After seeing what goes on behind the scenes of my McDonald's store.

[Deleted]

And it's probably not only McDonalds. If you want to be safe, always cook your own food. I'm too lazy, so I take the chance.

[Deleted]

Meh, I never liked Mcdonalds at all, I did like it as a kid but these days it seriously gives me diarrhea each and every time. Doesn't taste good either.

Also it's ironic for the stereotype because I am fat, so you wouldn't expect it.

Also 2 friends of mine have worked at Mcdonalds, they had good hygiene standards they say. But different Mc, different people etc.

[Darsithis]

it's gross, but usually harmless. you've eaten a bunch of insects, hair, skin, spit, even semen, over the years. fuck the average person swallows 2 spiders a year in their sleep.

That's also a myth: http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/spiders.asp

They must do something to it to get it the way it is. The McDoubles and cheap sandwiches have this weird kind of beef that is all spongy. I stopped getting them after I realized "If this didn't have cheese I wouldn't taste anything.".

Try having a completely fresh burger, just cooked, at McDonalds. The difference is enormous. There are a lot of factors that go into making the burgers taste the way they do: how long have they been sitting out, how clean the stove is (ie, the number of burgers cooked earlier), how well the meat is spiced properly, and, of course, your personal preference. I find the burgers to be about the same taste as any regular 80% lean beef burger from Jewel Osco's meat dept would be. You can make your own burgers, of course, and their flavor will vary depending on what spices you use in the preparation of the meat. And, of course, don't forget condiments and the bun, all of which have an effect on the overall taste of said burger.

But it's all beef. All. And that's why it's important to stay clean. No one wants the nasty bacteria from beef to get all over the place because bugs track it everywhere.

[Deleted]

Evidence, Evidence, Evidence.

Document Everything. Times, Places, What happened, What did not happen, Who done what.
Take photo's where possible, video is even better. Set your phone to record conversations with the management.
Give it all to the health authority, and to McD's Corporate.

Don't think of it as being a snitch, you're dealing with food that people pay for. people could catch all sorts of bugs if it is as bad as you say.

[helic]

Your thought process was, "better go to a gaming forum and complain"? You couldn't maybe Google health and safety things?

[Maconi]

I've worked at a really nice steak house and it was the same there. I remember the chefs having to take a piece of rotten meat, cut the rot off of it, and cook it anyway (they said cooking it would kill any germs) . They wouldn't address ANY health/safety concerns unless it was inspection time (there were NO random inspections). I remember one time we actually didn't pass inspection and we literally paid off the inspector.

It happens everywhere, not just fast food.

[Nasriel]

That goes well beyond what a normal McDonalds should and you should report it immediately. I worked at McDonalds myself from when I was 16 to 19 (gosh it's been 11 years) and I never, ever saw that. We were clean and spic & span. Now that doesn't mean we followed the rules to the letter (especially about throwing food away immediately), but that's definitely not normal.

I too worked for Maccas about 12 years ago now and my store followed all the regulations to the letter. The place was immaculate. If you had long hair tying it back wasn't good enough. You had to wear a hair net. If they saw you touch your face you were marched out back to thoroughly wash your hands. The second the food expired (didn't happen very often as we didn't usually overcook and it was a busy store so the food didn't usually stay on the shelf more than 10mins) and the freezer always used the oldest stock first.

The grosest thing that happened at my store was one day I was trying to put more of the shake mix stuff in the machine and a fly landed in the fluid >_<;; we had to drain the whole machine and put all new stuff in it (I wasn't popular for that lol) and once we got a shipment of mouldy buns (that wasn't our fault tho. That was a warehouse issue and it never got to the customers) other than that that store was clean as hell. I had no problems eating there.

Can't speak for what it's like these days as I don't work there anymore and don't want to. But I don't tend to eat at places like maccas anyway

[The One Percent]

Fast food prepared by teenagers being paid minimum wage and supervisors who hate how their lives turned out tends to be disgusting? You don't say?

