McDonalds!! Then and Now

I joke a lot, (a little too much probably) about having to work at McDonalds if nothing else pans out.

It’s a little known fact that this Operations Manager wanna be got her start at the Golden Arches right here in Shakopee MN. The year: 1985. I was 15, and if memory serves me, I drove myself to said restaurant to apply. I didn’t have one of those “farmer” driving permits, but I surmise that my thought process was if I ever got pulled over, I would plead ignorance and the coppers would just call Edna and she’d straighten it all out. (Having two outlaw brothers, she was use to that right??)

I filled out the application for “crew member” and was immediately interviewed by, (sorry honey) the best looking “hunk” I’d seen in awhile. ..

I was hired immediately. I should have seen this as a sign of complete and utter desperation to get a body in the door that could sling a burger out the drive thru window in an acceptable amount of time and manage to get a “Thank you come again” said to at least 1 out of every 3 customers.

“Maybe the hunk likes me?!” I thought. No. Just desperate. And not for a date either. Dang.

And so began my 8 year stint at McDonalds.

It didn’t take long for them to realize my worth, (and really I’m not boasting, it just doesn’t take much to shine as a McDonalds crew member….)

Two years after being hired by the hunk, he never did ask me out, but I was promoted to shift manager. Me. A manager. 17 years old and they put me in charge.

Party on!

Looking back, that it actually took a full two years to achieve this “status” is somewhat disappointing. I ran designated shifts, managed the “crew”, made sure the place was clean, the food was fresh, (okay okay, “somewhat” fresh) counted the cash, made the deposit, and locked the place up at the end of the night. They even gave me keys to the freakin place. Me.

I did all those things. And know what else? I raised just a tiny bit of hell along the way...

You see, having navigated my way to another town to work was thought of as pretty unorthodoxed at the time. I had more friends and more fun at this institution than at any other point in my life! Those saps, er, “beloved classmates” at New Prague High School had no idea what they were missing...

I’m lovin’ it.

As I contemplate a new career, I will never forget the lessons I learned from my first management job, however, if I were to do fast food again, there are things that would likely be different:

Then:
Burley construction guy with a likeness to Larry the Cable Guy comes in and orders two Quarter Pounders with Cheese, Super Size fries, and large coke. I cheerfully comply and am sure to remind him that he forgot dessert and would he “like an apple pie with that”?
Now:
I pull out the nutritional guide and kindly point out that he just ordered 1,832 calories, 78 grams of fat, and would he “like a heart attack with that”?

Then:
My newfound friends (sans the hunk) and I sit in the parking lot after close until 3:30am, all the while dear ‘ol Mom thinks it really does take that long to clean the place up.
Now:
At 3:30 am my alarm is going off. I have been asleep for at least 6 hours.

Then:
A “little tiny bit” of underage beer drinking in aforementioned parking lot
Now:
Beer is about as appealing to me as a good cup of battery acid.

Then:
I ate red meat.
Now:
I’ve seen what’s in a Big Mac. I won’t go there.

Then:
Found a “few” boys I worked with worthy of kissing in the
parking lot…. :-O
Now:
Husband would frown on such activities.

Then:
I forgot your fries.
Now:
I forgot your name.

Then:
I worked nights and weekends, putting up with demanding and whining customers and co-workers...
Now:
I work nights and weekends, putting up with demanding and whining kids who think I exist to wait on them...

Would I go back?

No, but I want a drive thru speaker outside my house so that from the comfort of my living room I can yell to my kids to "stop fighting!", "be careful in the street!", "put down the ax!" or better yet, “time to eat!”

We’re going to Burger King...

;-)