One thing that unites humanity is that we all have a deeply-held, passionate opinion on McDonald’s.
Either they’re a lifesaving bastion of everything deep-fried, deliciously fatty, easy and cheap, or they represent everything wrong with the very concept of fast food. There’s no middle ground.
But, chances are, even those in the second category have a hard time avoiding McDonald’s completely.
Either way, before indulging, it’s good to get a little inside info from someone who works there, however.
If you love McDonald’s, you must have a favorite menu item.
But according to one McDonald’s worker, there are a few that we should all avoid.
You know if the workers refuse to eat or drink something on the menu, they have a very good reason.
One worker shared his inside scoop with the world, and it’s definitely worth hearing.
“I would never get anything with ice in it,” the unnamed employee told The Sun . “It’s not the water that is used to make the ice. It’s the machine. It just isn’t cleaned as often as it should be.”
Eww.
He also said that he’d avoid the milkshakes as well, though not so much for sanitary reasons.
He said the milkshakes come from the same stuff as the ice cream.
“It’s a white liquid that comes in a sealed bag that we pour into the machine. I just don’t see the point in paying for one or the other when they are literally made from the same thing.”
He had some other words of wisdom to help diners get the most from their McDonald’s experience, too.
For one, he suggested ordering fries without salt if you want to get a fresh batch. “We also have to clean out the tray that the fries are stored in to make sure no salt gets on them,” he added.
To get the quickest service with the best food, he recommends going just after peak times.
“The peak times are eight and 10, 12 and two, and five and seven,” he explained. Coming at those peak times will only ensure that you encounter bigger crowds and get food that’s had less attention paid to it.
A spokesperson from McDonald’s did respond to the worker’s helpful hints.
“We encourage all of our crew to speak up if they have any concerns, offering formal and informal channels for issues to be raised,” they said.
Of course, this isn’t the first time McDonald’s workers have tried to share some of their knowledge with the outside world.
In one Reddit thread, some current and former workers suggested avoiding the all-day breakfast items in the afternoon.
“If you order any of the all day breakfast items at McDonalds after around 1:00, it will most likely be a few hours old,” wrote user MonsterNinja8.
Others in that same thread agreed, especially concerning food left from earlier changeovers.
“I worked at one up until last year, it was in a Walmart. Grilled chicken was cooked for changeover at 11, and stayed there all day until it was tossed out at the end of the night,” wrote user unnie1988. “I don’t eat there now, and if I do, I’ll always make sure to ask for fresh food.”
Another worker recommends avoiding the blended drinks and sundaes.
“They’re really big on food safety for the hot food, but in terms of equipment used for the other stuff…. just no,” wrote user petielvrrr. “There’s probably mold inside the hot fudge and Carmel pumps … the strawberry topping never gets used so it’s likely insanely old, and with the blended drinks… those machines are very difficult to clean, so even though they’re ‘cleaned’ once a week, that cleaning focuses on the tubes used to dispense product, not the spot where the product actually comes out.”
No fast food outlet is going to be perfect 100% of the time, but it’s still good to know that workers are looking out for customers.
It’s pretty easy to dunk on McDonald’s because they’re the biggest and the best at what they do, in theory. But they do make mistakes. It’s when mistakes don’t get fixed that we need to hear things like the workers shared.
h/t The Sun
