These are all quotes from supposedly current/ex employees, we question some of the responses and remember most are from US stores where we believe food hygiene is less regulated.
Those hidden menus
Anything off of the “Hidden Menu.” Most people working don’t know how to make it and you’ll probably just receive a giant glob of assorted ingredients on a bun.
General rule of thumb
- If you see something on the menu and can’t find at least one or two other items that the ingredients could be used in, don’t order it. For example, my restaurant has a pulled pork sandwich. We don’t use the pork for anything else. Since it’s not ordered too frequently, it’s not fresh and the product you’re eating might be days or weeks old. It’s not going to get you sick, but it definitely won’t be as fresh as the other things on the menu.
- Most employees honestly do care about the quality of the food they make and won’t mind making a new one. It does suck for the cooks, but it also sucks paying for stale food. The cooks will groan internally, but making one or two items food is honestly very simple back there, and if they served dry food they know it, as they had to put it in your meal. Just like how you feel bad asking extra of them, they feel bad serving old food. I’ve never seen anything purposefully malicious or spiteful done outside of lazily throwing the food together, though.
- Don’t order the salad. We have to add a butt-load of fatty ranch dressing and fried chicken to cover up the taste of the vile, old iceberg lettuce.
Starbucks
- Worked at Starbucks for a while and had a lady ask us if we were baking anymore banana bread for the day.. The look on her face when I told her it comes to us on a truck.
- “Don’t order something from the “secret menu”. We sure as shit don’t know what a Snickerdoodle frappuccino is, as it is not a menu item. Employees would be more than happy to make you a drink if you just explain the recipe rather than the name of it. I’ll make you diabetes in a goddamn cup if you just tell me what you want in there. Just don’t get mad at me for not knowing a whole menu customers created.”
- DONT order anything off of the “Secret Starbucks Menu” like Butter beer frappe or shit like that. We don’t know how to make them! That’s pure made up stuff that customers have figured out taste like a special something. And don’t get mad at us when we don’t know, it’s not on the menu.
- All Starbucks food is reheated frozen food. Ridiculous how little people realize that. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t taste good, it’s just not fresh at all and incredibly overpriced.
- All of the pastries are frozen and thawed out the night before.
Subway
- Tuna sandwiches. 80% mayonnaise.
- Even the damn cookies taste like their bread.
- At our subway, The “oven roasted” chicken was actually boiled in a microwave.
- At the subway I work at the meatballs are left out all night uncovered. Never get the meatball sub.
McDonalds
- Grilled chicken could sit there for a long time. So can the filet o fish. Usually they’re on top of it but shit happens, don’t be afraid to order those fresh if you worry it might be stale.
- I’ve done a 4 hour shift and just forgot to throw out the old grilled chicken and make new ones because nobody ordered it, and it had already went past the timer when I got on so there was no beeping to remind me. It sounds stupid and it was. We’re all human and humans are dumb, though. What you should order is fresh grilled chicken (Edit: Takes about 7-10 minutes, though!) I used to time grilled chicken for my breaks because it was just that good. Also fresh cookies. Super gooey chocolate, soft and warm.
- McDonald’s Life Hacks” exist but you will be upcharged for certain ingredients. Like the “Poor Man’s Big Mac” (A McDouble with Mac Sauce and shredded lettuce). We will upcharge you $0.30 for the Mac Sauce, and $0.20-$0.30 for the shredded lettuce.
- I wouldn’t order from McDonald’s after 10pm. We had a restroom where the sink was outside of the door. At night management counts money and does paperwork, so it is pretty much anarchy. Anyway, several people would use the restroom without washing their hands or putting on gloves and then make food. Or pick food off the floor and serve it. I’ve seen some bad shit back in my time at McDonalds on the late shift.
Pizza Places
- Small pizzas. They’re such a fucking pain to make right. If the dough is warm, they tear. If the dough is cold, you can’t do shit. On top of that, it’s a huge waste of your money. There’s always a special going on that will hook you up with a large pizza for around the price of a small.
- Also, just a tip relating to that, most people working the phones will happily hook you up with tons of discounts if you’re super polite and just ask. But if you’re a dick, fuck you, you just get what you ask for and deal with the insane prices.
- Work at a pizza place. You’re a vegan and order a veggie pizza with no cheese? There is animal fat in the sauce as an all natural thickener.
KFC
- Former KFC cook here, I recommend that you don’t consume the KFC gravy. It is primarily made of the filthy oil that stores up at the bottom of the cookers over the day and is then served to customers the next day.
- Don’t order anything without chicken at KFC. It will be frozen trash.
You may also like:
- Love a good takeaway? Try this instead
- Should you be eating at your local takeaway?
- Wait a minute: See what a Happy Meal looks like after 6 years!
Wetherspoons
- ‘My friend used to work at Wetherspoons and you NEVER want to eat their poached eggs, they come in a plastic cup and they just are popped out and microwaved. Pretty much anything in Wetherspoons is just microwaved crap.
- I worked there for over 2 years. the fish is freshly battered to order. Not breaded. And although a lot is microwaved, steaks, burgers, most chicken products, bacon, sausages and many more are not so stick with those.
Burger King
- Quite a few ex-Burger King workers suggest that food is left out for AGES if it isn’t ordered quickly. Oh dear!
- Burger King Nuggets are awful and they don’t care if you complain (10ways note)
Originally asked on Reddit
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