Life at Maccas | A Year in the Life of a McDonald's Employee

Well, That Was Embarrassing.

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Jaz

I am clumsy.

But not too clumsy, not in a seriously obviously clumsy way. It’s not one of my defining features. And when I am clumsy I usually over-play it because I’m a drama queen.

But, in all honesty, being clumsy is not funny when you don’t have an audience.

I was opening this morning, meaning I woke up at six in the morning and got to the mall at quarter to seven. I open Counter, so I turn on the frozen machine and the ice cream machine, and I replenish the tomato sauce packets and the blackcurrant juice.
Stuff like that.

I also deal to the fry machine. I noticed that the oil level was lower than it should be, so I went and got a new bag of vegetable oil.

The bag is huge, and when it’s full it is surprisingly heavy, like you’re carrying two squirming babies. And I’ve carried two squirming babies before. It’s not as easy as it sounds. And no, it doesn’t sound easy.

I heaved the bag onto the edge of the fry machine and unscrewed the special, bright yellow plastic cap. I placed it carefully to one side and then started filling one of the vats up. I moved onto the next one, and forgot all about the cap. Not a moment later, I heard a little clunk and that’s when I noticed there was a now bright yellow thing at the bottom of the vat.

‘Oh, bother,’ I thought indifferently, thinking I could just reach in and grab the cap with my hand. That’s when I realised that the machine was on and that this oil was hot.

“Oh, crap!”

Now, there’s a sort of giant fly swat thing that we use to fish out chips and all the batter-y bits that come off the hash browns and fries as we fry them up – kinda like a pool cleaning net. So while I awkwardly held the neck of the oil bag in one hand (if I let go, about 15 litres of oil would spill all over the floor) I reached out for the chip net and began to fish the plastic cap out quickly and carefully. One wrong move and I could lose the cap to the deep dark depths of the oil vat forever.

Fortunately I have been blessed with amazing eye-hand coordination (which always seems to be bailing out my clumsiness) and I did manage to retrieve it successfully!

But, the specially-designed cap was now melted in such a way that it couldn’t fit back onto the bag. So here I am, the clock ticking closer towards opening time, unable to let go of a really full oil bag and staring at its melted lid.

I passed a little time by ripping off some tissue paper and drying all the oil off it. That was when I accidentally dropped it behind the bench I was at. Now I was awkwardly holding onto a really full oil bag, staring at its melted lid lying on the floor.

With one hand I attempted to move the bench out so that I could grab it, but everything seemed to be in the way. I tried again with no avail.

“Why?!” I cried silently to God.

Suddenly the guy opening Kitchen came into view. But I didn’t know his name.

“Hey! Hey!” I called out to him, trying to make it sound casual enough that it wasn’t so obvious that I really had no clue as to what his name was. “Can you, uh, help me? Please?”

It took a moment to relay to him what was wrong. Neither of us really spoke, we kind of just looked at each other, and then looked at the lid on the floor, and then I looked back at him in a desperate damsel-in-distress kind of way and he rolled his eyes and shrugged.

He managed to get the bench out from the wall (let me point out that he had two hands!) and gave me the lid. But, it was still a lid that couldn’t screw back onto the bag!

Fortunately, my manager Krish came to the rescue and, using a pair of scissors, remoulded the cap. Hooray! It fit!

So, that was the beginning of a series of unfortunate incidents of clumsiness. It certainly wasn’t my morning as I managed to spill hot chocolate all over a customer’s white work shirt (he was very gracious about it, but I died) and then I dropped a drink in the crew room, getting ice all over the floor.

*sigh* What is life.

Maccas Run

Posted on March 10, 2015 by Jaz

James points at the wall where a poster proclaiming about Round the Bays is hanging.
“You want to do it?” he asks excitedly.

I hesitate. Mingling with workmates outside of work?

“Michelle’s doing it,” he points at Michelle, who looks up slightly confused before realising what we’re talking about. “Oh yeah,” she exclaims, “Come do it!”

Now, for those of you who don’t know, Round the Bays is a run where you go around four or five bays at Mission Bay in Auckland. McDonald’s was offering to pay our entry fee if we gave donations towards Ronald McDonald House – which I thought was an amazing idea!

