r/McDonaldsEmployees • • Aug 07 '26

Rant Stop assuming you got fired.

118 Upvotes

Please stop assuming the worst and thinking you were fired because you can't access the schedule or one of the websites, the manager doesn't respond to you, ect. Way too many of y'all jump to this first conclusion way too often. It takes alot to get fired from McDonald's and they will let you know if you are. Think logically not emotionally.


r/McDonaldsEmployees • • Jun 30 '24

Discussion A post for new employees or for those who have just been recently hired! (US)

56 Upvotes

As an employee of McDonald's for several years, I thought I would make a lengthy post that you can read if you have just been recently hired at McDonald's and want to know what to expect as well as any advice you may need. Feel free to ask any questions that are not covered in this post.

Your first day: Make sure you are at least 15 minutes early on your first day. They will definitely be paying attention if you are late. You should be assigned a crew trainer, or someone that will be training you. Make sure you ask any questions you may have. Do not hesitate to ask questions, or ask to be shown something again if you didn't get it the first time. It's okay if you aren't picking things up right away. It's only your first day. The managers may get annoyed with you if you haven't picked things up in a week or two, but you won't lose the job. They will usually just give you a different position. Like for example if you aren't picking up running for front, they will have someone teach you how to hand out in drive thru or take orders in drive thru instead. You will eventually find a position that works for you.

Your hours and schedule: Don't expect to get full hours right away. If you applied to be full time, you may only get part time hours for the first week or two while you're being trained. Your hours will pick up eventually. It's extremely important that you are clear with the manager that makes the schedules what your availability and desired hours are. I recommend writing it down on paper for them. They will do the best they can to accommodate your schedule but you can't expect them to remember your availability off the top of their head when they have 30+ other employees to keep track of. They are generally very good at giving you the hours you want and remembering what days or times you can't work, but they do forget sometimes.

The work environment: McDonald's is an extremely fast paced environment. There is always something to do, or something that needs to be done. You may be expected to multitask or do multiple jobs at once. This normally isn't expected of you right away. When you're still being trained, you will only learn one area at a time. But the longer you are there and the more experience you get, the more you will be trained at multiple areas and be expected to do more than one thing. Expect rushes. There will be periods of the day where we normally get very busy. This is usually the morning breakfast rush when people are on their way to work between 7-9 AM, the lunch rush between 11AM-1 pm, the after school rush between 2:30PM-4:30PM and the dinner after work rush between 5PM-7PM. There are also days of the week where we normally are very busy. This is usually Fridays-Sundays. Mondays and Tuesdays are generally our slowest days and Wednesdays and Thursdays are in between. Obviously this will differ everywhere but that's the usual at my store. Managers often times get very stressed and it may seem like you are being yelled at or criticized. Don't take it personal. The problem with being a manager is they are literally responsible for everything during their shift. If anything goes wrong, they will be the ones that are blamed by corporate. Seems unfair, but that's how it is. If things go bad enough, they could even be written up. So they may seem strict at times because they will get in trouble if things aren't running as smoothly as they should be. Expect a stressful work environment. I will not sugarcoat it for you. McDonald's is a VERY stressful job. That doesn't mean you can't handle it though. The longer you work there, the easier it gets to navigate the stress and it becomes second nature. That being said, it's not worth sacrificing your mental health either. If the job truly is too much for you to mentally handle, do consider looking elsewhere. It's not supposed to be a toxic environment, but often times it can be. When everyone is under a lot of stress, it can sometimes create a really bad environment. Not every day will be like that though. It also largely depends on management. I won't lie to you, a lot of McDonald's has very bad management. That is what will make or break the store. So your work environment and stress level will depend on how good or bad management is at your store.

