I'm an Australian overnight McDonalds Worker AMA!

Do you have to actively hold the burgers against the grill so they don't fall to the ceiling since you're in Australia?

Edit: please downvote me. It means upvotes in Australia.

Yes, we hire a person solely for that purpose.

Why the hell can't I get a thickshake at night. Is the machine really being cleaned?

The machine is programed to go into heat treatment so yes it is in cleaning. It does it every morning around 1-2 am. If you can't get a shake during the day then sorry but I don't know anything about that

Some girl got really really pissed at me because I asked for a shake and she pressed something on the machine when it was cleaning and the machine sprayed her with watery milk.

It was in heat treatment and she didn't notice.

The machines have a 24 hour timer and will literally shut down until you set it on a clean cycle. Then once a fortnight they're pulled apart and all the mix is thrown out, and then replaced.

It's called a brush clean.

what are the letters on your badge for? q, s, c, m, x?

As answered before.

Quality, Service, Cleanliness, McCafe and then X what you get after you receive the other 4

The X star is actually when you've had a 100% performance review.

Well there you go. After I got the other 4 a manager gave me the 5th. I kinda just assumed

Is it not a tad redundant having a badge to signify that you have all the other badges, when you still have all the other badges on there?

I dont know. Its their policy i guess

Would you rather eat 20 cheese burger sized horses or 1 horse sized cheese burger?

1 horse sized cheeseburger probably. May need some help from friends though

How many times a night do people walk through the drive through?

Hardly any anymore. Its banned

What if I came thru in a trolley?

still no

Even if I had a witches hat on my head whilst in the trolley?

we'd laugh at you and still not serve you

What about this

No. Sorry

What about a bicycle? As we're legally considered a motorist on the road.

I've been wondering this for a while, wouldn't do it normally anyway.

Theres bike racks out the front of stores so you can come inside

What is the craziest order you've taken?

Personally, 12 large big mac meals and 12 cheeseburgers at 3am Tuesday morning.

I work at BK in Arizona. If that's your craziest order, you're living the mild life brother.

Thats at 3am though during the day its worse but im not working

Is Australia scarier at night time or day time?

It can be scary at anytime, theres definitely a different kind of crowd that runs at night though.

We have both diurnal and nocturnal creatures that can kill you.

Good, or bad?

You gotta go sometime.

How do you feel about the all-day breakfasts? Has it made life easier or harder?

I finish work at 7am so it doesn't bother me. From what I hear from other crew it doesn't bother them much, we don't have the full breakfast menu just select items

As a fellow nightshift worker, and someone that's not really into breakfast food at any time of day, why can there not be a limited amount of non-breakfast food available during breakfast hours? Would gladly stop at Mcd's at 8am for a few double cheeseburgers.

Not sure a few people have asked. The company has the final call on that

Do you get eat whatever you want ?

also, what happens to wrong orders that get back to you ?

I don't eat mcdonalds much on shift. During a break if you want something you pay half price.

When an order thats wrong gets returned we replace the order and the old food goes into a waste bin to be counted.

you're a crew trainer, why aren't you getting a free meal on your shift? Other crew trainers I know get it free

I do. I answered as a general. The only free thing I get is a coffee in the morning I use my free meal for that. All crew though, not crew trainers pay half price. And when they aren't working its 20% off.

from Singapore :

Do you serve mayonaisse (for fries)?

We serve it in little sachets. You can ask for them

They stopped serving these in Singapore...

...and since then, I've never been able to look at fries the same... (sniff)...

You can ask for mcchicken sauce in a lid.

How much does that cost in aus btw?

40 cents I believe

Hey there. I've worked in overnight shifts at Kmart for a few years. I know what type of people go shopping at 3am.

We used to get a lot of hookers and a lot of baked people. One time, we got a group of hookers who were all high, and a dude dressed in a purple suit - likely their pimp. He paid for all their shopping in $100 notes.

So I'd like to ask. What do hookers order for food at ~3am?

Not hookers, at least if they are they dont dress that way. We get alot of trannys in our store at night due to our location theres apparently a club/place they go to after dark. We have one guy come in short skirt who always has his testicles out. We've pointed it out that he cant be in the store if he doesn't cover up. He doesn't care.

They generally buy alot of breakfast foods and apple pies

I hope that chair gets cleaned after he's done eating.

It does. trust me!!

Mc Nuggets or Quarter Pounder?

nuggets probably

How many people are there all night? And how much equipment is left running?

On weekdays (which I work sunday - Thursday) theres the manager, one kitchen person, maintenance and myself.

As for equipment everything is on but we need to clean them at night so they may not be running for a while eg. Shake/sundae machine

Woo! Someone actually mentioned the maintenance person (me) lol even in the McDonald's subreddit nobody talks about us

I love our maintenance guy.

My friends always told me that you could order a "pounder" (as opposed to a quarter pounder) but you needed the manager to verify that you're over 13 years old to buy it, always cracks me up when I hear it but is it true?

