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| 'Everything I needed to know I learned in McDonald's' | 'Everything I needed to know I learned in McDonald's' |
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| Journalist John Hand revisits his alma materNews that McDonald's will offer "A-level grade" training courses has been met with jibes about "McDiplomas" and "McQualifications". But for journalist John Hand, learning the ropes in a fast-food restaurant was a grounding for life. | Journalist John Hand revisits his alma materNews that McDonald's will offer "A-level grade" training courses has been met with jibes about "McDiplomas" and "McQualifications". But for journalist John Hand, learning the ropes in a fast-food restaurant was a grounding for life. |
| It's easy to be flippant about flipping burgers at the world's biggest fast food chain. Health aficionados dismiss the food you prepare, conditions in the industry are far from glamorous and the uniform is guaranteed to deter anyone with an ounce of sartorial sense. | It's easy to be flippant about flipping burgers at the world's biggest fast food chain. Health aficionados dismiss the food you prepare, conditions in the industry are far from glamorous and the uniform is guaranteed to deter anyone with an ounce of sartorial sense. |
| But as a teenager trying to scrape my way through sixth-form and then journalism college, my three years as a part-timer at McDonald's in Luton taught me many valuable lessons about life. | But as a teenager trying to scrape my way through sixth-form and then journalism college, my three years as a part-timer at McDonald's in Luton taught me many valuable lessons about life. |
| YOU GET OUT WHAT YOU PUT IN | YOU GET OUT WHAT YOU PUT IN |
| If you see a job as meaningless, it will become meaningless. Plenty of my colleagues did just that, making it much easier for me to shine. Within weeks I had the full complement of stars on my badge and was gradually given more managerial responsibilities - training colleagues, stock-taking, cashing-up, even leading shifts with 20-30 colleagues. | If you see a job as meaningless, it will become meaningless. Plenty of my colleagues did just that, making it much easier for me to shine. Within weeks I had the full complement of stars on my badge and was gradually given more managerial responsibilities - training colleagues, stock-taking, cashing-up, even leading shifts with 20-30 colleagues. |
| That's a fair bit of responsibility for a 16-year-old who'd previously done nothing more challenging than a paper round. | That's a fair bit of responsibility for a 16-year-old who'd previously done nothing more challenging than a paper round. |
| FAMOUS EX-WORKERS Athlete Carl LewisSinger Macy GrayEx-White House chief of staff Andrew Card (above, with George Bush)Amazon boss Jeff Bezos McDonald's serves up 'diplomas' | FAMOUS EX-WORKERS Athlete Carl LewisSinger Macy GrayEx-White House chief of staff Andrew Card (above, with George Bush)Amazon boss Jeff Bezos McDonald's serves up 'diplomas' |
| It is notable that those who have positive things to say about the McDonald's working experience are those who threw themselves into it, without any cynicism. | It is notable that those who have positive things to say about the McDonald's working experience are those who threw themselves into it, without any cynicism. |
| That means caring deeply about the company's four central tenets - quality, service, cleanliness and value. | That means caring deeply about the company's four central tenets - quality, service, cleanliness and value. |
| I understood the sound business principles behind asking "Is that a large?" or "Do you want fries with that?", so didn't feel at all self-conscious about chanting the then-obligatory mantras at every customer. | I understood the sound business principles behind asking "Is that a large?" or "Do you want fries with that?", so didn't feel at all self-conscious about chanting the then-obligatory mantras at every customer. |
| I've since learned I was in good company. Andrew H Card, otherwise known as President Bush's chief of staff between 2001 and 2006, has spoken glowingly of his time at the Golden Arches. | I've since learned I was in good company. Andrew H Card, otherwise known as President Bush's chief of staff between 2001 and 2006, has spoken glowingly of his time at the Golden Arches. |
| "I enjoyed the challenge of adding up the bill before it could be punched on the cash-register buttons," he wrote in an article for the Wall Street Journal. "It wasn't long before I became a shift leader and then the night manager. Boy, did I learn how to manage!" | "I enjoyed the challenge of adding up the bill before it could be punched on the cash-register buttons," he wrote in an article for the Wall Street Journal. "It wasn't long before I became a shift leader and then the night manager. Boy, did I learn how to manage!" |
| EVERY SECOND COUNTS | EVERY SECOND COUNTS |
| The comfortably-salaried may sneer but I found there was always something very honest about a job with an hourly rate where you had to clock in and out, even for (unpaid) breaks. | The comfortably-salaried may sneer but I found there was always something very honest about a job with an hourly rate where you had to clock in and out, even for (unpaid) breaks. |
| Timing was everything. There was a premium rate on offer for working beyond 2300 but under-18s had to stop at midnight, so there was an acquired art to getting that all-important "00:00" stamp on your timecard. | Timing was everything. There was a premium rate on offer for working beyond 2300 but under-18s had to stop at midnight, so there was an acquired art to getting that all-important "00:00" stamp on your timecard. |
