The biggest issues we had were Corporation insisting everything had to be purchased from them. We’d get brown lettuce that cost more than if we’d bought locally. We had to buy the overpriced food from Corporation. The equipment did break down, frequently, and I despised trying to get the ice cream/shake machine to work properly.

But McDonald’s did have really good training, including videos, and I recall some great employees that I had the pleasure to work with. We had “register races” contests, and had fun trying to beat the clock and get the food delivered fast. Yes, we actually did.

We were a team, and acted like it.

Hiring and keeping good employees was hard then, as it apparently is now. I own McDonald’s stock but don’t go to local franchises as the employees are rude and not interested in customer service. I despise the “auto-greeter” that some stores were using a few years ago. How stinking hard is it to smile and say “May I take your order?” Really.

The last time I went I recall the employee taking my order telling me “Oh, chill out, Ma’am”. If it were on my shift I would have told her to not let the door hit her on the way out.

I could write a book on working the drive through, and the disgusting views and personal habits of the customers.

I think McDonald’s really started on the slide to oblivion when they left the family oriented aspect and tried to be “hip”, went McCafe. Profits were never made with the specialty items like salads or sundaes, our stores lost revenue on the big burgers, but made it up with fries, soft drinks, and coffee.

I still have my promotional pins, too. Maybe they’re worth something…

1. Stop pretending the ice cream machine is broken.

2. Give reasonably timely service to people who walk into the restaurant, as well as those who remain in their car.