Discipline: There are three forms of disciplinary actions. Written warning, or a write up. You will be asked to read and sign a piece of paper that says in writing exactly what your offense was. You are allowed to disagree with a write up and explain your side of the story, but that dosent necessarily mean the write up is void. A write up is usually pretty non serious unless you're wracking up a bunch of them in a short period of time. It's basically just a written warning that this is what you did wrong and your signature on it verifies that you were told what you did wrong and that you were talked to about it. Just don't repeat your mistake and you should be just fine. There's usually no form of punishment beyond that. Those are usually the main form of disclipline.The second form of discipline is suspension. You will be asked to not come to your scheduled shifts for a specific length of time and you will not be paid for the time you are out. Another way this could be done is cutting your hours. This wouldn't be a full suspension where you are completely taken off the schedule for a length of time, but you will be scheduled less days or less hours, usually only temporarily. This is definitely more serious but usually isn't done as a first resort. Suspension is usually done if you have gotten several write ups and are continuing to make the same issues over and over again despite written warnings. It is possible for suspension to be their first form of disciplinary action against you but that's usually if it's quite serious such as drug use/alcohol use on the job, harassment of management or other employees, or stealing. The last form of disciplinary action is termination, or losing the job, aka getting fired. This usually only happens for severe things. In the several years I've been working at McDonald's, only two people have been actually fired. This usually follows a suspension if you keep repeating the same issue. The best thing to remember here is to learn from your mistakes. If you get a disciplinary action against you, just don't do it again. It is very unlikely for the issue to be pushed beyond the disciplinary action if you just don't repeat the same thing again. I've been written up twice in the several years I've worked there, but it never went beyond that. Writeups are sent to corporate and they can stay on your record, but nobody will push the issue if you behave. It's a requirement to keep your writeups in your employee file so if you DO get terminated at any time, they have proof that you were warned about your actions and that you know about it (hence the signature), and that you kept repeating the same issue and that they have a valid reason to terminate you. But it is extremely unlikely that a couple writeups will get you terminated.

That's the best advice I have for you right now. Please comment on this post if you have further questions and I will try to respond to as many of them as I can. Any other specific things or concerns you have you should talk to whoever is in charge at your store. This post is just outlining the things that are most common at pretty much every McDonald's regardless of location. However keep in mind every McDonald's is different and runs differently. This is just a basic guide. I cannot tell you what is going to happen at your location. So if you post a question such as "I did this and this, what will happen to me, will I get in trouble/fired?" That will depend on your store and how they choose to handle it.


r/McDonaldsEmployees • • 4h ago

McMeme IDK how people make these huge orders and expect us to have them ready quickly (USA)

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77 Upvotes

r/McDonaldsEmployees • • 11h ago

Discussion (USA) putting my two weeks in because mold got me sick

25 Upvotes

I've known for a while about the mold in the ABS machines, and I clean it everyday, but I don't work everyday. They're supposed to take it apart every night, they evidently do not. I worked last sunday, and I was doing my routine of cleaning the Frappe machine by blending hot water into it. While it was rinsing comma I noticed a lot of what my manager calls "sugar", its white-brown gooey stuff, so I wiped it down, and then since I was already wiping it down, I was kind of toying around, feeling around the inside, and I started ripping black mold out of it. I was standing there for about 20 minutes, wiping and scraping black mold out of there, and I didn't even clean it all the way. That was one blender, no matter how much I wiped before I would still have a rag full of black mold when I go back in. Flash forward to yesterday, I'm sick at school with chest pains and almost every symptom of mold exposure. Today I didn't even go in, I stayed home because of how horrible it was. I work tomorrow and I'm tempted to not even put my two weeks in, I just want to not show up again.

I feel like I almost have a duty to the public, I've told pretty much everybody at my school not to have any Frappes. Tomorrow when I work, I want to wear a covid mask and get back in there cleaning as deep as I can. It's actually disgusting in there and I'm ashamed for working there in the first place.

Edit: i used voice typing for some of it and forgot to turn the word "comma" into an actual comma. Also some capitalization fixes.


r/McDonaldsEmployees • • 4h ago

Employee question Why do y’all have such hard times changing BIBs😭 (USA)

6 Upvotes

I don’t know if it’s just my store but I’m always the one having to change BIBs (the bags of soda syrup in boxes) because nobody knows how to open them. It’s getting frustrating because when I’m training new hires, I show them how to easily open them but after I’m not with them for 2-3 shifts, it’s like they magically forget.