“Yeah, sure! I’ll totally do it!” I reply.

Two weeks before the day, I decide I should get some training in. The run was just over eight kilometres (just over five miles) so using Google Maps, I try to figure out a practice route. Seeing as I had two weeks I thought I’d start small and go for six kilometres.

Unfortunately I didn’t really think this through; the route I had picked went up this massive hill that just kept on going. It was one of those hills where you think you’re near the top and then it decides to laugh in your face as it continues in a steep climb around a sneaky corner.

Halfway up I was really sick of jogging so I started to sprint up the rest, which was a seriously terrible idea. I felt faint and dizzy from dehydration and stumbled my way around Mount Eden in search of a water fountain.

To my utter horror, when I did find a water fountain, it was broken and didn’t work so I ended up – out of desperation – staggering into a bathroom and greedily drinking from the sink (using my hands!)

I then decide to have a little nap on some soft grass, under a nice, shady tree.

I never went for another run before the big day.

A week before the run, James reminds us all that we’re supposed to be getting sponsored for this thing so that we can donate to Ronald McDonald House. Most people were only donating $10. In fact, the only person who wasn’t donating $10 was James, who had a nice big $50 by his name.

I grin. “I’m gonna one-up you,” I declare, “I’m gonna donate fifty-one dollars!”
“Woh-ho!” James raises his hands in surrender, “Okay then.”

I end up giving $56. And yes, I donated the most from our store.

The Big Day.

Natalie, Michelle, and there’s me blinking in the blinding morning sun.

Were we ready? Probably not. But we were excited! I was especially impressed by the not-as-bad-as-I-thought-they-would-be shirts that Maccas provided.

I was entrusted with the bus money and we all squish into a bus that was bursting at the seams. There was a couple sitting in the seats near me, and the man had proudly run it last year (but only last year) and was explaining everything that would happen in a very loud I-know-everything-and-my-opinion-is-more-important-than-yours voice which really got on my nerves. He was complaining about how f***ing long it was taking and “the buses dropped us off there last year! Why the f*** did they change it?! That’s stupid!”

His companion sat silently next to him, trying valiantly to ignore his wonderful words of faux wisdom. After another five minute barrage of unwarranted complaining, she finally turned to him and told him to “just shut up!” much to the relief of everyone around him.

Finally we were dropped off at the starting line. Or, well, as close as we could get to it.

Couldn’t even see the start from where we were standing.

So many people! It was amazing!

Natalie and I just so happened to walk a little faster than everyone else and within a minute we lost the rest of the Maccas crew. But while they had decided to walk the entire thing, we were going to run it.

And yes, I brought a camera with me.

ALL THE PEOPLE

We had fun running past all the walkers and weaving through the crowd, which got pretty tricky and exhilaratingly close to the harbour at times.

In the end, we split after I got a beautifully massive stitch and I reverted to the lamp post tactic: sprint two lamp posts, walk one, sprint two lamp posts, walk another one.

To my utter pride, I managed to finish under the hour, in fifty-seven minutes and ten seconds! I came 5868th out of 21,591! And with only one training run under my belt!

Necessary exhausted selfie at the finish line

I think I did pretty well.

Shoe Update

Posted on March 5, 2015 by Jaz

So, I thought I would give an update on my shoe crisis.

I had work today and when I went to get my work shoes I remembered they were supremely dirty. I, accompanied by my friend and brother, went to go see a sunrise at Takapuna Beach and we had pancakes and hot chocolate and it was beautiful.

However, for some stupid reason, I decided to wear my work shoes, and this outing included clambering over clay-smothered rocks and accidentally being splashed by the in-coming tide.

Ooh, look, a hole!

My work shoes were now definitely not McDonald’s Approved. And so, I came up with a plan to go to the mall half an hour early so I could buy a brand spanking new pair.

Lo and behold, my new Kmart shoes!

Beautifully cheap Kmart shoes

I really only got them to look the part. As it turns out, they’re more slippery than my previous shoes, which is crazy. BUT, I didn’t spend $112 on them, and James, my boss, says they’re okay.

Just okay, though.