| As the hours clocked up, they brought a very useful part-time wage. When the time came to leave for a "proper job" in journalism, it actually brought with it a cut in pay. | As the hours clocked up, they brought a very useful part-time wage. When the time came to leave for a "proper job" in journalism, it actually brought with it a cut in pay. |
| THERE ARE ALWAYS OPPORTUNITIES | THERE ARE ALWAYS OPPORTUNITIES |
| HISTORY OF ACCUSATIONS Paid low wagesDiscouraged trade union membershipSent employees home during quiet periodsAttempts to control minutiae of workers' actions While I spurned the offer to progress my McDonald's career full-time with a place at its "Hamburger University" - formally known as an intensive 18-week Management Development programme - the company says it is possible to have a fulfilling career in fast food. | HISTORY OF ACCUSATIONS Paid low wagesDiscouraged trade union membershipSent employees home during quiet periodsAttempts to control minutiae of workers' actions While I spurned the offer to progress my McDonald's career full-time with a place at its "Hamburger University" - formally known as an intensive 18-week Management Development programme - the company says it is possible to have a fulfilling career in fast food. |
| Certainly, its ceaseless global expansion gives adventurous employees a chance to see the world. Shortly before my A-levels, I was given the chance to temporarily decamp to Russia to help train staff at the company's first store in Moscow. The catch was that I would have had to take intensive Russian lessons. I managed to learn a shameful three words before realising my ambitions lay this side of the Baltic sea. | Certainly, its ceaseless global expansion gives adventurous employees a chance to see the world. Shortly before my A-levels, I was given the chance to temporarily decamp to Russia to help train staff at the company's first store in Moscow. The catch was that I would have had to take intensive Russian lessons. I managed to learn a shameful three words before realising my ambitions lay this side of the Baltic sea. |
| CHECK YOUR TRAINING IS SOUND | CHECK YOUR TRAINING IS SOUND |
| Another key lesson I've taken with me from those teenage years at the hot grill is to ensure you take your lead from more than one person. | Another key lesson I've taken with me from those teenage years at the hot grill is to ensure you take your lead from more than one person. |
| I had an ever-enthusiastic trainer who just told me to "follow what I do". The fact that she was left-handed and I was impressionable enough to heed her words exactly was a deadly combination. It was only after a fortnight of agonisingly slow burger-flipping and bun-dressing that I worked alongside another colleague who put me right, in more way than one. | I had an ever-enthusiastic trainer who just told me to "follow what I do". The fact that she was left-handed and I was impressionable enough to heed her words exactly was a deadly combination. It was only after a fortnight of agonisingly slow burger-flipping and bun-dressing that I worked alongside another colleague who put me right, in more way than one. |
| Since then, I've always had the nous when trained how to do something to check whether there is a better or quicker way of completing the job. | Since then, I've always had the nous when trained how to do something to check whether there is a better or quicker way of completing the job. |
| RESPECT THE WORLD AROUND YOU | RESPECT THE WORLD AROUND YOU |
| Our store in Luton was in an area with a very large Muslim population, and was one of the first McDonald's outlets to experiment (albeit briefly) with offering halal meat. I was also on a workforce made up of colleagues of various races, religions and ages. I first learned about the observance of Ramadan through colleagues who had to time their meal breaks accordingly. | Our store in Luton was in an area with a very large Muslim population, and was one of the first McDonald's outlets to experiment (albeit briefly) with offering halal meat. I was also on a workforce made up of colleagues of various races, religions and ages. I first learned about the observance of Ramadan through colleagues who had to time their meal breaks accordingly. |
| And as a 16-year-old occasionally managing the work of people sometimes two generations older, I learned that mutual respect is the most important tactic to get the best work from any colleague. | And as a 16-year-old occasionally managing the work of people sometimes two generations older, I learned that mutual respect is the most important tactic to get the best work from any colleague. |
| IF THERE'S TIME TO LEAN, THERE'S TIME TO CLEAN | IF THERE'S TIME TO LEAN, THERE'S TIME TO CLEAN |
| Every spare minute was spent wiping down another surface or mopping a floor, all with the aim of ensuring there was less of a cleaning slog to get through once the final customer had departed. | Every spare minute was spent wiping down another surface or mopping a floor, all with the aim of ensuring there was less of a cleaning slog to get through once the final customer had departed. |
| I also learned quickly that "Ajax is a verb", in the endless pursuit of shiny, never streaky, stainless steel surfaces armed only with a cloth and the eponymous cleaning substance. | I also learned quickly that "Ajax is a verb", in the endless pursuit of shiny, never streaky, stainless steel surfaces armed only with a cloth and the eponymous cleaning substance. |
| PLAN AHEAD... BUT ONLY BY 10 MINUTES | PLAN AHEAD... BUT ONLY BY 10 MINUTES |
| MCDONALD'S EDUCATION 67,000 UK staff75% proud to work at companySpends £15m a year on training in UK80% of managers started as hourly-paid crew members20% of franchisees started as crewAverage tenure for manager is 10 years | MCDONALD'S EDUCATION 67,000 UK staff75% proud to work at companySpends £15m a year on training in UK80% of managers started as hourly-paid crew members20% of franchisees started as crewAverage tenure for manager is 10 years |
