ice cream machine really broken?

sometimes, yes. i don’t know all the specifics but i know it takes some time to actually fix — it’s definitely something i want to learn the maintenance for in the future!

weirdest thing you’ve seen in your mcdonald’s?

No such thing. I’ve become immune to ‘weird’. We get drunk people pretty consistently. and some odd regulars who i love with my whole heart. We get the occasional special order that sticks out, though. Filet and pickles really makes me ponder.

Why only half a slice of cheese on the filet o fish?

Supposed to save them some money but it’s not often we take another item that takes half cheese (filet or tench snack wrap, for example) within enough time to actually use the other half before it needs to be put in the waste bin.

I try to sneak a full slice when i can ;)

How often do workers mess with the food?

Not at all as far as i’m aware of. At least definitely not intentional, and not something I have done or would ever do. It’s easy to miss something in an order. But the people i work with aren’t mean or gross in which they would make food bad on purpose.

Even if a customer is rude, as kitchen workers we don’t hear it. — Sometimes i take orders though, if it’s not busy and the manager or FC person are elsewhere i try not to keep people waiting. I end up making these peoples orders and if anything that makes me want to make it with extra care, regardless of how they act, because i was just face to face with the person who’s gonna eat the food i put together.

I don't think I could do nightshift. I worked at Wendy's for six years and the dayshift was enough. What's the worst night customer you've had?

Since you're in Ontario, I hope you don't work at the one by the Tunnel in Windsor. Stay strong. Don't let the grease burns get you down!

it definitely took some time to get used to, i can tell you that much. and when you’re alone too, it’s even more prioritizing and rushing trying to get all the cleaning done. but it’s a lot less busy, most nights. Day will always have a rush but nights it’s more of a coin toss and i like those chances better.

I honestly haven’t met to many terrible customers. Even when people are rude or whatever i can understand when they’re hungry or drunk or just want to use the washroom. I don’t blame them too much.

Though, i suppose there’s this one group of high school kids who always make a mess in lobby. This is just before closing though usually 9 or 10pm so i don’t really see them except for around the start of my shift. The front counter workers hate them because it’s part of their position to clean lobby.

Sometimes my kids want a set of toys buy I don't want to be that guy asking for all the individual toys.

Is that something easy for you guys to do? Or is it a pita? Do you even have the complete sets all at once?

It’s not an issue at all, there’s a function for it on the cash for sure.

We don’t always have all the available toys, though, at least not all at once. You might need to visit other locations and hope for the best, or if you know someone who works there you can ask them to keep you updated when there’s a new toy from the same set stocked up.

is there a subreddit for mcd's employees? /r/McDonalds looks like just promos and stuff

r/McdonaldsEmployees and r/McLounge i believe

I don’t know about Ontario but in BC (metro Vancouver) all the restaurants close around 1am to 5am for some kinda system reset? Sunday night they close even earlier. Does this happen at your location?

Yep, we call that changeover here. The store changes from dinner / all day breakfast menu over to the full breakfast menu only. The store is supposed to close at 3:50AM and open again at 4:10AM. Sometimes we will close early if it’s getting busy. This usually means pulling delivery orders early and then pausing them so we can finish those but not get swamped again and again, cause ultimately it’ll just delay opening. Sometimes the lobby is full and we will take those orders but let them know we’re closing soon.

Can you ask corporate to bring back all day breakfast?

we have all day breakfast at my location, but it’s not even the full breakfast menu, just the mcmuffins. no bagels, no hashbrowns, no burritos, and certainly no griddles :(

How long are the burgers allowed to sit on display before they need to be thrown out and how long do they actually sit there?

If we’re up an item it doesn’t stay there for long. the rule is 5 minutes and sometimes it sits there longer because we forget to throw it out. Never seen it get served past that point, really.

Fave mc sandwich?

I haven’t tried most of the stuff on the menu, actually. I don’t like burgers or sandwiches. Just a picky eater and don’t like ingredients and textures mixed together like that lmao. I like the crispy patty though.

for what it’s worth, i like cooking in my free time and i’d like to believe i’m decent at what i do with food safety, quality, and presentation - just cause i don’t like the type of food i assemble doesn’t mean i don’t put the effort in to make it enjoyable as i can for all the people who do

Where do you work?

McDonald’s

What's worse, the customers or the managers?

this is a tough one. customers can be as rude as they want and eventually they can get kicked out or will leave on their own. managers can be mean to you but if it becomes harassment then you can talk to your supervisor. If it’s just that you don’t get along or vibe well but they’re not breaking any rules, then you just have to put up with it.