“How much did they cost? Like, $30 I bet,” he laughed. “Or maybe even $25!”
“Or maybe $17,” I muttered ashamedly.

Yes, I am a cheapskate. But, hey, I saved $100, which I can now spend on getting an outfit for my cousin’s 21st. Praise the Lord for Kmart!

McDonald’s Approved

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Jaz

James, my restaurant manager, comes up to me and points at my shoes.
“These are not acceptable shoes. They are not McDonald’s approved,” he says.

I know my shoes are not McDonald’s approved. I’ve been told that since I got them, which was at least two years ago, but I’ve still continued to wear them. However, now it seemed my rebellious shoe reign had come to end as James comes back out of the office with a piece of paper featuring seven different shoes.

“These shoes are McDonald’s approved,” he gestures to the sheet, “It’s all in the heel. You cannot slip in these shoes.” He then points at my thin, fraying, canvas shoes, “These shoes are dangerous, you can slip in those.”

He is, of course, correct. I have slipped many a time in these shoes. One time I slipped really comically in front of a dozen customers as I ran to stop the frappe machine from spraying everyone with water. And when I say comically, I mean it was in slow motion and my legs went straight up in the air and I landed perfectly on my butt. It was one of those awkward moments where everyone’s like, ‘Do I laugh?’

“McDonald’s will take the cost of these shoes out of your wages for the next six weeks,” James continued. “Look, Viraj is wearing them! Ashiana is wearing some! I’m wearing some! Everyone is getting these shoes.”

Shelley came over to look at the paper with me. We spent like ten minutes deliberating over which ones to get. The last two were the only ones worth getting.

“Those look cool,” she said, pointing at the shoes I was tempted to get, “But those ones look like school shoes.”

We both laugh.
“I got those shoes,” said James.
We both stopped laughing. “Oh, sorry.”

I point at the ones Shelley and I both want, “How much are these?”
“A hundred and twelve dollars,” James replies.
“What?!” I reply, “No way!”
“They’re good, last you two to three years.”

I pointed at my own very worn shoes, “So have these, and they were five dollars!”

“But they’re not McDonald’s approved. It’s all in the heel. The heel is safe and stops you from slipping.”

The conversation was stopped abruptly as a new wave of customers came in. I spent the remainder of my shift musing over my new problem. I reckon I only have six weeks in which I can still get away with wearing my $5 Kmart shoes. But I’m not paying more than $50 on shoes I’m only really gonna wear at work. I work at McDonald’s for goodness’ sake! It’s not like I’m made of money.

I’ve made this plan to go browsing for shoes, find a cheap pair and take a photo of their heels and check if James is okay with them. Yeah, that sounds like a good plan. Then I won’t lose out on $112.

I’m going back to Kmart.

Upselling Champ

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Jaz

I’m terrible at upselling. I hate upselling.

“Jasmine,” my supervisor would say as I clock in, “we need to sell more waffle cones.” Or it would be BBQ cheeseburgers or soft serves with a flake.

I actually love money, like almost in a worshiping way, which is terrible. But this means that I never want to push product on people so that they’d spend money they weren’t planning to spend.

However, we have boxes and boxes and boxes of popping candy that we never bothered to sell with our frozen cokes. Last week it was made a goal for those of us on counter to sell away all our blimming popping candy. When you sold one, you’d excitedly tell the rest of the crew on counter and everyone would celebrate!

Last week I sold five, as I proudly told Suki, my supervisor.

“I reckon I could sell another seven today!” I said, taking seven from the box and putting them next to my computer.

“Nah, nah,” she said, “I challenge you to sell ten!” and she picked up three more and gave them to me. I nodded at the challenge. I accept.

“What about you?” I said to Henry who was starting at the same time, “Can you sell ten?”
“Nope, I’m going to sell eleven!” he said, and he took as much.

Right then James, our Restaurant manager, walked in. “Alright, if you sell ten, you get a free ice cream. Sell twenty, you can get a sundae.”

Best motivation ever.

I managed to sell nine in the first hour, which made me puff up with pride. Henry only had three. But almost every single customer, whether or not they bought a frozen drink, I’d ask if they’d want one. “Would you like to have popping candy for a dollar?”

