During these rough times of COVID-19, the store I work at has died down significantly, whereas it'd be jam-packed with hungry business people on better days. Surprisingly (but also not surprising), suburban stores with drive-thru are so much more populated than my city store; resulting in the cutting down of shifts across all employees.
I've done Ask Me Anything discussion forums twice before, but it might be a suitable time to do it again.
I have the opposite issue most of the time, items are listed as unavailable but are in store.
Stock outage is managed by the managers of the store. Some newer managers don't know how to operate the outage system, which tells the kiosks, menus and the app to change in accordance to what is available. If the ice cream machine goes through a cleaning process - I know the pain, but it's deemed unnecessary to put it to the outage list. It takes at least 10 minutes to get the program up and running.
'Icecream'? How much cream is actually in there?
cream is listed as ingredient number 3 after sugar - so you could hope towards 30% but I'd guess with 13 other ingredients you'd be lucky for the cream to be 15%
"Milk, Sugar, Cream, Nonfat Milk Solids, Corn Syrup Solids, Mono- and Diglycerides, Guar Gum, Dextrose, Sodium Citrate, Artificial Vanilla Flavor, Sodium Phosphate, Carrageenan, Disodium Phosphate, Cellulose Gum, Vitamin A Palmitate" - https://www.quora.com/Is-McDonalds-ice-cream-made-from-pigs-…
@EightImmortals: It's basically milk, sugar (And cheaper corn syrup), flavour and a bunch of emulsifiers to help with consistency. Basically they don't want it melt so they had a bunch of stuff.
Why do you think I saw in the app the other day my local suburban store as showing thick shakes as unavailable but when I went to the store there was no issue?
Either the shakes were actually unavailable previously either earlier that day or days before. The outage system manages this, so the managers would've forgotten to take it off.
What's your ideal holiday?
Can you provide screenshots from your internal system for stores not honouring this deal haha
I can't provide memos as they're employees only, McDonald's HQ is quite intelligent and can track anyone down for leaking their information! However, always advise the manager to check their employee portal as there is definitely information regarding free Cheeseburgers.
I mean, you're already commenting on McDonald's behalf. Don't they have a social media policy?
Actually, they're not.
They're providing informal insight to their job experience, which is far different from speaking in an official capacity.
If they started talking about supplier commitments or upcoming campaigns etc, then yes, then they're speaking on McD's behalf. And also fired.
Any "secret menu" items you think are delicious and worth trying?
Every now and then, I like to experiment with the food at Macca's.
One of my personal favourites is a Large Fries in a box with Big Mac sauce and Aioli / Mayonnaise. I used to do Big Mac sauce and Jalapeno sauce, but they've since taken it out as it as part of the Spicy McChicken range. Essentially - you choose two of your favourite sauces, and then get a Angus Beef patty / Fish Filet / Crispy Chicken. Whip them together and you've got yourself a nice fully loaded fries.
You could also add Oreos to your frappes, adds a bit of crunch and definitely changes the texture & taste!
The loaded fried are a bit indulgent for me!
But the Oreo tip sound delicious - thanks!
Hilary and Blair.
That's an interesting theory, but I think it would be prudent to wait for the definitive answer from the burger flipper.
hahaha gold. :)
SCOMO
Folder or scruncher
How many bottles of milk have been sold during Covid?
Only stores with Drive-Thru sells essentials, and my store does not do drive-thru. But I'm expecting the milk to be poorly sold as it is quite frankly, overpriced. The gourmet buns & muffins are definitely good value as a muffin by itself can cost $2.20 at various stores.
2l use to be $2.60 at my store, in the last week or so its gone up to $3.50 for 2l.
I use to buy it before the price rise, now its like ummmm no.
damn I use to always get it @ 2.60 saved me stepping into the supermarket.. I guess the party is over.
@gstandard: yeah the same….. Zip thru the drive thru, milk, muffins and a snack. Guess maccas misses out now. I was shocked at the price rise, 90c in one hit, ouch.
Do McDonalds milk taste better?
@imrichkid: Its pura or procal milk, tastes fine. For $2.60 and not having to get out of the car, it was well worth it :)
@JimmyF: mine is Procal. My son would always want a $1 macaron whenever I grabbed some. the price rise is up there with the sundaes. It was a mandatory purchase when I was a kid. Back then it probably costed somewhere @ 90 cents or maybe a little less for small only. then it creeped up through the years with small and large size offerings.. I grimmed and beared it when it got to $1.50 only purchased it now and then.. but now its $3.65 for small and $4.65 for large.. its off limits to me now unless theres a reward offering.
I've got a store voucher code for a meal from a store that stuffed up my burger order. Only got 2 1/4 pounder patties in my burger instead of 3.
Does your system have a limit to how much can be purchased with said code? Say I wanted to buy a $50 dinner for the family, would they allow it?