Hard to compare two very different people because one you are making food for, the other has authority over you. I get along with most of the managers though, and those i don’t are just like that to everyone and i don’t see them often enough for it to be an issue. Even customers don’t get too bad. A bad manager i’m stuck with for 8 hours is more likely to ruin the shift than a customer who may only be there 10-20 minutes or so.

Any secret menu items or custom order suggestions?

I’ll probably add on more as i remember, but here’s a few in no particular order:

disclaimer, some of these may have to be paid for separately or might not be possible at all locations or allowed by all managers

• i think most people know about DLM ‘Done Like Mac’ option for the small burgers, which is just sub mac sauce and add shred lettuce (still gets the cheese and pickles obv, just no club like the big mac bun has and no box as it’s just wrapped in the paper)
• mcflurry with a fresh cookie (the cookies take 2 minutes in the oven) - i think some people do it with an apple pie too but those take 13 minutes in the oven and we don’t usually have any ready on overnights so i haven’t tried it. I’m a big chocolate fan so the brownie cookie with fudge and blended in a mcflurry is so good
• I’m not sure if you can actually order this, but we do it all the time when it’s quiet on overnights: All the smoothies, mixed together. Mango pineapple, Strawberry banana, and Blueberry pomegranate. You can add the other stuff that mixes into the blender. As long as the manager is cool this is probably doable.
• Mocha with the mcflurry fudge instead of the chocolate syrup. You may have to pay for the fudge separately, though.
• Rootbeer float. Sometimes i’ll fill a cup halfway and put some of the ice cream on top.
• creamsicle drink. Orange fruitopia and a few shots of cream to your liking.
• grilled onions. used to be a thing i think, but not anymore at my location. if you ask nicely a worker probably wouldn’t mind tossing slivered onions on the grill for a sec and putting them on your poutine or burger/sandwich.
• not uncommon for people to ask for pickles on their chicken sandwiches. usually see it with juniors or mccrispy. haven’t tried it but my coworker REALLY loves it. i give him extra pickles cause he’s a sweetheart.

Not so much secret menu, but your order is a lot more customizable than you may know:

• you can ask for pretty much any product to be ‘well-done’. for chicken, fries, and fish, this is usually an extra 30-seconds. for grill products like beef, sausage, and bacon it’s usually flipped and pressed for 5-10 seconds.
• you can ask for any of the buns to be steamed instead of toasted, and likewise you can ask for the filet bun to be toasted instead of steamed.
• you can also order extra patties on the side or added to any burger. ever tried a chicken big mac? (I tried it once with leftover food with a junior, a senior (mcchicken), and a reasonable amount of honey.)
• you can ask for anything to be fresh, just expect to wait some time. you can usually ask how long the wait will be if you’re not sure, though. CNF (chicken and fish) is between 3-7 minutes. fires are 3 and a half. grill products are between 1 and 2 minutes or so. eggs are 2 and a half.

That’s all i can think of right now. I don’t work again till Sunday night but i’ll make sure to think of and add more then.

Why is there a Raptors logo on the uniform?

promotion from when i was hired. Some employees have a shirt promoting the crispy chicken from when it was new, too.

Why do you always close your toilets late at night? I need to peeeeee but everywhere is cloooosed. It's almost as if they want us to piss in the street.

I kinda hate this aspect too, honestly. Lobby and washrooms have to close at 11pm ish and stay closed for the rest of the night. I believe it’s just so everything is clean in the morning and it’s not more work for us to forget. Also so people don’t do drugs in the bathroom but cmon, people do it during the day too.

Depending on which manager is in, they might unlock the washrooms for you. I know it’s a pain when they can’t and won’t budge though. People just want to piss!

How often do people say “thank you” after you take an order? I try to always be as nice as I can be, because customers are mainly assholes lol

Plenty of people do, and it never goes unnoticed or unappreciated. Some people don’t and i get it, especially if the wait times were long, or they are in a rush, or sometimes we are human and forget our manners.

Also, this reminds me of a uber driver we get sometimes who is mute, sometimes i’m the one who hands him his order and he signs ‘thank you’ is ASL :) I’ve been meaning to learn how to sign ‘have a good night’ for the next time i see him.

