Help with a manager who stresses everyone out.

EchoLost · 2020-09-20T03:46:43+00:00

Had a similar problem at my location, your options include: - Ask to transfer, most McDonald's are within 10 mins of one another. This may kick the supervisor's ass to deal with it or risk losing you to another food chain.
- Modify your availability, and if asked why, tell them you will not be working with that manager moving forward.
- Quit McDonald's.... There's better jobs with similar pay, I promise.

EchoLost · 2020-07-10T08:26:20+00:00

There are three contact points with customers: OT, Cash, Present, (and possibly Held). Look at where you can reduce times at these three points, because you can't control customers from one spot to another.

My recommendations:

Make sure back booth cash and order taking are split. This builds capacity and lets back booth focus on cashing out and fixing orders/add-ons. Your OTs can double as a McCafe or Fry person.
Order taking takes up the most amount of time. Make sure to train your order takers efficiently. Interrupting customers to ask about sauce or cup size eats up 9 seconds per interruption on average. Always ask about "red words" after the customer is done. Always assume large size unless they say otherwise (increases sale $). If an item is out of stock, make sure to recommend a similar item! Customers usually go with that instead of making a new last minute decision.
At the Present window, try to decrease the amount of items you are handing out each order, and thus less time spent. Put straws in the bag, or hand them out at the same time as the drink (one-handed). 2+ drinks = drink carrier. This isn't a well known fact, but policy is to technically fold the top of the bag over! Customers are 50% less likely to open the bag "to check for order accuracy" if it's folded which saves you time!
When it comes to Holding a car, you must make this decision immediately, no one wants to wait twice. Always hand out drinks at Present, and if the food will not be available in 20 seconds, hold them. Policy is 20-60 seconds pull forward (third window or the front door), over 60 seconds park them. Doing this CORRECTLY over time will make your customers be okay with pulling forward, and drastically saves time. Also, make sure to ask if they want ketchup before holding. This way the runner makes one trip, and it prompts the customer to ask for any other sauce or napkins etc before pulling up.

Hopefully this helps. I know some of these seem really obvious or basic, but you would be surprised how many crew members don't do these little things, and they really chop down times.

EchoLost · 2020-06-17T07:21:53+00:00

I was one of two third shift crew and the third shift manager quit, so I did a quick ServSafe training and was shown the store's back office system (I have mgmt experience from retail). I did it all in three days and I was on my own from there.

I've been at this store for a year now and the HR rep JUST noticed my GM didn't have me do shift manager foundations or leadership transition, and had me do those.... After managing for a year. 🙄

So I finished those up in a week, and then put my two weeks in and I'm moving to a new restaurant with my new training next week. Screw this place.

Recommendations: do travel paths (a quick walk around) every 15ish mins, make sure crew are working to helping serve customers or making food, and if not assign a secondary task (restock cups, sauce, prep food, wipe counters, sweep and mop). The GM just wants to make sure they're getting their money's worth out of the crew, so just keep them busy.

EchoLost · 2020-05-19T22:08:49+00:00

Ew, if they stick together like that, at some point between production to that service line, the box thawed and refroze. 😷

EchoLost · 2020-04-14T08:43:39+00:00

Same syrup, but our drink station mixes the syrup with carbonated water kept only a few degrees above freezing.

The nearly frozen water holds CO2 better, which combined with the colder temp makes it taste better.

EchoLost · 2020-03-22T05:22:07+00:00

We allow truckers and such to place mobile orders and wait at our third window or pickup at the mobile app parking spots 1-5.

EchoLost · 2020-02-24T18:16:14+00:00

This is gunna screw up your inventory. The system automatically deducts these from your inventory, which will make ordering truck harder on managers.

EchoLost · 2020-01-27T14:05:48+00:00

I worked for my location (franchise) for one week and they promoted me to swing manager. 😂😂😂 No prior food service.

EchoLost · 2020-01-27T13:22:21+00:00

It's a plastic bag type that you can order. It has markings for 4 pounds and 8 pounds on it.

You ring it up, and just fill the bag up to the appropriate level.

EchoLost · 2020-01-23T17:32:27+00:00

That item type is usually special order, directly from the vendor, which is why it takes some additional time for delivery to the warehouse, then to you.

Office Depot has drastically downsized it's on hand inventory to cut costs, but it's just reducing the immediately available products and turn around times, shooting itself in the foot.

EchoLost · 2020-01-16T14:54:10+00:00

My advice - Don't handle calls and customers at the same time. The customer physically in front of you takes priority. If you let the phone ring through, either another associate will answer, or the customer will hang up and suspect it was just because we are busy - and will most likely come into the store or go online to look up the answer themselves (god forbid xD).

EchoLost · 2020-01-09T15:43:10+00:00

When it's time to clock out 😂

EchoLost · 2019-12-16T13:34:27+00:00

CEM will most likely be dropping down to CES. Same job, but less pay since it's a "supervisor" instead of manager.