| Source: McDonald's | Source: McDonald's |
| A regular role for me was as production caller, the rather shouty person you see and hear at every busy McDonald's situated between the tills and the kitchen, communicating in strange codes such as "6,4 on the turn" and calculating how many burgers have been cooked at any time to avoid having customers waiting. | A regular role for me was as production caller, the rather shouty person you see and hear at every busy McDonald's situated between the tills and the kitchen, communicating in strange codes such as "6,4 on the turn" and calculating how many burgers have been cooked at any time to avoid having customers waiting. |
| Food which then went unsold for more than 10 minutes had to be thrown away so anyone who panicked and overestimated how many Big Macs the post-football crowd would consume risked the wrath of a target-aware manager. A salutary lesson in household management if ever there was one. | Food which then went unsold for more than 10 minutes had to be thrown away so anyone who panicked and overestimated how many Big Macs the post-football crowd would consume risked the wrath of a target-aware manager. A salutary lesson in household management if ever there was one. |
| YOU'LL NEVER BE THE NEW GUY FOR LONG | YOU'LL NEVER BE THE NEW GUY FOR LONG |
| Some things never change and McDonald's, like many employers of a similar nature, has always had to contend with high staff turnover. | Some things never change and McDonald's, like many employers of a similar nature, has always had to contend with high staff turnover. |
| At least that always meant we had a newly-gullible victim who could be instructed to polish the traffic lights outside the store or count the ice cubes in the ice machine. | At least that always meant we had a newly-gullible victim who could be instructed to polish the traffic lights outside the store or count the ice cubes in the ice machine. |
| The high staff turnover is often used by critics as an indication of low staff morale at McDonald's but the feeling among many of my colleagues was that we were on our way to other careers - I can count a tax inspector and a detective among my former co-workers. | The high staff turnover is often used by critics as an indication of low staff morale at McDonald's but the feeling among many of my colleagues was that we were on our way to other careers - I can count a tax inspector and a detective among my former co-workers. |
| ALWAYS WEAR THE RIGHT SHOES | ALWAYS WEAR THE RIGHT SHOES |
| Health and Safety might frown on such behaviour in these more enlightened times, but I kept a pair of shoes with especially slippery soles for my shifts behind the McDonald's counter. | Health and Safety might frown on such behaviour in these more enlightened times, but I kept a pair of shoes with especially slippery soles for my shifts behind the McDonald's counter. |
| With them, I could glide at speed around the restaurant floor and deliver orders at (near) breakneck speed. They became my secret weapon as I whizzed into the final of Till Person of the Year (held at the country's busiest store on the busiest Saturday before Christmas). | With them, I could glide at speed around the restaurant floor and deliver orders at (near) breakneck speed. They became my secret weapon as I whizzed into the final of Till Person of the Year (held at the country's busiest store on the busiest Saturday before Christmas). |
| I didn't win but I'm sure those shoes are still around somewhere any time I need to react to some fast-breaking news. | I didn't win but I'm sure those shoes are still around somewhere any time I need to react to some fast-breaking news. |
Add your comments on this story, using the form below. | Add your comments on this story, using the form below. |
| No matter what you think of McDonalds, surely coming out of the job with some form of qualification that can be used to get another (better) job must be a plus.John Fielder, Workington | No matter what you think of McDonalds, surely coming out of the job with some form of qualification that can be used to get another (better) job must be a plus.John Fielder, Workington |
| My 2 weeks at McDonalds when I was 16, were probably the worst 2 working weeks of my life, however I do now respect the fact that it's an extremely hard job to do, day in day out. I don't think the general public realise how much work actually goes into getting their burger from the grill to their stomach! Jay, Northampton, England | My 2 weeks at McDonalds when I was 16, were probably the worst 2 working weeks of my life, however I do now respect the fact that it's an extremely hard job to do, day in day out. I don't think the general public realise how much work actually goes into getting their burger from the grill to their stomach! Jay, Northampton, England |
| This is so true! I am always saddened when I meet people complaining about 'pointless' jobs - I never worked in McDonalds but I have done every lowly office role you can think of when temping as a student and I learnt so much that has stood me in good stead in my career, mostly about the way offices work, about office politics and how to treat people.Zoe, Bristol, UK | |
| I agree with the respect point wholeheartedly. I remember going into a McDonald's just before closing having had a hungry day, and asking what was ready, and specifically if they had any fries left. They didn't, but because I'd made a point of being aware that they all wanted to close up and go home, they made me some fresh.Emily, Loughborough | |
| My first real job was with MacDonald's, as a shy retiring teen, it forced me out of my shell and gave me the social and life skills that schools don't really get the opportunity to teach.Laura , Horsham | |