A question for those that work in Fast Food Places

Gary4279 · 02-08-2011 04:52PM #1

In places like Mcdonalds, Burger king ect... do the staff prefer when the customer clean up after themselves or when they leave a big ole mess on the table.

On one hand, its making your job harder but on the other its creating more work for you to do, ie keeping you in a job or creating a new job.

I always clean my table after myself but someone recently told me the staff prefer to clean it.

Temptamperu · 02-08-2011 04:54PM

I thought it was just good manners to clear up after yourself.
I believe thats why they have bins all over the place

im invisible · 02-08-2011 04:57PM

also, how would you feel about some random guy asking you out while ordering a burger and chips?

Oh_Noes · 02-08-2011 04:59PM

Worked in one of those places when I was a kid and I hated when people left the table in a state just because it is unpleasant and nasty. I never had a shortage of stuff to do either because they only ever put the minimum levels of staff required on at a time.

Also I'd imagine it's not good for business when customers walk in and the only table to sit at is covered in the last customer's rubbish and the staff haven't gotten to it yet. If that happened to me two or three times in a place I wouldn't go back.

stevenmu · 02-08-2011 05:00PM

im invisible wrote: »

also, how would you feel about some random guy asking you out while ordering a burger and chips?

I really need to start going to fast food takeaways more often, from the amount of threads here about asking their workers out there must be some serious hotties working in them.

nice1franko · 02-08-2011 05:14PM

I worked in Maccers for a couple of years. You should always clean up after yourself -exceptions to the rule being the old, incapacitated, mother leaving with a screaming baby, etc.

You really get to see people for who they are when they hold you/your workplace in low regard. Some people make absolute, rude, ignorant, pigs of themselves.

As for the hare-brained "leave a mess to create more work" idea... more work only means higher prices. Think about it, in what kind of business (bar the cleaning business), is making a mess good for the business?

Toby Take a Bow · 02-08-2011 05:18PM

Whenever I'm in a fast-food restaurant it's nearly always the security guard who clears the tables, usually when he's bored.

My motto would be: if there's a bin, I clear the table.

starviewadams · 02-08-2011 05:22PM

Always clean up after yourself,wherever you are,simple.

Chuck Stone · 02-08-2011 05:37PM

In the future it'll not be unusual to walk into a fast food place where people are encouraged to cook their own food.

FinnLizzy · 02-08-2011 05:40PM

I prefered it when they left a mess, but nothing like, ketchup on the trays and tables. it's better when you leave a mess, but on the tray, so it can be cleaned up easier.
Usually when they attempt to clean it up themselves, I'd have to do the job properly

Cú Giobach · 02-08-2011 05:42PM

I never clean up after myself in a restaurant and fast crap food places call themselves restaurants so I wouldn't clean up whatever the staff want, unless the person who serves me is genuinely nice (rare) and also doesn't ask me "do I want fries with that?" or to "have a nice day" (shudder).

Mint Sauce · 02-08-2011 05:44PM

Not sure about the cleaning up part, but mine has never offered me condoms with my meal.

mossyc123 · 02-08-2011 05:46PM

Oh_Noes wrote: »

Also I'd imagine it's not good for business when customers walk in and the only table to sit at is covered in the last customer's rubbish and the staff haven't gotten to it yet. If that happened to me two or three times in a place I wouldn't go back.

I'd imagine also that Joe Soap wouldn't or shouldn't give a sh!t what's "good for business" for McD's, Burger King or any other global corporation.

CorkMan · 02-08-2011 05:48PM

I do work in a fast food company but I won't answer your question.

And yes I do make sure to spit into the food.

CorkMan · 02-08-2011 05:48PM

I do work in a fast food company but I won't answer your question.

And yes I do make sure to spit into the food.

mossyc123 · 02-08-2011 05:57PM

nice1franko wrote: »

I worked in Maccers for a couple of years. You should always clean up after yourself -exceptions to the rule being the old, incapacitated, mother leaving with a screaming baby, etc.

You really get to see people for who they are when they hold you/your workplace in low regard. Some people make absolute, rude, ignorant, pigs of themselves.

As for the hare-brained "leave a mess to create more work" idea... more work only means higher prices. Think about it, in what kind of business (bar the cleaning business), is making a mess good for the business?

McDonalds et al have done really well to make this ingenious principle whereby they have managed to brainwash the entire western world into doing the job of their own staff.

It really is quite spectacular when you think about it.

You are paying what 7/8 quid for a meal which I imagine has a much lower unit cost, getting no table service and then being convinced that you must clean-up after yourself.

I can't think of any other context this arrangement is in practice, where the customer does the actual work of the staff and its somehow socially unacceptable not to.

(*BTW: Nearly always clean-up after myself as I enjoy the process of squeezing the containers into the smallest possible size before binning

)

johngalway · 02-08-2011 06:19PM

You beat me to it Mossy.

I know I answered a thread like this before, and I can't honestly remember what that answer was. But, the more the likes of McD's style themselves as a "restaurant" the less likely it is I'll clean up after myself. Last time I was in a genuine restaurant I wasn't asked to clean up after myself, in fact the staff did that for me, so sod off McD's :pac:

ejmaztec · 02-08-2011 06:26PM

Chuck Stone wrote: »

In the future it'll not be unusual to walk into a fast food place where people are encouraged to cook their own food.