We don't have such thing as personalised codes as they are all set by McDonald's on the online ordering app. The voucher would only be validated at your store.
not gonna lie, if you thought you could freeload from some very unusual error then you're mistaken.
Let me explain that better. I bought dinner for the family and a part of my order was missing. I emailed the store feedback address with proof. The store manager got back to me a day later to apologize and gave me a 4 digit number and said I could use it to get a free meal next time I was in store.
My question is, can that code be used on a dinner for the family or just for a single person meal? Do stores keep track of and check the reasons behind providing such a code? Or do they just comp the whole order?
@TheAccountant
In the UK a long time ago they used to do that. The front of the supervisor folder had a paper list that the manager wrote. A code, date issued, your name, description and date redeemed. Description would name the actual item(s) they've agreed you can have free.
If only part of a burger was missing you would normally just get a burger so they've been generous (in my experience) of giving a meal (which means 1 burger 1 fries 1 drink). You don't deserve, nor will you get a $50 meal.
When you go, staff will genuinely have no idea as in my experience it was so rare, but hopefully staff refer to super, who will check folder, cross your code off and write date redeemed. Doesn't even go through till - or at least that's how it used to work. I'm surprised to hear it even still exists.
@Webber000: Thanks for clarifying that mate. I usually only do big dinner orders so that's why I asked. Would prefer not to have to separate orders to be able to redeem the meal voucher then.
Is the soft-serve machine working then?
McRib?
i still miss it ;/
I'd wait forever to get a double or triple and it was worth it.
I've only ever had the single rib, but I do regret not getting more like you suggested. It was so saucy!
@Clear: I've picked up the meat part from Costco before in their frozen section. I can't say it's 100% the same, but it was close enough from memory.
Whats the employee discount?
20% across all stores in Australia and 50% before, during, and after your shift.
Wow, you don't even get free food during your shift? That's pretty crap.
Free food isn't in their policy, but on some days, the manager might decide to provide their favourable employees with free food!
Most managers won't even let you have post-mix drinks (against policy) let alone food.
At best they'll give you ice in a cup and you fill it from the sink out the back.
Do people still ask for a 50c Cone then get shocked when it's not?
I've had people ask for 30c cones before. I'm not sure if they were under a boulder or the average boomer. Yes, they get very shocked and walk away. Seems like they're still under some sort of economical crisis.
I don't think I've bought one since they were 30c haha
Wait, what, they aren't 50c anymore? How much are they?
My exact thought… No more ?
yeah i'm in that boat, i call them 30c cones because that was the last time i bought one, even though i know (knew?) they're 50c….
my world has been destroyed today
Have you met Ronald McDonald?
i am ronald mcdonald. My store has a costume that was used for McHappy Day a few years ago :)
see you later on ron
That I'm sure has never been used for any sort of hanky panky…..
you should see my grimace post coitus.
What is your current opinion of the mobile app? Has your opinion of it changed over the last two years? Do Android customers seem to have more problems than iPhone owners? I'm mainly wanting to see if you think it's a buggy mess from your end.
What percentage of customers are wearing face masks nowadays?
When the mobile app was first released, it was poor and badly rushed. The system was definitely not ready and they really wanted to get it out there. It has definitely improved and they've incorporated a stabilised app used by other countries' McDonald's as well, such as in the UK. Android customers are the usual culprits for hung apps, but don't get me wrong, iOS can also be a hassle. It all comes down to your cellular service and if your phone simply can't handle that extra RAM usage.
10% of the customers would wear face masks. It's really not that bad.
if your phone simply can't handle that extra RAM usage.
Or poor coding. Mine always crashes on startup of my phone … I have a Pixel 4 which has 6GB of RAM …
yeah the maccas app is the slowest app on my phone. i have no doubt its the biggest most technically debt ridden.
What's the policy with senior's cards? Come across a mix depending on store - free drink with purchase and free drink with burger purchase?
It varies with stores, but usually they'd have them as a poster on the noticeboard. Mine has a policy of a small soft drink or small McCafe drink with a purchase of $4 or more.
Are you getting any extra from the government handouts?
Some stores are eligible for Jobkeeper payments. I was getting it for a while until the government "clarified" it to exclude 16-17 year olds who aren't financially independent.
when will yall add the Dinner boxes to Share section?
Also bring the Smol McFeast back
Pls
Hi, I did 7 years at maccas, finishing up in 2017. These questions may not be as relevant as your store doesn't have DT but you still may have an opinion.
How has all day favourites gone down? It was a pain during peak breakfast times without having to deal with main menu items. Do people actually want burgers at 8am? Or has it flopped like all day breakfast did?
Since there are additional products such a jalapeno chicken, spicy chicken, grassfed burger etc, have you had to have additional UHC space or do you simply have less of other products stored at the same time?
