Fastfood employees tell us what to avoid

Duggys Housemate

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

when we ran out of slimline milk in bewleys we used to mix half of a bottle of regular full milk and water in the same slimline bottle

That's probably what the manufacturers do.

emeraldstar

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

when we ran out of slimline milk in bewleys we used to mix half of a bottle of regular full milk and water in the same slimline bottle

And? That's pretty much what it is.

SweetCaliber

Jesus Shaves wrote: »

How can fast food workers have the intelligence to tell anyone what not to eat, that's the reason they work there. Lack of it.

I work in a fast food chipper and I took that very offensive.

Esoteric_

I worked in a fast food place for 2 years, up til a few weeks ago.

I'm not going to get into the details, but all I'll say is, I will NEVER eat fast food again after working in a fast food place. And I'd strongly advise everyone else to do the same. The hygiene standards are sickening, and HACCP is rarely followed properly.

Esoteric_

Ginny wrote: »

The "onions" in McD's are awful, rehydrated balls of crap, left to soak overnight in a sink. Never be abusive to the counter staff. If you can order something with something extra or something missing, you'll usually get a fresh item cooked just for you. Oh and those red and black numbers behind the products? Match them up to the red and black numbers on the clock and that's how long ago they were cooked.

Totally right. And if you want to know whether the food has been sitting there too long, it's 20 minutes for beef and 10 minutes for chicken products.

Esoteric_

omgitsthelazor wrote: »

Know people who've worked in a few places and honestly all the suspicion about crap ingredients or bad practices are from an era gone by. Fast food is prepared at a very high standard in this country, a higher standard than a lot of restaurants in fact.

Theres so much suspicion and inspection now that none of the major chains will hire kids or suspect individuals like they used to. I'd be weary of non-chain fast food or small chains but any of the regular chains are held to very high standards, its a competitive market after all and one bad story would very quickly swing customers to someone else.

I don't know about McDonald's or Burger King, but the place I worked in (a very large fast food chain, in the second biggest store in Ireland) was disgraceful when it came to hygiene and food preparation.

kegzmc

I used to work in a chipper when finishing my PhD in UL. The kitchen was completely out of sight so you can imagine the stuff that went on. We used to p1ss on the chips, put the burgers up our arses and rub our balls etc on food.

One of the lads pushed a chicken leg or something so far up his ring that his hole started bleeding. No messing.

SweetCaliber

LyndaMcL wrote: »

I worked in a fast food place for 2 years, up til a few weeks ago.

I'm not going to get into the details, but all I'll say is, I will NEVER eat fast food again after working in a fast food place. And I'd strongly advise everyone else to do the same. The hygiene standards are sickening, and HACCP is rarely followed properly.

That could be put up for debate.

It all depends on the owner really.

1. Where I work, everytime we use the till, we have a sink close by and we have to wash out hands everytime after handling money. We also have to wash our hands after being near the bin, stocking up stuff (touching the boxes from the store room) etc...

2. We have to clean up after every order to prevent a mess.

3. All food is prepared early morning before we open the doors. (fresh cod, battered sausages etc..).

4. We usually get a couple of complaints because of the amount of time it takes to cook the chips, however, we make sure they are fully cooked and have the best taste.

5. We have a cleanup hour, every hour on the hour. We swap with other staff and we clean everything, mop the floor etc...

6. We cook our sausages through and make sure they are piping hot. Battered sausages are slowly cooked then battered and put in a cold fridge.

7. Our sausages are brought in every morning to prevent them from being frozen and to make sure they are 100% fresh.

With all these we get tons of happy customers at the end of the day. There are tons more stuff we do to make sure we are above standards and at the end of the day it really does pay off. There are always the unhappy bunch but ah well what can you do.

However, not all chippers do this and only care about profit, like I said it's always about the owner.

Esoteric_

lee3155 wrote: »

That could be put up for debate.

It all depends on the owner really.

1. Where I work, everytime we use the till, we have a sink close by and we have to wash out hands everytime after handling money. We also have to wash our hands after being near the bin, stocking up stuff (touching the boxes from the store room) etc...

2. We have to clean up after every order to prevent a mess.

3. All food is prepared early morning before we open the doors. (fresh cod, battered sausages etc..).

4. We usually get a couple of complaints because of the amount of time it takes to cook the chips, however, we make sure they are fully cooked and have the best taste.