I swear it’s a miracle my store lasted as long as it did before I came in…


r/McDonaldsEmployees • • 4h ago

Discussion Have you guys had customers assume you are AI? (AUS)

5 Upvotes

I worked drive thru alone for the first time last night and had three different customers tell me they were shocked when they pulled to window and I was a real human being. They keep thinking that my voice on the drive thru speakers is an AI. I told my coworkers and none of them had that experience 😭 Are any of you guys getting accused of being AI?


r/McDonaldsEmployees • • 5h ago

Rant 2nd day today. I felt stupid (CAN)

4 Upvotes

They let me handled drive thru on my second day during lunch time. The customers piled up quickly and I just went blank. I suddenly don’t know how to count the money and give them the change. Then the trainor says “don’t just stand there. Learn something or else we won’t give you shifts”. Power tripping on my 2nd day


r/McDonaldsEmployees • • 9h ago

Employee question OTP Pro? How’s your work-life balance? (USA)

4 Upvotes

Was recently offered the position of OTP Pro which is a salary position. It’s a 30% raise than what i’m making now as an IT Network Administrator.

I’d just like to ask about what your schedule looks like and how your work-life balance is.


r/McDonaldsEmployees • • 3h ago

Discussion (USA) how bad is the Monopoly event for you guys?

0 Upvotes

I have not worked at McDonald’s for a while since I went to college but I’m about to work at McDonald’s in 2 days. One thing I heard when the monopoly event goes on is that the customers are annoying about it.

I haven’t worked during the monopoly promotion, is this true? Should I expect customers to be annoying about it?


r/McDonaldsEmployees • • 7h ago

Discussion Becoming a Swing/Shift Manager (CAN)

2 Upvotes

For any managers out there do you have any tips on being a good manager and running shifts? I got pulled aside earlier today during my shift and they want me to start doing my modules for manager and be promoted to manager in a few weeks . I also have to get verified by my manager before I can be promoted. (I'm a little surprised though because I don't know kitchen that well, but I know front counter like super well. Also because I just got promoted to team lead last week) Also for any managers out there are you available anytime or no? My availability right now is only Monday-Saturday, but they want me to work Sunday's as well because according to them it's not "fair" to the other people.


r/McDonaldsEmployees • • 5h ago

McMeme (USA) Caught the time at 22:22:22

1 Upvotes

Hell yeah


r/McDonaldsEmployees • • 1d ago

Discussion Frosted Cranberry Energizer (USA)

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42 Upvotes

We're going to do our soft sell so I decided to give it a try. Pretty good tbh. I'll probably try the Sprite version on my next shift.


r/McDonaldsEmployees • • 15h ago

Discussion Local McDonald’s didn’t call me at the scheduled hour for my phone interview (USA)

2 Upvotes

So yesterday afternoon was supposed to be my scheduled phone interview for McDonald’s but the hour came and went and I received no call. Luckily I was able to reschedule for today but what if they don’t call me again? What should I do then?


r/McDonaldsEmployees • • 1d ago

Rant i burned myself w 200°F and now i feel guilty (CAN)

4 Upvotes

already exhausted, everything happened so quick, but i got my first injury, water all over my hand, after working at mcdonalds only for one month. the managers were kind about it and supported me, even offering to let me go home, however i refused because the pain was manageable... until

once shift ended, i went home and i felt burning sensations so much. i decided to go to doctor, even running water wasnt helping much. doctor wrapped my hand up, prescribe cream, the usual, and he ALSO inform me about the WSIB form.

he told me to take it to management and take 3-5 days off work. i went to mcd and gave it to the big boss who was already really kind to me, and i feel really bad about it, because he seemed kind of confused, that i went to doctor and got form, and said he will file a report,

i feel really guilty and idk what to do. i dont want them to hate me. i feel bad i am taking 3 days off already and i only started a month ago WHILE knowing i need my hand to recover. :(((

js feels like im in a spiral of shame and cant get out. any advice friends...


r/McDonaldsEmployees • • 19h ago

Employee question Asking GM/ hiring manager about changing/ reducing my availability and reducing my hours? (CAN)

0 Upvotes

So i've been working at my location for like a month (its also my first time every working at mc donalds or any fast foo place for that matter). i am also a full time university student and i have not had as much time for uni, going to classes, or uni work since starting this job, which i obviously dont like.

even though im new, i was wondering if its possible/ alright for me to message my GM about changing/ reducing my availabilities and just scheduling me for less hours too?

like i was wayyyyy in over my head when i gave my availabilities, and said that i was essentially available for like 68 hours per week/ across all 7 days but yeah this just isnt working for me anymore loll. like i get scheduled at inconvenient times that I actually dont like/ am not as okay with as i thought i would be (and yes ik that that is my own fault for saying that im available then but thats why i want to change it).

