I'm a Crew Trainer for McDonald's - I'm hiding nothing!

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This is pretty relevant as we've just had a new store open in town. If it's a brand new store, the manager will get half of the Crew Trainers from the other store and transfer them. This is to ensure that proper procedures are followed and what-not. On our first lot of trainings (about a week before the store opened) we had one Crew Trainer at each station teaching one person what to do. Within an hour, they'd all rotate and learn the next position. Then when the store is operational, we'd just rotate them around so that they become comfortable in each position.
Does that answer your question?

Hey, Australian Ex-Mcdonalds employee here! What's the worst thing you've seen in your store?

At mine it was a nugget the size of my palm, that looked like it had bits of leftover chicken in it, e.g. Nails and a bit of beak. We threw it out pretty quickly so can't fully confirm that. But that was pretty fucked up.

The worst thing I've seen was when I walked into the store, saw raw 10:1 product strewn all through the kitchen floor, and nobody in there. The meat product was thawed, and mushed from where people have stepped in it. It took us a couple hours of solid work to clean it up.

Also Big Mac Sauce on the roof.. That's always fun!

Mine was piss all over the inside of our walk-in freezer. Also, pads stuck to the bathroom stall walls.

I've heard horror stories about blood being strewn all through a walk-in and having to pull all the product out and sanitize it.. Errrgh

Can I get a complete set of the American Girl toys y'all are currently hawking? Moms are paying a ton for them right now.

ETA: Oh. New Zealand. So I can't make money off desperate moms.

I'm sorry </3 Although we do have some pretty mean toys at the moment!

What are the perks of being an employee?

So you've got the obvious perks of discounted meals and things like that, but one that people don't think of is it's actually kind of like a McFamily. I've met my best mates through Macca's.

I would assume you could meet people regardless of where you worked.

Yeah, but they aren't your McFamily.

You understand me.

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Maccas is slang us New Zealanders use for McDonalds

We call it McDicks

Maccy ds here in England!

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Accurate.

Maccas is pretty much New Zealand slang for McDonalds. We get half price on all meals within half and hour of our shift starting or finishing, and 10% off outside of those hours.

Wo Tim Horton's only give us the half off before or after a shift. Never a discount anytime. Also the pay is shit. 9.60/hr and other places usually 10.25.

Thanks for the AMA DirtyFormal

Woah, that is shit! That's fine, mate!

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Honestly, it was actually really easy. All I had to do was fill out a wee booklet and I got it!

THE SECOND MCDONALDS AMA OF THE DAY? GEE, NOTHING SUSPICIOUS ABOUT THAT!

McCeption?

At which point do new trainees learn how to make the McGangBang?

It's something that everybody learns over time ;)

All of these Mcdonalds AMAs is because I ate at Burger King yesterday for the first time in 9 months right?

I just wanted some onion rings!

You betrayed us.

Why can't I get a Spanish omelet bagel anymore?

Becuase corporates a bunch of arses. Also, because I'm in New Zealand and unfortunately have no clue what you're talking about. Sounds nice though!

Can I have some fush n chups?

Ye bro!

Have you ever witnessed someone tampering with food?

What was the outcome?

Do you like the company?

Why is the "ice-cream machine always being cleaned"?

I have never seen anybody tamperig with food. I mean, if we get a firefighter or somebody come in, yeah we'll put some extra stuff in their burger for them, but that's pretty common.

I hate the company. Dictatorial bastards.

The ice cream machine is always broken because we usually just can't be bothered.

Is anything actually cooked in the restaurant, or is it all just reheated?

Yeah, everything is cooked in the restaurant. We cook it, then store the product in what we call UHCs (Universal Heating Cupboard) until that product is needed. That's not for buns however, we toast them when we get your order.

Filet-O-Fish. Do you have them? This is important to me.

We do! Typically $5NZD for just the burger.

Judging by the complexities of the job you train people to do - is it fair to say you have one of the easiest jobs in the world?