5. We have a cleanup hour, every hour on the hour. We swap with other staff and we clean everything, mop the floor etc...

6. We cook our sausages through and make sure they are piping hot. Battered sausages are slowly cooked then battered and put in a cold fridge.

7. Our sausages are brought in every morning to prevent them from being frozen and to make sure they are 100% fresh.

With all these we get tons of happy customers at the end of the day. There are tons more stuff we do to make sure we are above standards and at the end of the day it really does pay off. There are always the unhappy bunch but ah well what can you do.

However, not all chippers do this and only care about profit, like I said it's always about the owner.

Where I worked (it wasn't a chipper, it was a chain of restaurants), food was regularly left in the hot storage places for too long and still served up, chicken products were regularly not cooked for long enough, hands weren't washed after touching raw meat, moving swiftly on to touching cooked food, correct tongs were not used, hand washing was not done as often as it should have been, people would do things like empty bins and then not wash their hands, smoke and not wash their hands, prep food by hand when it should be done with tongs/gloves, cold food was regularly above the 'safe' temperature. I remember one incident, recently, where a daddy long legs got into the fries in the fry dump. I told the manager and was told to just remove it and continue to serve those same chips. :eek:


I'm sure other places have fantastic hygiene standards, but from my experience, I will never eat fast food again.

Ella

kegzmc wrote: »

I used to work in a chipper when finishing my PhD in UL. The kitchen was completely out of sight so you can imagine the stuff that went on. We used to p1ss on the chips, put the burgers up our arses and rub our balls etc on food.

One of the lads pushed a chicken leg or something so far up his ring that his hole started bleeding. No messing.

Oh god

SweetCaliber

LyndaMcL wrote: »

Where I worked (it wasn't a chipper, it was a chain of restaurants), food was regularly left in the hot storage places for too long and still served up, chicken products were regularly not cooked for long enough, hands weren't washed after touching raw meat, moving swiftly on to touching cooked food, correct tongs were not used, hand washing was not done as often as it should have been, people would do things like empty bins and then not wash their hands, smoke and not wash their hands, prep food by hand when it should be done with tongs/gloves, cold food was regularly above the 'safe' temperature. I remember one incident, recently, where a daddy long legs got into the fries in the fry dump. I told the manager and was told to just remove it and continue to serve those same chips. :eek:


I'm sure other places have fantastic hygiene standards, but from my experience, I will never eat fast food again.

God that would make me sick, I couldn't work for a place like that!

I wasn't mad into the idea of working for a chip shop for the summer but I need the cash and by jesus where I work now, I'm treated like family But yeah, it really does depend on the place, the owner and wether or not he wants it for the money or for the customer satisfaction.

May I mind you my boss is an Italian :rolleyes:

Esoteric_

lee3155 wrote: »

God that would make me sick, I couldn't work for a place like that!

I wasn't mad into the idea of working for a chip shop for the summer but I need the cash and by jesus where I work now, I'm treated like family But yeah, it really does depend on the place, the owner and wether or not he wants it for the money or for the customer satisfaction.

May I mind you my boss is an Italian :rolleyes:

I've found that chippers tend to have much better hygience practises than chains of fast food restaurants.

Believe me, it was hell working there. I spent the entire day scrubbing the place in between customers because the place was so disgusting. And this is a huge place that grosses millions per year. :eek:

SweetCaliber

LyndaMcL wrote: »

I've found that chippers tend to have much better hygience practises than chains of fast food restaurants.

Believe me, it was hell working there. I spent the entire day scrubbing the place in between customers because the place was so disgusting. And this is a huge place that grosses millions per year. :eek:

I suppose though people have more trust in these big named companies that they think it's okay to eat there, problem is, the kitchen and nearly everything is always hidden. Don't like it one bit!

Esoteric_

lee3155 wrote: »

I suppose though people have more trust in these big named companies that they think it's okay to eat there, problem is, the kitchen and nearly everything is always hidden. Don't like it one bit!

Yup, almost every part of the kicthens were hidden. The only place where the hygiene was any good was in the pizza section and that's only because we made the pizzas right in front of the customers, as the prep station was at the main counter. Plus, I was the main pizza maker for my last few months there, so I kept up pretty high standards of hygiene because I'd feel morally wrong feeding somebody something that was essentially dirty, regardless of whether or not it went into an oven after prep.

