10.21.2008

I've Found It!

I've figured it out...found my niche! It's about time, right Ann?!

If someone can write about their experiences as a toll booth worker, I can write mine about my experiences as a McDonald's employee. Now comes the honesty, I guess I have to be upfront...I, Laura, work at McDonald's. There--it felt good to get it out there. ;-) Now, despite the stigma attached to those who work at fast food joints, I will not be working there forever and serving burgers to people I graduated high school with. It's a college gig, pays my bills and keeps me out of trouble.

So many people come through McDonald's drive thru that there is no reason I cannot write about them here. I would however like to include a disclaimer that I apologize now for any stories I tell that could have actually been anyone reading this or your friends or to anyone who has done any of the things I might possible mention.

So to begin my post keep in mind I work drive thru--meaning I take your order (order taking), take your cash (drawer), or hand you your food (present). When coming through drive thru remember these tips:

1.) We can hear the person in the passenger seat, the speakers are pretty good, don't talk about us right then, wait till you pull away.
2.) Because of #1, you DO NOT need to yell into the speaker, we can hear you at a normal speaking volume.
3.) I am NOT a mind reader, there is no special McDonald's mind reading class. That means, that thing-a-majig and oh ya know are not items on our menu.
4.) When you say you want nuggets or a Happy Meal, once again, I am not a mind reader. I do not know how many nuggets you want or what type of Happy Meal you want either.
5.) When asked if you would like sauce for nuggets, do not just say yes. We have a variety of sauce, specify or I'm giving you no sauce.
6.) We have Coke not Pepsi, that's why there are Coke logos everywhere.
7.) Don't take 30,000 minutes to pull around to the first window because you're digging for change, prepare yourself.
8.) I do not serve you food at the first window.
9.) When I recite your order to you, I do it to make sure it's correct and you don't come back bitching in 15 minutes, don't look at me blankly, answer me.
10.) Most importantly, if you are going to complain about service, time it takes to get your food, whether too fast or too slow (yes people complain about how fast food comes), the amount of liquid in your drink, your fries, your Happy Meal toy, your food, ANYTHING...just remember: You could have cooked it at home, at your specifications, speed, flavor preferences, etc. We can only do so much.

There, a few pointers to remember, and not meant to be rude, just humorous. :)

5 comments:

JJRegan said...

This post is HILLARIOUS! I've never worked in the food industry, but I have worked in retail and I'm telling you, the customers must've just come from McDonalds! I have a million horror stories of my own, (on my first day a customer didn't want to pay cash, then she told me to go to hell when I asked her for her credit card) and I can't wait to read about more of your ridiculous customers!

Emily H. said...

Hi! I loved your drive-thru tips for McDonalds. I worked for a grocery store when I was going to college at JCC so I hear your pain! Working there really made me appreciate that this was a college gig and not for the rest of my life! Dealing with the public though never makes for a dull day. The customers always keep you on your toes and keep you guessing what they'll do next. Can't wait to hear more of your stories from the golden arches!

The_Laur said...

Thanks guys...

Anonymous said...

Hahaha I love this blog! I spent a summer working in McDonald's and can relate to some of the things you posted. I can also relate to the whole fast food stigma. People would feel sorry for me or get upset that I worked in McDonald's...it was just a part-time job so I could buy a car! The drive-thru hints made me laugh...I hated/loved drive-thru because of the stupid things people would say.

The_Laur said...

Kayla--At least you get what I mean. Thats exactly what I was doing when getting a job there; I needed the money. lol