The Daily Background

How long have you been working at McDonalds?

I started in late October 2006, so almost 6 months.

How much do you get paid per hour? Do you think this is a fair or unfair wage?

I get $7.15 per hour, which is the New York State minimum wage. I guess it’s fair considering all you need is basic English literacy and a pulse to get hired.

What type of training did you get before they put you to work? Did you watch any corny instructional videos or anything like that?

Yes, you spend several days watching absolutely awful training videos. I think I’ve blocked a lot of my memories about it, but I know they all had to do with some detective kids that had to solve mysteries by finding out how to work at McDonalds. Also, I was trained to work in the front counter area, and then on my first day of actual work they put me in grill and complained about how bad I was at it. My training was pretty pathetic and it took a few months of getting yelled at to really get a handle on how to do things.

You say you were originally trained for counter area? What is that?

You know.. the front counter… greeting customers, taking orders, assembling orders, presenting the final product, cashier and running (retrieving the food).

But you didn’t end up doing that job… Were you later trained for the grill table instead? Or did they just send you back there?

[They] Just kinda sent me… most people tell me they were just kind of put on their jobs without much training.

Would say it seems pretty typical that most people aren’t trained (specifically at least) for the food preparation jobs?

For my place of work, yes. I’m sure it varies.

How much formal training did you get for the type of work you’re doing right now?

My manager showed me how to make a hamburger and that was it…

How long did it take your manager show you how to make a burger, would you say? Five minutes maybe?

Maybe like 30 seconds. It was basically reg bun, mustard, ketchup, dehydrated onions, pickle, reg meat, wrap, done.

Do you think it would be helpful to have more training?

Yeah it would have been nice to have come in with a bit more knowledge, but in a way there’s no replacement for on-the-job “training” and experience, and practice too.

Filed under: Z-Feature