[wowaccounttom]

will get you fired. that type of fast food place is owned by an individual who wants to save money by (a) having food ready so customers dont leave or so that they come back because they know they can order and get it right away, and (b) not having to order more food from the mcdonalds supplier.

unless you can guarantee that the current administrator will get fired, in which case the store is most likely to close anyways, you wont get off easily. if the owner is only given a warning, you will find yourself in a lot of trouble at work and will most likely get fired (not right away) because of the fee the owner has to pay for having been reported, all the paperwork needed to be filled out, the extra expense of now having to comply with regulation and order more food and his time since he would have to go for training again.

if you are going to report him, do so when you know you are leaving and do it anonymously.

[Dolus]

I feel sick to my stomach that I ever ate at McDonald's. Firstly, there are timers on the meats like burgers, crispy chicken, ect ect. When the timers go off, you're supposed to throw them away and make fresh meat. My store doesn't do that. There are times where the Grilled Chicken has been sitting in the rack for 3 hours and they still serve it. You're supposed to change them out with fresh grilled chicken every 60 minutes. When the grilled chicken sits in that rack for that long, they get very hard and dry. Same thing goes for every other meat in the rack. I remember the first day I was there, I attempted to follow the rules and throw the meat away when it was time to exchange them for fresh meat. I was told by the managers not to do it because their waste count would be through the roof. The only time they actually throw them away is when the inspectors are there. Some employees don't change their gloves after they handle the trash. So they will handle the trash and then go back on the table to handle your food.

Bugs.. There are bugs EVERYWHERE. Flies get free roam on the condiments. It's pretty nasty when you have 3 to 5 flies all sitting on the cheese that you use for the sandwiches. Roaches.. Yes, I have seen a few roaches and you know what they say about that. Once you see one roach then there are hundreds more hiding. The managers even know about it. Some employees don't change their gloves after they handle the trash. So they will handle the trash and then go back on the table to handle your food.

I'm not saying every McDonald's is like that one I work at. I'm sure there are stores that are clean and follow the rules, but can you imagine how many other stores are as lazy as the one I am working at? I guess the reason why I am posting this is because after watching that Golden Carel video, thought I would share that stuff like that happens at McDonald's as well.

You should watch Bar Rescue on SpikeTV. Or, Restaurant: Impossible on the Food Network.

[serenka]

It's not every McDonald's, a friend in school worked in the local one here, he said he was surprised about clean it was and how strict the managers were there on hygiene and cleaning. Whereas I worked a 4star hotel in the kitchen and was shocked about how bad it was there, place was disgusting, I left after 3 months, cleaning to them meant chucking s bucket of luke-warm water over the dirt and let it drain. Saw a chef once even smoking inside the kitchen, disgusting.

[Gorlak]

I have worked with a restaurant that was high class, same things happen there. If you want the best kind of food make it yourself.

Exactly, most restaurants do this, no matter how expensive and classy they are.

[oxymoronic]

I have worked with a restaurant that was high class, same things happen there. If you want the best kind of food make it yourself.

Odd cause I've worked at over 7 different fast food / high end restaurants and never seen what this kid describes. I would say we have a better standard here in Vegas but I know that is not 100% true as I hear about places being shut down. Our local news does coverage on the situation every week and it surprises me the places that get shut down. Most are asian but sometimes its bars n grills that you would never suspect. Bad employees is what it comes down to, trust me no owner (looking to make $) wants this at their property.

[Degrade]

Call corporate on them. Most chains allow you to do this anonymously, and I'm sure your manager's bosses are much more concerned about health code violations in their restaurant chains than waste count.

[Basemath]

What I'm more surprised by is that you needed this experience to not want to eat there again. I personally do not feel healthy or energized after eating McDonalds/etc. On the other hand, there's tons of much healthier alternatives that give the exact opposite results.