Not true where i am

Not true that you can order a "pounder" or not true that you needed to verify that you're over 13?

true you can order it. not true you need to verify age

Bro, I did that in Canada about 10 years ago.

Do you hate cleaning the fry vats as much as I did, or do they contract that out?

I do hate it. We don't contract it out :(

If I come over to australia, can I get a kiwiburger?

Nope.

Any secret menu items that you can list for us???

We don't have a secret menu.

Yes yes, it wouldn't be secret if you just told people willy-nilly on reddit, right? * WINK WINK * ;)

True true!

What about the land, sea, and air burger? Cheese burger, filet-o-fish, and mc chicken mixed into one?

No one has ever ordered. I've never even heard of it but love the name

Which state? Is there plans for Mcdonalds delivery in Australia?

I was one of the drivers for Maccas Parramatta (NSW) Delivery AMA?

I'd read that. Probably ask some questions too :)

Victoria. From what I heard there is I'm just not sure when that'll be. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

It's already a thing at some McDonalds! https://mcdonalds.com.au/mcdelivery

We got forms about it from the union but nothing has come of it yet.

Why did I get mayonnaise on my quarter pounder one night? I hated it.

Did you accidentally ask for it? if not, i'd say it was an honest mistake with the sauce guns. You can always take it back and they'll replace it for you

which store are you at? Can you hook a brother up with a late night cheesy, im starving.

I'm not going to tell you what store im at sorry. I can always hook people up with late night cheesies. The key is buying the cheesy in exchange for money

How many mcflurries have you eaten?

Hardly any. I don't eat Maccas that much

Why are mcflurries fucking ruined? I ordered a creme egg mcflurry and they put it in a crappy cardboard fold-up cup and didn't even "flurry" the ice cream. The topping barely tasted like creme egg (the warm caramel topping would do a better job) and the broken up chocolate tasted cheap and was pretty hard. $4.40 I won't be spending again in a hurry!

they removed the machines that use to mix the ice cream and toppings. not our fault

Have you ever had a flurry with half Oreos and half m&m's?

Yes. And with toppings

Why is it so hard to remember to put my sweet n sour sauce in the bag?

ask the drive thru presenter. just double check the bag

Do you get paid extra on weekends? Has your salary increased from the starting salary? Has anyone been underpaid/ripped off?

I don't work weekends but I believe you do. Your salary increases every year due to age. I haven't heard of anyone being underpaid/ripped off at least not from my store.

is crew training all you do for your whole shift everyday? do you work in the same store all the time? what's your wage like?

Unfortunately I rarely train anyone due to me being the only front crew person on an overnight. I am only at the one store. My wage is ok, doing overnight theres penalties and loading.

10 to 1, 4 to 1 or 3 to 1?

4 to 1 angus

Can I buy sweet and sour sauce in bulk? It's too good.

probably its 50c each though. there's 250 in a box

Do you have contests like Monopoly?

we do have monopoly, once a year I think

Is Hungry Jacks better than Maccas? Why is the $2 Ice Cream cone so goddamn hard to eat?

I didn't realise it was hard to eat. You're the first person to say that

I don't eat enough of either to choose really.

Maccas?

australian slang

On a scale of 1 to "to hell" how bored are you?

3 - I'm currently getting ready for work so just waiting for time to pass

Do you also have beer bottles thrown at you, cars driven into sides of buildings, doors ripped of hinges, windows smashed, people making out on counters while customers try to order, multiple fist fights, drunk drivers bumping into each other in the drive through, people stealing food from the out going heated pan so you have to meticulously go through each cell to get things re-made and more?

Oh and calling the cops doesn't do anything because theyre sick of getting calls from McDonald's so they won't show up until 2 hours after the bar rush?

we are in between two police stations, they make regular drive bys to check on us.

bottles thrown at us, food. people stealing food. weapons. pretty much everything you wrote

Few questions:

• How do you deal with seeing morbidly obese people eating lots of fast food. Have you ever tried to cut someone off or not taken their order?

• What made you want to do an overnight shift? How do you manage the interference to your social life?

• Do you think you'll stay working at McDonalds indefinitely? Have you ever been critisize in a meaningful way for working at McDonald?

• You said you don't eat much McDonalds, do you just avoid junk food or is there a different reason? What is good food in your books?

• If you could change anything about McDonalds, what would it be?

• Have you ever been to USA (or anywhere overseas for that matter) and had McDonalds? How do you think it compares?

• Have you ever been working when the place has been robbed? What do you do in that type of situation? What about if/when fights break out?

• What's the funniest thing you've seen working at McDonalds?

• Do you agree with me that Breakfast at Tiffineys by Deep Blue Something is a fucking terrible song with completely pointless lyrics?