What happened to the brekkie wraps? I hated them with a passion but now I don't see them on the menu.
What do you call your fry machine? At one store it was Archie and the other one I can't remember. Something not as cool.
Why the 2 person car limit?. The whole family needs to take 2 cars or 2 trips as you can't have 2 people with 5 phones.
Are you talking about using mobile ordering in Dthru?
👍 yes
When going through without the app there was a 3 order per car limit. It may be 2 to be in line with the app now.
Basically it speeds up the process and means people behind you in line don't have to wait for 5 people in a car to each order something for themselves. Additionally, once you get to the payment window staff don't want 5 people each giving them a $10 note and then having to count change for each order for the one car.
Secondly, it makes it easier for people in the store making the food to see an order for 5 cheeseburgers, 5 fries and 5 drinks rather than 5 people each ordering a cheeseburger meal individually. It would take extra time for staff to see there are 5 different orders belonging to the same car. If there are other orders placed within the time of you placing your orders, it may be harder for staff to discern the information.
tl;dr efficiency. Just because you have 4 people in the car who all want to claim their reward via the app, doesn't mean there's not a car behind you who is about to order the most profitable thing on the menu.
Also drive thru stores aim to get a car from the speaker to the road within 2:45. They are ranked against other stores in Aus for percentage of cars within that time limit and number of cars.
Is this only me, but i can seem to use my any of the My Rewards via the in store kiosks since the eat-in option was removed. After validating the 4 digit code, I cannot add to the order nor checkout. This is very annoying as the app never works for either. I can only ever redeem by ordering via the counter, which I gather is meant to be discouraged.
I'm not sure that's happening. Did you try using the kiosks?
You have to press "Start" before entering the code now to avoid that bug. I had a rant about it here: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/8625979/redir
what do the different sirens mean in the kitchen?
the whine noise is when a new order comes through to the kitchen.
the two tone calling beeps are usually the fry vats, the slow gentle tones are the grills.
the constant beeps are the uhc's (usually indicating the food needs to be thrown out, but never does)
the constant ring is the microwaves/egg cookers/muffin toasters.
I think our store also made a noise when a car was in the lane and when our stats changed (how many cars went through a lane per hour etc).
can't remember the noise of the cafe toaster or the co2 alarm.
hard to explain these, can do a mock-up of the noises if your really interested……
can do a mock-up of the noises if your really interested
Oh lord.
+1 for the mock up that would be totally sick
Any news on the McSpicy coming to other states than SA? Noticed they still have it available
Not that I'm aware of :(
Apparently it's a trial in South Australia with all their Teriyaki Chicken Burgers and chicken salt shaker fries while all the other states miss out!
Your country thanks you for your service.
Appreciated! Thank you for your kind words :)
Do you feel marginalised that only the health care workers get all the "essential worker" freebies ?
Not at all! Health care workers deserve it and I'm always thanking them for their service. They're in close proximity of COVID-19 more often than I ever could, if I've ever. The freebies are just a small thank you gesture that I fully support.
Why do I ALWAYS get whole leaf lettuce instead for shredded in my Classic Angus?
Classic Angus comes with whole leaf lettuce, why would it come with shredded? Well of course, unless you specifically request for shredded lettuce.
Shows shredded lettuce in the images on the menu, app and website
Indeed, you are truly correct. Must be an error that absolutely no-one else have ever noticed before. Our procedures tell us to use whole leaf lettuce though.
Thanks for the Q&A during these times. Perhaps a bit random but for suburban stores do you know if you can still walk into the store or is it drive through only? Are the toilets still open? I understand you can't dine in at the moment
All dine-in areas and closed but the toilets are something that someone else has to clarify. My store closed toilets, only because they are situated upstairs, where the entire area has been closed off to customers. You can still walk-in to the store and take away your order, but remember to practice social distancing measures!
My biggest gripe, why the berry do they not show the full menu on the screen both in drive through or in store? It is so frustrating, especially in drive through!
The full menu can be accessed on both kiosks and the online ordering app. I wouldn't be so sure as to why they do not show the full menu on the screens.
Thanks you and all Maccas staff for the service!
Sometimes if I'm too tired after work, I use the maccas app and pick up drive through, safe and easy, its great.
App was better before there was a glitch with the quarter pounder meal, I exploited the $#!t out of. Customise whatever you want, add large coffee, burger and large fries $5 total
Likewise! The online ordering app has truly become more sophisticated compared to a few years ago when it was first release. Interesting that you managed to exploit that glitch that many times, but it's a nice discount! ;)
How long does it take for a store to put something as sold out/unavailable for it to update in the app? Say if a store is putting its icecream machine through its cleaning process couldn't the store at least update in the app so customers can't order it instead of getting there and being told it's unavailable?