I'd ask you why even eat there if you feel unhealthy afterwards, but then you'd ask me the same thing when I tell you I get a stomach ache after every single Mcdonalds meal.

[v2prwsmb45yhuq3wj23vpjk]

I guess you've never cooked a burger on the stove at home. Its vastly differently then grilling one and tastes pretty awful imo. How mcdonalds even makes it edible is incredible in itself.

You must have fucked up badly because burgers on the stove are delicious but messy.

Try having a completely fresh burger, just cooked, at McDonalds. The difference is enormous. There are a lot of factors that go into making the burgers taste the way they do: how long have they been sitting out, how clean the stove is (ie, the number of burgers cooked earlier), how well the meat is spiced properly, and, of course, your personal preference. I find the burgers to be about the same taste as any regular 80% lean beef burger from Jewel Osco's meat dept would be. You can make your own burgers, of course, and their flavor will vary depending on what spices you use in the preparation of the meat. And, of course, don't forget condiments and the bun, all of which have an effect on the overall taste of said burger.

But it's all beef. All. And that's why it's important to stay clean. No one wants the nasty bacteria from beef to get all over the place because bugs track it everywhere.

I have done that.

Fuck I've probably eaten more McDonald's food than most people posting here, it's not like I've had one bad burger and am judging them all based on that.

The patties on their cheaper sandwiches (I never order anything else really) seem to be all fucked up and spongey. Not dry, but like there is a lot of air or something. Perhaps they just don't use anything else like an egg or any sort of seasoning and cook it on too high a temperature. Whatever it is, it's fucking weird and doesn't taste like beef even though it is.

[OzoAndIndi]

Well, as an onion hater, good thing I've rarely eaten there. o.O Not that the other places are probably any better.

Though McDonalds IMO is on the lower end of meat quality... pieces of bone in the nuggets I found last time I tried to eat them? Yeah, no thanks. Granted maybe it's improved since them, but I dunno... I do enjoy their hashbrowns and fries.

I remember the first day I was there, I attempted to follow the rules and throw the meat away when it was time to exchange them for fresh meat. I was told by the managers not to do it because their waste count would be through the roof.

I love how when you start a new job you always have to watch the video and junk, then you find out what the "real" rules are later.

[Bigbazz]

Get a whole bunch of evidence (video/photo), put them together nicely into a short video and upload to youtube!

[Myrrar]

People saying 'this is rare!', it's not. People saying 'this is so common!', it's not. It has nothing to do with McDonalds, it has to do with the people running it. There are good managers and bad managers.

Two of my roommates in Uni worked in food, one at Mcdonalds and one at Outback, both always had horror stories. The 1st McDs he worked at they always kept food way longer than it should be, never cleaned the icecream machine, would peel off date stickers when opening on salads/parfaits so they could sell them the next day, didn't hold people accountable to using good hygiene when it came to gloves/hand washing, and so on. The second one he worked at he said were way better and always tried to do what they were supposed to, but when their main manager was gone they did most of the same things.

Outback they were a lot better because it's not fast food, but they still didn't use the standards they were supposed to.


Some restaurants are better than others, some worse. If the managers don't care the employees don't care. If you think this is insanely rare go talk to all your friends who work in the food industry, you may be in for a surprise. It's not 'every fast food restaurant' but it's definitely not rare.

[Dhrizzle]

Fuck I've probably eaten more McDonald's food than most people posting here, it's not like I've had one bad burger and am judging them all based on that.

The patties on their cheaper sandwiches (I never order anything else really) seem to be all fucked up and spongey. Not dry, but like there is a lot of air or something. Perhaps they just don't use anything else like an egg or any sort of seasoning and cook it on too high a temperature. Whatever it is, it's fucking weird and doesn't taste like beef even though it is.

The actual patties are just beef, no binding or seasoning in them, and they're cooked on a double-sided grill that takes 46 seconds (or at least it did when I worked there last millennium).