The fire-brigade would be parked out front 24/7 if that happened.:eek:

kingtut · 02-08-2011 06:34PM

Anyone who doesn't clean up after themselves is disgusting! :mad:

carefulnow100 · 02-08-2011 06:35PM

I used to work in a fast food restaurant and I would have to clean about 25% of tables after people left! Never bothered me as we used to have to spray every table after a customer left it anyway.

Only ones I used to hate cleaning after were the kids, and more often than not the scumfukcs that used to put ketchup all over the table and seats.

Nowadays it depends on the general service I receive when ordering and paying for food. If service is good, I'l always clean up after myself. If service is piss poor or in particular I'm served by an ignorant fukcer I'l make sure to leave everything on the table!!

I hate ignorance!

kingtut · 02-08-2011 06:39PM

CorkMan wrote: »

And yes I do make sure to spit into the food.

That's disgusting! Under no circumstances should you tamper in any way with someones food!! You sick f*ck! How dare you :mad:

It's people like you who make the decent honest people who work in the service industry look bad! :mad:

Paddy Cow · 02-08-2011 06:42PM

I used to work in Supermacs and I preferred it when people didn't clean their tables. It meant I got away from the counter for a bit to go out and clean the lobby.

Kidchameleon · 02-08-2011 06:55PM

nice1franko wrote: »

Think about it, in what kind of business (bar the cleaning business), is making a mess good for the business?

Porn star

Alter-Ego · 02-08-2011 07:08PM

kingtut wrote: »

That's disgusting! Under no circumstances should you tamper in any way with someones food!! You sick f*ck! How dare you :mad:

It's people like you who make the decent honest people who work in the service industry look bad! :mad:

Aye, but he's from cork. It's like Mad Max down there.

johngalway · 02-08-2011 07:28PM

Alter-Ego wrote: »

Aye, but he's from cork. It's like Mad Max down there.

Was only in McD's in Cork once, and there was food in the air as well as on the table, floor, windows.... Not sure they knew they were supposed to eat it.

nice1franko · 02-08-2011 07:38PM

mossyc123 wrote:

McDonalds et al have done really well to make this ingenious principle whereby they have managed to brainwash the entire western world into doing the job of their own staff.

It really is quite spectacular when you think about it.

You are paying what 7/8 quid for a meal which I imagine has a much lower unit cost, getting no table service and then being convinced that you must clean-up after yourself.

I can't think of any other context this arrangement is in practice, where the customer does the actual work of the staff and its somehow socially unacceptable not to.

(*BTW: Nearly always clean-up after myself as I enjoy the process of squeezing the containers into the smallest possible size before binning )

You're comparing restaurants with waiting service where your starter might cost what your entire meal and drink costs in a fastfood place. It's apples and oranges.

Another context where you have similar behaviour is on clothes shops. You're reasonably expected to not leave a trail of clothes strewn on the floor. Why? For the other customers around you and to keep staff (and ultimately your costs) at a minimum.

If you go to ikea you'll note they have signs up requesting customers clean up after themselves because it is things like that which enable them keep prices low.

Work canteens are another example where cost is crucial and people self-serve and often clean up after themselves. Are canteens et al in on this global brainwashing conspiracy too? Or just keeping costs down for their customers?

Ronin247 · 02-08-2011 07:40PM

johngalway wrote: »

Was only in McD's in Cork once, and there was food in the air as well as on the table, floor, windows.... Not sure they knew they were supposed to eat it.

Wasn't last sunday was it???

johngalway · 02-08-2011 07:42PM

Ronin247 wrote: »

Wasn't last sunday was it???

Lol, no, it was a fair while back.

bijapos · 02-08-2011 08:05PM

I almost never take the tray to the bin. I leave everything piled up on it, and don't spread ketchup everywhere but thats it. And yes, it does create employment, more so in the bigger places.

I learnt this about 20 years ago in Munich where a friend of mine worked in the McDonalds in Marienplatz, which was for 2 weeks every year during the Oktoberfest supposedly the busiest McD in the world. She said 3-4 staff would be put on tables during very busy times such as after football matches, normally 2 were on and even in the quiet times 1 person was always cleaning.

It does not affect the prices either. McDonalds charge whatever they can. If everyone stopped eating there they would drop their prices to encourage more people to come in, similarly if they could get away with charging more they would. Prices differ country to country, and internally in a country from outlet to outlet. Its not about higher charges, rents etc. its about getting away with the the most they can charge.

Best example is the Eurosaver menu, brought in when the recession hit and people started spending elsewhere, so what do they do? drop the prices.

Monty Burnz · 02-08-2011 08:14PM

I worked in McD's a long time ago. I always appreciated the people who cleaned up their tables, or at least made some attempt, especially when it was busy. Busy days working 'lobby' are still pretty close to my idea of hell.

sollar · 02-08-2011 08:15PM

I always clean up after myself.

BTW a group of us were in New York a few years back and went to walk out after our McDonalds with out cleaning up. And this woman (staff) rushed over shouting at us that we need to clean up.

A question for those that work in Fast Food Places

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