{"id":713,"date":"2019-04-09T08:59:48","date_gmt":"2019-04-09T08:59:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joshfrom.nz\/?p=713"},"modified":"2019-04-10T08:34:12","modified_gmt":"2019-04-10T08:34:12","slug":"working-at-mcdonalds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joshfrom.nz\/index.php\/2019\/04\/09\/working-at-mcdonalds\/","title":{"rendered":"What It’s Really like to Work at Mcdonald’s"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
When you think of business and McDonalds, for most people burgers, franchising, and the golden arches come to mind. Many have also heard about how they have invested in real estate and the success this has brought them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is no doubt McDonalds is a business powerhouse in these areas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, when I think about why they are successful, I think about their staff above all \u2013 how they have created a culture of excellence with a workforce of teenagers, dropouts, and outcasts. They have set up and trained this workforce to run like a well-oiled machine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a 16-year-old, I was in a rush to make money. My dad reluctantly agreed to let me drop out of school only <\/em>if I got a full-time job. The local McDonalds hired me as a \u201cdaily cleaner.\u201d My introduction to full-time work was cleaning the toilets, washing windows, and hosing down car parks at 6:00 every morning. (None of which I’ve ever done again according to my wife)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Army of the Business World <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I have never been in the army but have talked to enough people to get a good idea of what it\u2019s like. From the very first hour of boot camp right through to the top General, the army is a place where you follow orders and procedure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So is McDonalds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When you start out at Maccas, they don\u2019t teach you about the entire system or the company goals. You get shown how to do one thing, usually something basic like the fry station or cleaning lobby. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Slowly, as you move up the ranks, you start to see all the pieces of the puzzle come together. You see how everything is connected, how each little procedure impacts the overall success of the company goals around service, quality of food, and finances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The core of the business has not changed in 71 years and they are always upskilling and sending managers on courses. Somehow in this disciplined and regimented environment, there is still room for creativity, personality, fun, and lifelong friendships. They are striving to make the business better, faster, more convenient and trying new ideas to ensure it stays relevant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To introduce my perspective on working at McDonalds, among other things I will discuss the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I will then finish with my perspective of McDonalds from 12 years on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To this day I only wear black socks \u2013 my drawer is filled with about 20 pairs. At my orientation, before starting work, it was drilled into me, \u201cAlways wear black socks.\u201d Years later, I learnt that this was a pet peeve of Ray Kroc (the guy who took How does something so simple stay as part of the culture? <\/p>\n\n\n\n At our orientation, they issued our uniform. It was clear what the expected standards with this uniform were. There was a policy for hair style\/color, jewelery, makeup, and being clean shaven. There was a checklist to make sure all these items had been discussed, and we had to sign it off to indicate we understood. It made me think, \u201cIf they are going to be this hard out about black socks, I better make sure the rest of my uniform is faultless.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Right from the start we learnt there was an expected standard for everything, and they made sure you understood them. Stay inside the boundaries, and you\u2019re all good. Step outside the boundaries, and you\u2019re in trouble. In saying that, it was self-policed more than it was enforced by management. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It wasn\u2019t just the uniform. Being on time \u2013 actually, being early \u2013 for your shift was crucial. If your shift started at 4 pm, you were expected to be in the crew room at 3:55 pm with your Ironed shirt, polished black shoes, hat, apron, and black socks, of course. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The discipline revolved around understanding and following the rules, policies, and procedures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even Learning to communicate was a foundational tenet we learned. As a 16-year-old, I was taught that there are 4 key parts to communication: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Effective communication relied on all 4 of these, but the one that was drummed into us was repeating back everything so the sender knew we understood the message. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Repeat orders to the customers so they know you didn\u2019t miss anything; acknowledge instructions given by your managers; discuss training in your own words so it\u2019s clear you understood, and repeat requests from other team members while you\u2019re working <\/p>\n\n\n\n Wade started working full time at the same time as I. We went through our initial training together, eventually both moving on to become managers. He was the best man at my wedding and a life-long friend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I rang Wade, asking what he remembers about our time at McDonald’s. His first comment was, \u201cThey made it hard to fail; you get so much training. They worked out the best way to do things, documented it, and made sure you had the training to go and do it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The business was broken down into \u201cstations,\u201d and every \u201cstation\u201d had an \u201cS.O.C.\u201d (Station Observation Checklist). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Becoming a Crew Trainer was the first step in your journey of becoming a McDonalds manager. A Crew Trainer\u2019s job was twofold: to demonstrate his knowledge and understanding of the SOC and to take the time to show this to others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As keen young Crew Trainers, Wade and I used to have competitions to quiz each other on our McDonald’s knowledge. Wade could still recall a lot of this knowledge. We remembered that there were approximately 350 seeds on a big mac bun, and the seeds came from Guatemala. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Wade could recall the fat content and cooking time of a 10:1 patty (the one that goes in a Big Mac), the 4:1 patty (the one that goes in a Quarter Pounder), and the temperature of the grill these cooked on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Apparently, I always had a trump card though. I would ask the crew to recall which two McDonalds products had lemon in them – mayonnaise and apple pies (at the time at least). <\/p>\n\n\n\nBlack Socks <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Army-Like Discipline<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Crew Trainers and S.O.C <\/h2>\n\n\n\n