McDonald’s Staff Share Their Top 5 Ordering Tips For Customers

McDonald’s employees know their food inside and out – including products they personally avoid like the plague. They are also trained to help every type of customer reach a purchasing decision. Here are five of their best ordering tips – for frugal, fussy and indecisive eaters.

[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2019/10/four-menu-items-that-mcdonalds-kitchen-staff-say-theyd-never-eat/” thumb=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2017/03/McDOnalds-410×231.jpg” title=”Four McDonald’s Products That Kitchen Staff Say They’d Never Eat” excerpt=”McDonald’s employees know more about the company’s food than anyone. After all, they spend all day cooking, handling and serving the stuff. They subsequently have a pretty good idea of which menu items are great and which are best avoided. Here are four McDonald’s products that they are happy to serve you – but would never eat themselves.”]

The following tips were collected by our friends at Business Insider who spoke with several current and former McDonald’s staff. They range from burger hacks that will save you money to the best ways to score a fresher menu item.

#1 Order a ‘budget’ version of your favourite burger

This one’s a no-brainer. Instead of paying top-wack for a Big Mac (which currently sell for well over $6 in Australia), simply order a McDouble with some minor alterations:

If you want a Big Mac and are low on money, get a McDouble and get Big Mac sauce instead of ketchup. It’s much cheaper. All you’re missing is the weird piece of bread in the middle.

This penny-pinching hack also applies to most other menu items:

We can customise almost everything, so, if you want some sort of hybrid burger or salad, just ask.

In Australia, you can make a lot of these alterations yourself via the touch screen menus equipped in most stores. Hurrah!

#2 Call ahead for large orders

Ordering far too many cheeseburgers and/or chicken nuggets at the end of a pub crawl is an Australian rite of passage. Unfortunately, you can end up waiting for a very long time if you’re with a large group of people. As one Macca’s employee explains:

If you’re going to order 100 nuggets, call ahead. Nuggets have an eight minute cook time.

We also suggest ordering through the MyMacca’s app – which comes with the added bonus of daily discounts.

#3 How to get hot fries

According to urban legend, the best way to score fresh, piping-hot fries is to ask for no salt. (The rationale being that they will need to fry up a new batch as the existing fries have already been salted.)

According to one McDonald’s fry jockey, you’re better off just asking directly:

There’s a 90% chance that you read some ‘life hack’ on Reddit that says to get fresh fries just ask for no salt. Do you realise you can just ASK us for ‘fresh,’ and we’re more likely to give them to you, right?

Incidentally, the “no salt” trick is a massive pain for the fry person, especially if you’re planning to add your own salt anyway. This may lead to petty retribution. As one worker explains:

The fry person will need to wipe down the station, the fry scoop, and clear the area to keep salt from contaminating the new batch. The fry person might not even fill up your container as full due to this fuss. And if any fries fall out of the bag/container, they won’t put more in because the rest of the fries may have already been salted.

#4 Come in with a plan

Holding up the line due to indecisiveness can swiftly lead to chaos. During busy periods, it’s imperative to keep the line moving as quickly as possible.

Know what you want to order. Customers who come in prepared make things easier for crew members.

Another employee adds the following for drive-thru customers:

Have your money ready. Don’t drive up and then start digging around for money. Have it in your hand when you get to the window.

#5 Cheat with coupons

If you have a McDonald’s coupon or voucher code that recently expired, you should still take a punt. As one worker explained:

Coupon expiration dates don’t matter. No one checks. Managers don’t care when we do. Use it.

Bonus Tip: Don’t be a dick

Really. This one should go without saying.

If we tell you we don’t have something or no longer carry it, don’t get mad at us. We only work here. Write to corporate and complain.

You can see the rest of Business Insider’s McDonald’s ordering tips at the link below.

[Via Business Insider]


This story has been updated since its original publication.


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