SweetCaliber

LyndaMcL wrote: »

Yup, almost every part of the kicthens were hidden. The only place where the hygiene was any good was in the pizza section and that's only because we made the pizzas right in front of the customers, as the prep station was at the main counter. Plus, I was the main pizza maker for my last few months there, so I kept up pretty high standards of hygiene because I'd feel morally wrong feeding somebody something that was essentially dirty, regardless of whether or not it went into an oven after prep.

Exactly. I always keep up high standards, mainly cause we get a ton of locals into us and I know them all, there is no way I could work for or be associated with a place with bad hygiene. Would give me a bad name.

Washington Irving

But I like chicken nuggets

Esoteric_

lee3155 wrote: »

Exactly. I always keep up high standards, mainly cause we get a ton of locals into us and I know them all, there is no way I could work for or be associated with a place with bad hygiene. Would give me a bad name.

That's exactly how I felt. However, I needed the job because I needed a way to pay my rent. :pac: So I just kept everything I served properly cooked (thankfully I was trained in all sections so could do the cooking, too) and made sure my stations were spotless.

SweetCaliber

LyndaMcL wrote: »

That's exactly how I felt. However, I needed the job because I needed a way to pay my rent. :pac: So I just kept everything I served properly cooked (thankfully I was trained in all sections so could do the cooking, too) and made sure my stations were spotless.

And the kitchen was hidden, where as the chip shop I work for, everything is visible :pac:

Glad to see some people here anyways that take pride in their work, my boss would love you

Esoteric_

lee3155 wrote: »

And the kitchen was hidden, where as the chip shop I work for, everything is visible :pac:

Glad to see some people here anyways that take pride in their work, my boss would love you

Ask him has he got any jobs going I've been unemployed 2 weeks and it's killing me! :pac:

SweetCaliber

LyndaMcL wrote: »

Ask him has he got any jobs going I've been unemployed 2 weeks and it's killing me! :pac:

If only we we're in Dublin

Esoteric_

lee3155 wrote: »

If only we we're in Dublin

FML :pac: Where are ye?

jesus_thats_gre

Saul-Goode9 wrote: »

But I like chicken nuggets

Don't worry about chicen nuggets, the McDonalds ones aren't made from the sludge anymore

SweetCaliber

LyndaMcL wrote: »

FML :pac: Where are ye?

Waterford Bit of a treck :pac:

Esoteric_

lee3155 wrote: »

Waterford Bit of a treck :pac:

Ffs. And they say all the jobs are in Dublin....

Sarah Bear

used to work in a butchers in a supermarket..
they did a special offer once a week buy one lb of mince get one free.. shocking stuff that went in with the beef to bulk it out.
they minced huge amounts of meat as they sold so much so in your mince chances are you would get small amounts of anything that was meant to go in the bin.. old bits of meat including pork and lamb hearts. anything that was out of date was thrown up to the deli to be cooked off and sold.
and if something fell on the floor.. dust it off and throw it back into the fridge!

FizzleSticks

This post has been deleted.

Jesus Shaves

MagicSean wrote: »

I worked in a fast food place while I was in college. I'd bet money I am much smarter than you too.

More arrogant, maybe

mikemac1

Back already?

I thought you got banned just the other day

Jesus Shaves

mikemac1 wrote: »

Back already?

I thought you got banned just the other day

2day ban, mustn't derail thread again

Canis Lupus

Jesus Shaves wrote: »

2day ban, mustn't derail thread again

Didn't take you long to derail it then.

mikeystipey

Shryke wrote: »

With fast food it's more a question of damage limitation. I seriously hope that anyone will know a taco fries is worse than a regular chip.

But taco fries are perfect in every possible way

Sar_Bear

There's a fast food place in my home town that gives most people food poisoning, I was (drunkenly) in the one night and all the moths and bugs flying around the cooking area was disgusting. Needless to say I didn't order anything or go back since

Sea Filly

kegzmc wrote: »

I used to work in a chipper when finishing my PhD in UL. The kitchen was completely out of sight so you can imagine the stuff that went on. We used to p1ss on the chips, put the burgers up our arses and rub our balls etc on food.

One of the lads pushed a chicken leg or something so far up his ring that his hole started bleeding. No messing.

:pac:

Shryke

mikeystipey wrote: »

Shryke wrote: »

With fast food it's more a question of damage limitation. I seriously hope that anyone will know a taco fries is worse than a regular chip.

But taco fries are perfect in every possible way

The perfect suicide cocktail. To personal issues with you! Or suicide..