How do you deal with seeing morbidly obese people eating lots of fast food. Have you ever tried to cut someone off or not taken their order? We don't deal with it unfortunately we can't tell people they can't order food

What made you want to do an overnight shift? How do you managed the interference it must have with your social life ? I work overnight so my kid doesn't have to go into before/after school care.

Do you think you'll stay working at McDonalds indefinitely? Does anyone critisize you for working at McDonald? No I won't be here forever, people critisize it all the time, at least im earning money.

You said you don't eat much McDonalds, do you just avoid junk food or is there a different reason. What is good food in your books? I don't eat it much becuse i'm around it 40 hours a week.

If you could change anything about McDonalds, what would it be? Being able to bring your kids in at 2:30 for food. they should be sleeping Have you ever been to USA (or anywhere overseas for that matter) and had McDonalds? How do you think it stands up? I have, wasn't a fan.

Have you ever been working when the place has been robbed? No I haven't thankgod.

What do you do in that type of situation? What about if/when fights break out? We call the police.

What's the funniest thing you've seen working at McDonalds? drunk people getting mad at chairs/windows

Making it a bit more legible:

• How do you deal with seeing morbidly obese people eating lots of fast food. Have you ever tried to cut someone off or not taken their order? We don't deal with it unfortunately we can't tell people they can't order food

• What made you want to do an overnight shift? How do you managed the interference it must have with your social life? I work overnight so my kid doesn't have to go into before/after school care.

• Do you think you'll stay working at McDonalds indefinitely? Does anyone critisize you for working at McDonald? No I won't be here forever, people critisize it all the time, at least im earning money.

• You said you don't eat much McDonalds, do you just avoid junk food or is there a different reason. What is good food in your books? I don't eat it much becuse i'm around it 40 hours a week.

• If you could change anything about McDonalds, what would it be? Being able to bring your kids in at 2:30 for food. they should be sleeping

• Have you ever been to USA (or anywhere overseas for that matter) and had McDonalds? How do you think it stands up? I have, wasn't a fan.

• Have you ever been working when the place has been robbed? No I haven't thankgod.

• What do you do in that type of situation? What about if/when fights break out? We call the police.

• What's the funniest thing you've seen working at McDonalds? drunk people getting mad at chairs/windows

By the way, kudos on choosing to do night shifts so you can take/pick up your kid from school.

Thankyou for doing that. Im on my phone I didnt know how to do it

Say you were a visitor from North America who really wanted 5 packets of ketchup (tomato sauce) to go with your fries. (I know, I know - it sounds like sheer madness.) How would you phrase your request?

My current routine starts with "I'm sorry love, I'm a bloody seppo, and we have this thing with tomato sauce..."

Just place your regular order then ask for a few extra ketchup packets

Why the longer wait for wholemeal muffins? Does nobody order them?

Not everyone orders them no and we don't want them to go stale in the trays so we mostly toast them to order

How hard was it to get the job? I've heard Mcdonalds and supermarket jobs are the 'gold standard' these days for casual/part time work

i'm full time as am of mature age so I could work overnight. it was easy for me

Does an Australian McDonald's serve anything diffrent on the menu than the American version?

We've had a look a few times. I feel like our menu is quite smaller to the one in the US.

https://mcdonalds.com.au/menu this is our menu here

Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?! Salsa and guacamole loaded fries??

also cheese and bacon

How come mcdicks never has the double hamburger on the menu? Its like $1.29 here in Canada, shits great but I've never seen it listed as a value pick or anything.

Just add an extra patty

Are you in Adelaide? Was thinking of doing a maccas run but then I saw this!

Is there anything you refuse to order because you know what's in it? I know you've said you don't eat maccas much, but just wondering if there's anything on the menu that is actually pretty nasty?

I'm not in adelaide. Theres nothing nasty I just don't eat it much because i'm around it all the time

What kind of personality and skills do you think you need to have to work at mcdonalds?

patience!!

Hey occasionally when I'm at peak slobbiness, I'll stroll through Maccas at 2-3 am to get a large McFeast meal with a bottle of water. Just wondering why the McFeast meal is so good in the very early hours of the morning?

Meats fresh.

What are the inside tricks for things to order/not order etc to get decent food?

For example: From 10pm - midnight you order something that everyone orders so it's freshly made. At 3am you order something rare so they have to make it to order. I know there is some policy dictating how long something can be in the warmer before you make a fresh one, but the store I go to.. I'm pretty sure they don't follow that policy.

Do you know any other tricks like that?

We cook to order mostly throughout the night so there isn't much waste left.

If I were to order a Sausage McMuffin right now (9pm) would I be getting the spicy sausage patty or a normal cheeseburger patty?

The sausage patty

Why don't chocolate milkshakes taste like chocolate?

They don't? news to me.

[deleted]

Who?

How many customers do you get that come in high with late night munchies?

Quite alot.

Best custom burger that isn't a create your taste?

read above please

mrsbass79, were you born in 1979? Are you 37 years old?

Neither