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With over 68 million customers being served daily in its tens of thousands of restaurants worldwide, McDonald’s is the most well-known fast-food brand in the world. With outlets in more than 100 nations, the company has dramatically grown since its founding in 1940.
While experts on Big Macs and McNuggets might believe they know everything there is to know about the Golden Arches, only employees of McDonald’s are aware of what happens behind the scenes.
These McDonald’s secrets—direct from staff who spilled the beans on Reddit—are guaranteed to surprise even the most ardent fans, from how probable it is that you’ll be able to get your hands on fresh fries to what’s really in those Egg McMuffins.
1. You Must Request Fresh Food
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Ask for your World-Famous Fries and McDouble to be served hot off the grill rather than precooked and reheated. Despite the chain’s rapid ingredient turnover, don’t assume that everything is always fresh. “I’d personally ask for everything fresh even if you have to wait 3-5 minutes for it to be ready,” one Reddit user said. “Some restaurants do a horrible job at keep[ing] track of the fresh timers.”
2. There Isn’t A Secret Menu
There isn’t a fixed list of off-menu items you can request at McDonald’s, but the staff will make you pretty much anything the menu allows. One employee at McDonald’s wrote, “That’s a big myth. In reality, we don’t have a “secret menu.” When people inquire about it, we just roll our eyes.
3. Yes, The Ice Cream Maker Is Malfunctioning
It’s not far from the ongoing joke that the ice cream and milkshake machines are always broken. The frozen dessert machines’ dependability is, at best, questionable, according to McDonald’s staff. One McDonald’s employee complained on Reddit that the McFlurry/milkshake machine was always breaking and that the time it takes to fix it may cause a day or two’s worth of downtime.
The source claims that there are distinct but visually like mixtures for McFlurries and milkshakes as well and that if they are poured in the wrong spot, the machine has a history of shutting down. Legal action has been taken because it is so problematic.
4. Consider Skipping The Breakfast Burrito
The breakfast burrito at McDonald’s is the one meal you should avoid ordering. The morning burritos’ eggs are also cooked in a microwave, and the burritos aren’t exactly leaping off the shelves. According to one employee, “They end up sitting in the cabinet for a while.”
5. Real Eggs Are Used To Produce Egg Mcmuffins
No need to worry: Your Egg McMuffin is made of real eggs, despite what we’ve all heard about what goes into fast restaurant meals.
Although it would be difficult to imagine how someone could make an egg so perfectly round, it is the product of a careful cooking technique. One McDonald’s employee described the process of cooking eggs: “We have to crack the shells and set the eggs in specific rings on the grill.
We then place a cover over the top of the rings (our store prepares eight at a time) and put a little water through a small funnel at the top. The eggs are steamed and cooked simultaneously.” It takes some time to “learn” the proper technique to get the eggs to look precisely round, but it’s pretty cool.
6. The Hiring Procedure Is More Difficult Than You May Have Imagined
It’s harder to be employed than you would assume. We reject many applicants throughout the hiring process, even though McDonald’s is a no-skills-required job, according to a long-time McDonald’s employee.
She goes on to say that managers look for a variety of attributes when recruiting, including strong communication skills, a team player mindset, having extracurricular activities on your resume, and the opportunity for growth.
7. Your Preferred Meal Can Be Purchased For Less Money
Want to get your next Mickey D’s order for a little less money? It is doable. One Redditor claims, “You can order a sausage muffin and a side of round egg cheaper than you can purchase a Sausage Egg McMuffin.” They also suggest ordering kids’ meals with double fries or an egg and cheese muffin rather than an Egg McMuffin.
8. Employees Of Drive-Through Restaurants Are Not Permitted To Sit
Searching for a position that requires constant movement? Try submitting an application for a drive-thru job at your neighborhood Mickey D’s.
One employee of a drive-through wrote, “We’re not permitted to sit, but we’re expected to stand at our windows for hours on end.” My lower back and feet really suffer when standing still for extended periods of time.”
