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.
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: 
There was this girl named Gabriella - maybe 19 years old - who worked in the kitchen. She spoke very little English, was constantly arguing with people in the kitchen, refused to follow procedures and policies, and liked to simply stare with an angry look when she was asked to do something that was more than putting sandwiches together. I observed all this in the first two shifts working with her, and it was more apparent a few weeks in. So, she was in fact my first "target" for growth. I spent a lot of time trying to demonstrate to her the proper procedures, and in fact, since I was so new, I made her train me some of the things that I didn't know (or what I wanted her to demonstrate correctly). Every time she did something well I praised her for it. A few shifts into this, I started taking it more proactively. I'd show her things that I knew she was uncomfortable and possibly even angry about doing - like stocking small freezers correctly, labeling things with times, making sure that cheese is "tempering" and labeled properly, mopping, preparing sanitized water, etc. I'd follow basic "coaching" procedures on all of these - explain the right way, demonstrate the right way, provide praise when they do it right. After a while, it sank in that all of these things were easy, and earned her praise from managers all the time. Silly thing that it is, praise from someone (even someone you may not like) is valuable and potent. It's even more important when it comes from someone you do know and love. We were short handed one day, and none of our staff could cover. So we got a staff member, Luna, from another store, and she was essentially this girl Gabriella +5 years. As soon as I explained where she'd be working and she got next to Gabriella, I was like "Wow you two could be sisters! You look so much alike!" and they both giggled. They were sisters. Well, it turns out Luna was in fact the rock star super-Ace in her store and throughout the day Luna and Gabriella were praising the hell out of each other, and Luna seemed genuinely surprised that her sister could not only keep up with her in the workflow, but was able to hold on to every policy and procedure in the heat of a lunch rush. In the end, Gabriella started along a path to management and was transferred to another store, as ours already had 3 new-ish swing managers and 2 management candidates. The whole time between meeting her with her horrible attitude and her moving on to being a management candidate in another store would not have happened if I did not coach her using tried and true McDonald's coaching procedures. It took me having a good attitude to accomplish this as well. Keep in mind however, there are total jerks and a-holes who have no intention of doing well, ever, no matte what you do. Those people get fired and wonder why the world hates them so much.
Share Answer: 
I think on the Store manager/Director/Owner Operator level this went on, but among crew no way. Like I said in another question - we knew where we were working.
Share Answer: 
Look the person in the eye, like they are a human being. Smile at them genuinely. Start your order off with, "Hi! May I please have..." and end it with, "Thank you!" Compliment them, if you feel like it, in exactly the same way you would compliment any other human being you interact with in the world. There's no magic trick. That person might still hate you with everything in their soul. Or you may be the first person to treat them like a person all day. As to tips, almost assuredly no, McDonald's employees are not allowed to accept tips. The reason for this is varied, but mostly because tipped employees are paid differently than non-tipped employees and it's a terrible hassle when you have tipped employees. McDonald's wouldn't be able to have their prices so low and allow tipping. It's fine at more expensive eating establishments because that's built into their pricing. Also, low-priced mom and pops will always allow you to tip and they'll keep that part of it quiet, most likely. But anywhere that always has tipped employees has to have at least one accountant to handle the headaches.
Share Answer: 
Dating Website Employee
What are the most common mistakes guys make on out their profiles?
Chick-fil-A General Manager
What's the back-story behind the cow mascot and eat-mor-chikin campaign?
Radio program/music director
Do radio stations have to pay royalties to artists to play their songs?
Very rarely will a McDonald's dining room be full. The longer people stay, the more often they'll come. If you make it easy and convenient for a customer to come hang out for an hour and a half, the more likely they'll repeatedly come in. Even if they just order a soda or a coffee - the profit level of those drinks is so high that it takes 10 refills before the McDonald's loses money. Also, if you come more often, you spend more money. It's pretty simple really.
Share Answer: 
This really depends on the store, how common a problem this is, customer flow, and local and state laws. Your best bet is to ask someone who works at your neighborhood McDonald's.
Share Answer: 
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: 
-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