At the end of four hours, I’d managed to sell TWENTY TWO.

So here I am, eating a chocolate sundae. Smugly.

The Years Before This One

Posted on February 7, 2015 by Jaz

To give you a taste of what this blog may sound like, here is a small compilation of my life as a Maccas employee.

First up, “Maccas” is what Kiwis call McDonald’s for short. I’m not sure if that’s a thing elsewhere in the world, so just in case I thought I’d clarify that.

A Girl in Uniform

I’m sitting around a large table in a conference room. Other newly hired kids (and adults) were waiting quietly as a woman come to stand at the head.

“OK, so we’re going to deal out your uniform. I’m a very good judge of size, so just stand up as I call your name and I’ll give it to you.”

Names were called, people stood. Yeah, she was pretty good at judging size.

“Jasmine.”

I stood. The woman stared me down from the opposite end of the table.

“Size 14 shirt, size 16 pants.”

I blanked. I’m pretty sure I’m size eight shirt, size ten pants. But, I was a shy teenager who didn’t want to look insecure in her size, so I sat down silently. This, people, is why I wear uniform that is fantastically too big for me.

The Cool Customer

An older type fellow bounced up to the counter. No, I mean, he literally bounced up to the counter.

“I haven’t been to McDonald’s in over twenty years!” he cried jovially. I was a little taken aback, having just dealt with a grouchy customer who yelled at me for not being able to give her a second free tea.

“Oh,” was all I could think of to say.

“Hum,” he pondered loudly, stroking his chin quite purposefully, “I think I’ll have one of your soft cone ice creams. I haven’t had one since I was a boy!”

I was really starting to enjoy this character, “That’ll be 60 cents,” I said.

“60 cents?” he said, not at all disappointed, “My, that’s cheap! Now, I have to pay by credit card, is that alright?”

I laughed, “Yeah, that’s fine!” and I readied the eftpos machine.

“Ooh, I can’t really see,” the man commented, squinting down at the screen, “I’m going to have to take out my magnifying glass!” And like you imagine a cartoon Sherlock Holmes whipping out his magnifying glass, so too did this man comically whip one out. He peered through the square glass at the card machine and slowly began prodding buttons in a large and obvious way.

I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face!

As he took his ice cream and I handed over a couple of serviettes, I stopped him.

“I’m sorry, sir,” I said, quite breathless and in awe of this old man’s child-like joy, “But I have to tell you that you are really, really cool, and thank you! You’re just awesome.”

“Oh, why, thank you!” He seemed quite flattered, and then he bounced away.

The Not-So-Cool Customer

I had just served a woman a combo of some sort. She was in a little bit of a mood, so I tried being all cheerful and bubbly in an attempt to put some sunshine in her day (in hindsight, this might have annoyed her all the more).

Unfortunately, I had forgotten to give her a straw, so she asked me for one. She seemed to be in a bit of a hurry, so I quickly located one and slid it across the counter at her, which would have been faster than me stretching over the counter to hand it to her.

“DON’T THROW IT AT ME,” she yelled, which quite shocked me as I was hardly expecting that.

The Greatest Lesson I Have Learned From Maccas

I started Maccas with two of my friends. We were the only white people there at the time, and because we were all girls with various shades of blonde hair, no one ever got our names right. I was always either Breanna or Chloe. Never Jaz.

I was totally fine with this, because I didn’t actually know many other people’s names anyway. I didn’t care so much for my other colleagues when I first started. I was enjoying the job too much.

Breanna and Chloe have since left Maccas, and I’ve started talking and chatting and interacting more with my co-workers. If there’s something I would pass on to every single person getting a new job, it would be this:

Make friends.

To be honest, all the fun comes from talking with your workmates! I have never enjoyed work as much as I do now, just because I’m now friends with many of my fellow crew members! I’m a person who loves a change in scene and the painful truth is that the job hasn’t changed in the three years I’ve been there. But people always have something new to say.

And team tagging the drinks machine is never fun if you can’t work well with your team mate!

And there we have it, a quick look at Maccas. There’s more to come, so keep an eye out! This year is going to get interesting!