LH Pathe

Best off just avoiding fast food altogether. It really is that fast, you don't wanna get struck down by a fish fillet burger at 120mph

event

kegzmc wrote: »

I used to work in a chipper when finishing my PhD in UL. The kitchen was completely out of sight so you can imagine the stuff that went on. We used to p1ss on the chips, put the burgers up our arses and rub our balls etc on food.

One of the lads pushed a chicken leg or something so far up his ring that his hole started bleeding. No messing.

im assuming thats all made up.
but why would someone do this? not just cos its a very scumbaggy thing to do, but why on earth would you stick a burger up yer hole?

kegzmc

event wrote: »

kegzmc wrote: »

I used to work in a chipper when finishing my PhD in UL. The kitchen was completely out of sight so you can imagine the stuff that went on. We used to p1ss on the chips, put the burgers up our arses and rub our balls etc on food.

One of the lads pushed a chicken leg or something so far up his ring that his hole started bleeding. No messing.

im assuming thats all made up.
but why would someone do this? not just cos its a very scumbaggy thing to do, but why on earth would you stick a burger up yer hole?

It wasn't a burger. It was a chicken drum stick

bowsie010

kegzmc wrote: »

It wasn't a burger. It was a chicken drum stick

thats fine so

kegzmc

No it isn't. It's disgusting. I was a student back then!

PickledLime

Jesus Shaves wrote: »

How can fast food workers have the intelligence to tell anyone what not to eat, that's the reason they work there. Lack of it.

Surely if you can make such a sweeping generalisation and believe it you're not particularly intelligent yourself, eh?

SweetCaliber

PickledLime wrote: »

Surely if you can make such a sweeping generalisation and believe it you're not particularly intelligent yourself, eh?

You can tell that just by looking at his name :pac:

Jesus Shaves

PickledLime wrote: »

Surely if you can make such a sweeping generalisation and believe it you're not particularly intelligent yourself, eh?

Spot on. If I believed it

Jesus Shaves

lee3155 wrote: »

You can tell that just by looking at his name :pac:

Oh you're mean

old hippy

kegzmc wrote: »

I used to work in a chipper when finishing my PhD in UL. The kitchen was completely out of sight so you can imagine the stuff that went on. We used to p1ss on the chips, put the burgers up our arses and rub our balls etc on food.

One of the lads pushed a chicken leg or something so far up his ring that his hole started bleeding. No messing.

You're a liar, obsessed with urban myth and anything to do with the anus. A cursory glance at your posts on boards (pretending to be gay) confirms this.

Omeceron

kegzmc wrote: »

put the burgers up our arses

kegzmc wrote: »

It wasn't a burger. It was a chicken drum stick

You're tripping yourself up...

Shryke

Omeceron wrote: »

You're tripping yourself up...

Pants around his ankles?

PickledLime

Most of the places i'd eat in (just chips really as a quick filler, it can be so easy to go a bit mad in a chippy and end up regretting it pretty quickly) tend to be local places with kitchens in plain view, freshly prepped ingredients and a low turnover of staff (a sign of a good establishment of any kind i feel), but i was having a durty feed in a Sligo chippy a few months back when the auld lad behind the counter decided to nip out for a fag. Never mind the fact he didn't pop a mint or wash his hands after, he lit up inside the door, stuck his head outside, decided it was too windy and stood back inside the door (which was perpendicular to his counter/chip prep area), smoking away.

I sat slack-jawed for a minute, prayed a health inspector would show up at that moment and swore 'never again'. I wonder what else he thinks is suitable to do in an establishment that sells grub? :eek:

retalivity

LyndaMcL wrote: »

I've found that chippers tend to have much better hygience practises than chains of fast food restaurants.

Believe me, it was hell working there. I spent the entire day scrubbing the place in between customers because the place was so disgusting. And this is a huge place that grosses millions per year. :eek:

Let me guess. It begins with an S and ends with S.
And in between these s's, you would have what the german translation for over-apple macintosh

Jimoslimos

retalivity wrote: »

Let me guess. It begins with an S and ends with S.
And in between these s's, you would have what the german translation for over-apple macintosh

Süberapfelmacintoshs

event

kegzmc wrote: »

It wasn't a burger. It was a chicken drum stick

kegzmc wrote:

We used to p1ss on the chips, put the burgers up our arses and rub our balls etc on food

so did or didnt you stick a burger up yer arse?