I made up a new availability schedule that makes me available for around 24-25 hours across 4 days.

They also schedule me for too many hours per week, and i dont even end up going to/ making it to a lot of my shifts cuz i have to call in anyways, so if the GM says yes to changing my availability can I also ask to reduce the amount of hours that I'm actually scheduled for too?

- like for the week of oct 12-18, i was schedules for 12 hours (and that is with having 4 days off that week - 3 days not scheduled and calling 1 day off, otherwise it would have been 20 hours)

- for the week of oct 19-25, i was literally scheduled for 29 hours initially (with 2 days off, then i called and said i couldnt make it to 2 more days, reduing my scheduled hours to around 14)

- this week, i have 3 days off and am also scheduled for 20 hours.

like the hours are just too much too. would it be okay/ possible for me to ask if my weekly hours could be reduced to like 10-15 ish and i guess quit if they say no to this change, cuz it's really impacting my school and school work and I cant work like 30 hours as a ft student.

Thank youu!


r/McDonaldsEmployees • • 1d ago

Rant I'm lowk sick of this place after only a few months (IRE)

11 Upvotes

Got sort of given out to by the business manager today. I've been here over 3 months. When I came
back from my break there was the same guy I was with in the kitchen before, and the bm himself, in the kitchen. I went straight to put back on my apron because they were 1 pending. He came and told me that when I come back from my break I need to ask the shift manager where they want me in case they need my help. Never once have I been told that, nor have I ever heard anyone else asking. I can see the sense in it but it just pissed me off a little bit.

My favourite manager also left. His last shift was yesterday. I'm a very quiet and shy person, but he was always just so nice to me. I was terrified of him for such a long time, and now I wish I wasn't because I miss him already. He does later shifts and I usually do closing so it was rare that he wasn't there during my shifts, and it always felt alien when he wasn't. Now that's forever.

Also my coworker that I lowk have a crush on definitely hates me. It's usually him and I in the kitchen but today he was doing service. He came into the kitchen with a cheeseburger that had no cheese on it. I had just come back from dropping chicken, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't me, but either way he thinks it was. I hate when we're not in the kitchen together. Usually we are for at least a short while, but today my shift finished earlyish so I didn't get to.

Anyway if you can't already tell, today was one of those days where I come home and apply for other jobs lol.


r/McDonaldsEmployees • • 1d ago

Employee question Colorado Technical University (USA)

3 Upvotes

Anyone else using the commitment grant to go to college? CTU?

So far doing pretty good. Getting good grades *first class is easy, its an introductory course.

I have some trouble navigating the financial aid aspect. I know a LOC (Letter of Credit) is due before every course.

How do I initiate that?

Also, if you are going to school on the grant, Congratulations!

Do they do something like this in other countries *that don't have free or reduced college/universities?


r/McDonaldsEmployees • • 2d ago

Discussion I yelled at a customer. (Usa)

56 Upvotes

So today I was short staffed and almost everyone clocked out cuz their shift has ended so it was just me and a kitchen person, I was taking orders, back cash and window/running. So this lady pulls up to the speaker I take her order and told her “ pull up to that 1st window pls” while I’m up front bagging the orders, she went ahead and skipped the 1st window and pulled to the 2nd, I go back to cash her order just to realize she did not stop at the window I asked her to, I yelled excuse me 4 times she had her window down and all she just ignored me, I got so irritated I couldn’t control myself I yelled at her and told her to go back around, she went and pulled back to the first window I cashed her and asked her to pull to the 2nd, I handed her the order and all and I felt real bad that I had to yell at her, idk if she heard me and just chose to ignore or not cuz she was in her phone. I hope to see her again and apologize fr.