Any rumblings you’ve heard from management / head office about possibly seeing Cajun dip come back? I know it was a limited time thing tied to the BTS Meal, but honestly, it’s the best nugget sauce McD’s has ever had. I keep hoping for a return!!

Haven’t heard anything about it, sorry. If it was coming up the crew and the managers would probably be hearing about it within the same week or so. When items come back or new items appear, we get a bit of notice with a piece of paper in the crew room and managers office.

What real accountability is there for messed up tickets? I call back and tell them they did it wrong, but I doubt that is being communicated anywhere else.

I’ve definitely sent out a few orders wrong (sometimes i’m able to catch this before it’s handed out and remake it, and sometimes it’s gone before i even realize. It’s an unfortunate situation for everyone).

I’m certain we’ve gotten calls for wrong orders, but as a crew i don’t know all the details of if or how it’s recorded. That would probably be up to managers or supervisors. This is also dependent on the location, and the individual themselves. Some people actually care and others don’t take McDonald’s seriously at all.

Is the milkshake machine really always out of order at night or can the employees not be bothered to make one?

Part 2: why is it always out of order

We don’t have milkshakes at my location so i’m not sure if it’s the same as the ice cream machine — either way i’m not actually 100% sure how to fix them but i really want to learn this part of maintenance. It can be down for real sometimes but it’s not a hard thing to make so it’s not something worth lying about.

Is there really a secret menu?

not as far as i’m aware, i think it’s more like customizing items or mashing them together

will you stay at this job for a while? What is the longest time a person has worked there? Do you think the managers make good money? Thanks! And super size it!

At this rate, i think i might be here for some time. As long as the people i actually like are still here, im pretty comfortable. if it changes too much or it gets bad I’ll probably reach out for other options.

We have one crew member who has been here for i think 10-15 years - i can double check next time i see this worker. Second closest that i know of would be 4 years for one of the back kitchen guys. He’s super sweet and fun to work with, too.

Managers make more than crew, that’s for sure. But managers also have a LOT to do, bagging, maintenance, counting waste, sending crew on breaks for the right time, helping out if it gets busy in kitchen, dealing with customers, etc. and much more i am probably forgetting right now, or may not even know about since i’m not as familiar with manager duties. Manager will also sometimes do the easily forgotten things like bakery pull (muffins, donuts, bagels) and change the bar towels. It’s a lot of work and i have respect for all that they do. Whether it’s worth the pay, probably up to the individual lol.

What percent of customers appear to be inebriated in some way? I feel like this would be higher for you than day shift.

oh definitely a handful every night or so. And honestly most of the drunk people we do get are very sweet and thankful. I also worked New Year’s Eve overnight shift and that was certainly an outlier for the amount of intoxicated people, lmao. Not sure if i’ve noticed any intoxicated people on day shift, may have just been too busy for me to notice if at all.

Do they teach you guys about 99 Rideau?

Ah yes, i am aware of the raccoon incidents… Never change, Rideau. Never change

Are there customers you see basically on a daily basis and what are the most annoying customers?

There are some regulars yes! None of them are annoying to me. They’re actually quite pleasant and really nice to the workers. Its always good to see a familiar face, even if i don’t know all of their names and they don’t know mine. There’s something really special about that, i think :)

I hang out with one nocturnal regular on my break sometimes. I know most of their schedules (some have exact times because they stop by before work, others are morning people and others are there past midnight and before breakfast) and orders if they’re consistent in that (but some get something a little different each time or go through phases).

Do you guys ever dispose of any relatively good food? Like throwing away unbought donuts and such?

Stuff like muffins and donuts definitely get wasted by the end of the night. Whether they’re relatively good is another thing… They can get a bit stale but otherwise they’re okay and sometimes end up going to the workers, as long as manager tracks the waste before handing them out.

Other ‘relatively good food’ that may get thrown out includes damaged products. Like sometimes chicken products have a piece broken off and we can’t serve it (But i cook it anyway and waste it right away, so my manager can at least count cooked waste products rather than raw waste products at the end of the night lol).

Why is the filet o fish bun so “pillowy” compared to the other buns?

You may not know this but didn’t know if there was anything on the package or a way the bun gets prepped.

The filet buns are steamed, not toasted! For 6 seconds in the bun steamer. You can just ask for them to be toasted instead, though. It wouldn’t cost extra at all. Same way you can ask for any of the other buns to be steamed instead of toasted. The filet buns are the same as the cheeseburger, mcdouble, double cheese, and junior buns btw. It’s only the filet bun that gets steamed though