Haha, honestly, it's a piece of piss. You just need to use common sense, and other than that everything is done for you by computers. A monkey with it's hands tied could do this.. But it does have its' moments.

What was your monkey's best moment?

When its hands were untied.

What is the preservative you use to keep your food from going bad?

I'm honestly not too sure - that comes out of the factory, but I'd imagine it to be a hell of a lot of bad stuff. Sorry!

What is the worst smelling food at McDonalds?

The Mushrooms that we used to serve. We used to cook some up in the morning during transition (10:30) and they'd stay and ferment throughout the day, and when you open the tray with the mushrooms in it, it's like finding a dead body.. Errrrgh

How often is the oil used to cook the fries changed? I have heard nasty things about those :/

Every morning. If I ever did a graveyard 10pm - 7am, the first thing I would do is change the oil.

Woah, you're oil is completely changed every single day? Ours is filtered every day, but kept in the vats three or four days max. I feel like that is a major waste of money to completely change it every night.

Every day. Our RM makes maintainance do it.

Have you ever had an employee that you consider to be untrainable?

Of course. Just far too ignorant. They no longer work here.

Hey so since you are a trainer as a Mcdonalds employee I have to ask: am I supposed to spray the grill with the butter before I cook grilled chicken or is the water sufficient?

Yeah, spray with butter before. Water isn't good enough.

Just if you ever ever use water on a grill, make sure it is hot water. If it is cold water, it will effectively shock the grill plate into cracking because of the sever difference in heat. That is a very expensive mistake.

What's actually in the McRib?

I wish I could help you, but here in the Shire we don't have McRibs. But they look naaaaasty

I heard from a guy that visited NZ that it's pretty easy/common to find vegan or vegetarian food in restaurants and cafees.

Do you have those sort of options on the McD menu?

We haven't for a long time, although I believe there's some in the pipeline.

How do you get the shake machine out of freeze lock? This is important.

Unfreeze it.

What are the highest profit margin food items (we already know soda and fries are high-profit)?

How often is the ice machine cleaned?

Would you eat the breakfast there?

Anything you would not eat?

What is your favorite McDonalds food item or do you not eat there?

Highest earning burger would be the Filet-O-Fish. We have a local supplier for the Filet and we can obtain 1 Crate, which contains 640 Filet for just under NZD$20. That's about 3 cents, plus cheese and Tartare; 50c, and the bun, another 50c. You get a $5 burger that costs a mere dollar to produce.

At my store, 4am and 11pm daily.

Hell no.. I really dislike our breakfast menu (I don't like egg).

Don't go near the Grilled Chicken. Usually we only cook when we are holding none and it will sit there for hours.

I eat there! I like the Mighty Angus, adding extra Bacon, extra 3:1 Meat, extra Mayo and lettuce.

Cool thanks for the reply.

How about the chicken nuggets? I love those, fries, and the breakfast items.

I love nuggets <3 I'm not too sure. I'll check with my TM and message you the answer :)

what is the most ethically questionable thing you have done or been involved in at your time at McDonalds

I was once forced to hand clean the urinal. Right after that I started looking for another job.

i was too..when i was 15..how old are you?

I'm almost 17.

Is it company policy to replace food that has been accidentally dropped? Because we've accidentally spilled drinks before and it was replaced free of charge. I've heard you also do that for burgers and other food.

It's not policy, but more of an unwritten rule. Of course, it all depends on circumstance, if the customer drops it on accident, we'll replace it. If it is on purpose, we won't.

What's the worst customer horror story you have?

Got Frozen Fanta thrown at me a few week's ago

Why!?

Well he ordered a Medium cheeseburger combo, and he was pissed off because the cheeseburger only had one pickle. Things escalated quickly and bam, frozen beverage in ma' face.

But he just had a spare frozen soda laying around?

No, he purchased one with his meal.

What is your perspective on the US and global strikes/rallies around raising wages and granting workers union representation?

Good on them. I'm sick of working my arse off to have nothing to show for it.

Who trains the Trainers?

The trainers train the trainer when the trainers aren't trainers. But then, who trains those trainers?