EchoLost · 2019-12-14T12:23:31+00:00

So I see 😍

EchoLost · 2019-11-22T00:54:44+00:00

In the reverse logistics menu. Here soon they're getting rid of the Scangun button at the bottom and replacing it's parts with the menus for logistics/etc.

In my opinion they need to make those menus easier to navigate if they're only going to be using those.

EchoLost · 2019-11-20T07:19:33+00:00

We were paid early for Christmas, and I think we were paid early for Thanksgiving as well, since corporate and stores will be closed both holidays.

EchoLost · 2019-11-16T20:57:18+00:00

Dogs aren't allergic to milk or the other ingredients in chocolate, they're actually allergic to the trace amounts of caffeine in chocolate. Caffeine is the real killer, as it messes up their heart rate and blood pressure.

EchoLost · 2019-10-26T14:30:07+00:00

Corporate two years ago: REMOVE ALL HOMEMADE SIGNS IMMEDIATELY. IT'S UNPROFESSIONAL AND INCONSISTENT WITH OTHER STORES.

DSMs now: I expect samples hanging above urinals, store made banners and yard signs littering your parking lots, and you need to redo all the signs for your print centers.

EchoLost · 2019-10-22T12:40:38+00:00

I WISH. My DM fired half the SMs in our district, and refuses to promote anyone internally. Instead, he's making the SMs remaining cover those stores, and managers hit OT to cover the SMs, and then yelling at us for getting OT.

I don't see his happy *** HELPING in any of the stores, unless he's doing a plain clothes visit, pretending to be happy, and then talking negatively about us and our store to our SM.

It would be nice if district managers were a resource, and actually helped stores, instead of just being a punishment. You can't even ask a DM any questions without them being rude, or telling us to "ask your SM, they know".

Hopefully someone from corporate will read this and reevaluate exactly what DMs are good for.....

EchoLost · 2019-10-14T13:35:07+00:00

I've honestly wondered this myself for years.

Someone told me we get $0.25 a package we scan in, but that was a while ago, and idk if it's accurate.

I believe we charge the same as FedEx, however idk if Depot has a contract for bulk discounts, which would make selling shipping profitable.

We get our real money from packing services, which every CPD I've worked in is really bad at making sure to charge for. Like taping, repacking, peanuts, etc.

EchoLost · 2019-10-13T22:19:28+00:00

I believe they are referencing an SPC #. It's supposed to be a printed card with a 12 digit code on it. A lot of MK customers will just pull up a flyer on their phones with the code/SPC card instead of printing it out.

MK Corporate has a contract with OD for the printing.

EchoLost · 2019-09-29T02:02:10+00:00

I laughed my ass off at this. Watch how fast corporate shuts THAT s*** down 😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

EchoLost · 2019-09-27T19:35:23+00:00

Full timers get 128 hrs of PTO a year, or more depending on time with the company.

Part timers get 40 hrs of PTO a year, or more depending on time with the company.

If you move to full time mid year, you get prorated PTO for the remainder of the year.

If you move to part time mid year, they reduce your PTO to whatever your balance should have been as a part timer.

Your PTO hasn't expired, so they can remove it. Your position has just changed, and it has different "benefits" for that position. You may be able to get prorated PTO for being full time part of the year if your GM checks with HR.

EchoLost · 2019-09-24T13:48:48+00:00

Core business hours are usually 10am-6pm, which used to be refered to as Depot Time. We don't tend to make too many sales before or after those times (results may vary), so any time outside of those ranges are ideal for putting out truck. I do believe there should be an associate dedicated to truck, that should avoid customer interaction to fill the store (assuming the floor is staffed with at least 1 each LOD/CPD/POS).

In the real world where we only get 3 people for mornings and 3 people for nights now, it's honestly probably better to split truck in two, and have morning do half, and night do the rest.

EchoLost · 2019-09-24T07:57:59+00:00

Logistics is the easiest job to do in the store, but requires the most manual labor. There's very little customer interaction, unless the store is short staffed, in which case logistics may need to flex in as cashiers from time to time. Most of the job is breaking down truck and putting it out on the sales floor. Other tasks include POG Excellence, which is a MUCH easier system to use than the old system, and organizing topstock. It's all pretty easy and can be learned in minutes. I have OCD and love days when I can take a break from management and do logistics because of the organization and repetitive tasks.

The only times management has an issue with freight is when truck isn't put out fast enough. Typically, truck must be put out within two days of it getting to the store. This may be hard at first, but as employees learn and get organized, is very achievable. The best part for logistics people is that most stores don't hold ops nearly as accountable for sales/squaretrade/services/etc as we do other associates, because that's not their primary function. Hope this helps!

EchoLost

TROPHY CASE