r/McDonaldsEmployees • • 1d ago

Employee question Tips for balancing working at Mcdonald's and balancing school (CAN)

5 Upvotes

Just got hired and i have orientation tomorrow. I badly need money but I am also a full time college student, a film student which they know about btw! But yeah just want some tips. I dont have classes on thurs or friday which is when I told them i could work along with weekends so after my classes end on Monday and Wednesday, 4:15 that's when i would have time to study and stuff. Honestly Ive told myself if it gets to be too much, Ill quit because my degree comes first, but still want to give it a fighting chance. Let me know how yall balance it and thanks! I primarily told them I'd want to be front of house btw.


r/McDonaldsEmployees • • 2d ago

Employee question Can anyone help me find those 2 (USA)

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19 Upvotes

Trying to find those forever pls help


r/McDonaldsEmployees • • 2d ago

Rant (USA) I quit my job due to the stress!!!!!

33 Upvotes

I never have to go to that building again. Oh thank god. Got told “Can you do anything right???” as my last customer. No ma’am. bye!


r/McDonaldsEmployees • • 2d ago

Rant Is there any tips on just how to deal with people during rush hour? Like please? (USA)

34 Upvotes

Every single rush hour, and I’m like a teen and I only work during weekends and in the mornings bro. Every single day, there’s always something happening. People always gets mad over the littliest things, a billion people all the time. And there’s only two people handling the front window of our store and I am one of that and I’m new.

This job is super draining like honestly, when the food is getting cooked and the people are getting mad over why is their food taking too long, I cannot really help them because I’m not assigned to the kitchen duh, I don’t cook your food. All I can say please wait it’s getting ready and that’s it, and ask for updates in kitchen every once awhile but damn. I hate this job so much. This job has made me despise people.

One time I made decaf coffee which is half regular and half water, bro they said it wasn’t decaf 😭😭 literally made they same thing again (half water and half coffee) and they didn’t complain. 😭😭😭

now all I do is romanticize every other job, we have this starbucks near our mcdonalds sometimes I get my coffee there because I have to study after working, and holy shit it’s so quiet, the people aren’t getting mad. Like it’s so peaceful. No people yelling.


r/McDonaldsEmployees • • 1d ago

Discussion Job interview last week, heard nothing back - (UK)

1 Upvotes

As the title says, I had an interview with Mcdonald's last week. It was super short basically asked why I wanted to work for the company, my availability and uniform sizes... I've heard nothing back, not even a rejection email. Should I expect a reply or is it clear I haven't got the job?


r/McDonaldsEmployees • • 2d ago

Employee question New hire and my first scheduled shift is in 2 weeks ? (UK)

2 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I’m a new hire and I have my first training shift in a few days. I’ve just completed my onboarding, but I’ve now received a message saying I’m scheduled for a shift on the 12th, which is almost two weeks away.
I’m a bit confused because surely I should have shifts before then? I was under the impression that I’m guaranteed a minimum of 4 hours a week, so how would that work if my first scheduled shift is that far away? I desperately need the money and can’t afford to go nearly two weeks without any shifts 😭
Has anyone experienced this before? Is it possible I’ve missed the rota for the next couple of weeks, or is this normal for new starters? And how should I communicate this to my manager without coming across as pushy? I’m happy to work whenever they need me, I just really need the hours 😭

Edit : Nevermind my manager is the sweetest and she’s agreed to manually add me on the schedule as I missed the shift rotation! Phew 😅


r/McDonaldsEmployees • • 2d ago

Employee question Got my First Shift, Tips? (Uk)

0 Upvotes

So I was hired around 3 weeks ago and after calling the restaurant they have scheduled me to work 10-6pm on Halloween then 4-11pm the next day

I’m just abit confused as to why I have been scheduled these shifts as a new hire, surely an 8 hour Halloween shift on my first shift isn’t the best idea..

When I called, They said they didn’t know my availability although I gave them it twice, and also I said I’d prefer not to work late on Sundays as im at Uni 8am - 6pm on a Monday lol.

Surely this isn’t normal? Or am I just clueless