McDonald’s is a fast food icon with more than 40,000 restaurants across the globe. Though it’s beloved by customers, some staff have shared the ‘horrible’ customer habits they wish would stop
McDonald’s employees have dished the dirt on the infuriating customer habits they’re sick and tired of dealing with.
Working in a customer service role is notoriously difficult as members of the general public can be unpredictable and, unfortunately, some can be rude and entitled.
Sometimes, employees can find themselves on the receiving end of a customer’s bad mood. Of course, there are many people who treat workers with respect regardless of the kind of day they’re having which likely makes the difficult interactions all the more memorable.
McDonald’s is a famed fast food chain boasting more than 40,000 restaurants across the globe. Founded in 1940, its iconic golden arches remain an instantly recognisable symbol to this day.
Though it’s beloved by customers all over the world, for some of its staff, the venue can be a less positive experience.
On Reddit, several employees have weighed in on the most irritating customer habits they encounter while working at the legendary franchise.
One fed up worker penned: “If an employee says they are on break, LEAVE THEM ALONE. There should be no ‘But can you grab this?’ ‘But I need a refill!’ ‘I’ll be quick!’
“NO! I’M NOT WORKING! I’M NOT GETTING PAID! I’m not your slave. You can wait for a paid employee. You’re not going to die if you have to wait 30 extra seconds to get another free ranch.”
They continued: “I don’t know why retail and fast food employees aren’t allowed the same respect for breaks like everyone else. If someone told a doctor or plumber to work on their break, everyone would be horrified. But fast food employees? Nah, they don’t deserve breaks.”
Anticipating backlash from people querying why staff may still be in their McDonald’s uniforms while on break, they explained it’s because there’s nowhere to get changed. They then added: “And it shouldn’t matter. We shouldn’t have to strip or hide in corners to enjoy our breaks. We’re human too.”
In the comments section, several workers agreed with this experience. One McDonald’s employee shared: I’ll be standing in the lobby, hat off, bag/belongings in hand, waiting for my crew meal at the end of my shift, and I’ll still get customers who tell me I need to get back behind the counter and take their order/bag their food. Nah, bro.”
Another replied: “From my experience, making no eye contact and pretending you can’t hear them usually works for me”.
And another commented: “I hate it when I’m sitting waiting for food and they’re waiting for an employee and keep eye balling me. Or when I’m about to head out and they get ready to order with me… as my jacket is on and my keys are in my hand.”
An assistant manager added: “I find myself telling crew so often to NOT work on their break.”
In another post, one McDonald’s worker lamented the mess some customers leave on the tables. They urged customers to “clean up after themselves” and shared that after a particularly busy shift, they went into the dining area to find “there were bags on tables, half full cups, sauce packets lying on tables”.
They continued: “Just horrible. I get that it’s my job to clean up and stuff, but at least have some human decency. These people will never know what it’s like until they work a similar job.”