9. Great Discounts Are Given To Employees
Although the pay at McDonald’s may not be the highest in the restaurant industry, the savings are fairly great. One employee of McDonald’s stated, “We receive stuff like discounts with Apple, Via Rail, Hotels, and 25% off shoes at Payless.”
10. Beef From Mcdonald’s Is Grade A
While it’s often believed that your McDonald’s hamburger contains anything from eyeballs to worms, that’s not the case. High-quality ingredients go into making the burgers. One employee stated, “[It’s] Grade A meat, that’s all.” “After it was done, we merely put salt and pepper on it.”
11. Drive-Thrus Won’t Accept You If You’re On Foot
Employees at a McDonald’s drive-thru who refuse to serve you when you approach stumbling aren’t just being tough. “We have a policy that prohibits us from serving customers who are not in a “motorized vehicle” in [the] drive-thru since it can be risky,” one employee wrote. “Pedestrians, bicycles, and electric scooters cannot be served.”
12. Every Week, The Milkshake Maker Is Cleaned
The milkshake machine may be operational, but that does not imply that it is clean. Their milkshake machines were only cleaned once a week, an employee claimed on Reddit. They wrote, “We actually have tubes that hook up to tubes in the machinery. We did it every Saturday by running soap, water, and sanitizer through all the pipes with a machine.
13. You Can Substitute Any Sauce
Not happy with the sauce on your Big Mac? Ask for a replacement right now. One McDonald’s employee said that you are permitted to swap any other sauce if you are dissatisfied with the one that comes with your food.
14. Reserving Food That Has Been Dropped
Despite the fact that the majority of McDonald’s employees report clean working conditions, occasionally, a dishonest employee will offer downright repulsive food, according to Reddit. In addition to serving food that had been prepared many hours earlier, one McDonald’s employee said that buns and nuggets frequently fell to the ground before being picked up and served.
15. Every Day At 24-Hour Venues, There Is A Cash-Only Period
It could be a good idea to have cash if you wake up with a midnight McDonald’s craving. One employee stated that restaurants that operate around the clock must restart their systems every night.
The person taking the orders literally needs to take down the orders, check prices, and add the total because nothing can be recorded into the system. As a result, we are only accepting cash during a 30- to 90-minute window.
16. Perhaps That Apple Pie Isn’t As Fresh As You Believe
The fact that the apple pie is hot and crispy does not imply that it is still fresh. Those pies may be a lot older than they appear to be, one McDonald’s employee believes. The insider stated, “We simply slap on a new expiration date when they expire.”
17. They Find Your Special Requests To Be Bothersome
It will take some time to leave the kitchen if you’re making frequent changes on your order. Even worse, you’ll be causing the store as a whole to be delayed. Anything that needs to be “custom” is labeled as a “special request,” one employee stated. In order to come over and inquire about the unique request, they must physically stop working.
And if you believe that asking for fries without salt will guarantee you a fresh batch, there is a simpler method that is less demanding on the staff. The staff may need to clean the scoop and basket if you request them without salt.If the store is not crowded, simply request new fries. You’ll still get a hot batch without giving the staff any additional stress.
18. They Will Bill You More For Some Ingredients
You shouldn’t be shocked if your order of double lettuce and double cheese costs more. One McDonald’s staff noted, “You will be charged more for some products.” We’ll add $0.30 for the Mac Sauce and $0.20–$0.30 for the shredded lettuce, making it similar to the “Poor Man’s Big Mac” (a McDouble with shredded lettuce and Mac Sauce).
19. Making Artisan Sandwiches Is Difficult
Don’t be surprised if it takes forever to receive your handmade sandwich because fast food and artisanal food are typically incompatible. According to a staff member, the artisan chicken sandwiches take the longest to prepare, with the chicken alone taking eight minutes on average if there isn’t any previously made.
Did you learn any new secrets today by reading this article? If you know any more secrets, please share them in the comments. And don’t forget to spread the news so that we can hear from more people.
