How smart are the fast food servers today?

[Autonomous]

The intelligence is the same as previous generations, cause DNA.
Their education and social expectations have failed them.

 

[pantannojack]

I have encountered college age girls who don't know a quarter's difference from a nickel.

 

[nksmfamjp]

The ice cream thing is simple. I worked there years ago. It and the shake machine are the most complex pieces of equipment the employees work with.

Additionally, employees who open don't want to put it together and employees who close don't want to take it apart, especially after they actually close. In addition, I suspect with the current workforce, it is hard to determine if they need new seals, etc.

The employees will use any excuse to shut it down. Mostly, if it runs low on ice cream after 6pm, they want to shut it down, IME.

I personally, 30 years ago, liked having it going until my last break!

 

[DWalt]

Whataburger is a Texas (and several other states) fast food chain we visit frequently. For the past year or so, the local Whataburger locations seem to be hiring employees who have what is now called intellectual disabilities. Most of them seem capable of handling menial jobs such as delivering orders to customers, cleaning up spills, refilling drinks, etc., but not working behind the counter or in the kitchen area. At least they seem to be, for the most part, good natured, friendly, and eager to please. I can't say that it's a bad thing for either those employees or the customers.

 

[LVSteve]

Girl at Popeye's Chicken finally admitted that chicken tenders were off as I checked my order. I'm unsure if she got the news from out back or didn't really want to let on. This is one of the reasons I don't go through drive-throughs, you never know what is "off" the menu and they are more prone to foul up.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

If I were to go to a fast food store it would be Burger King. They have soft ice cream.

Even better is Wendy's the Crispy Hot Chicken Sandwich is the bomb. I don't think they have ice cream.

 

[Narragansett]

If you want ice cream, go to ice cream store . If you no longer have use for your arteries, go to burger joint

 

[Ingramite]

I make it a point to thank ANYONE who shows up for work.

One restaurant here had a sign on the door: CLOSED TO SERVE YOU BETTER.
Yet another: IF WE'RE CLOSED JUST SLIP YOUR MONEY UNDER THE DOOR.

I've noticed that most of the service industry workers today are over 50 years old around here.

I'm nearly 70 myself and I've come off the bench, back into a chump retail job, with the sole purpose of teaching A-HOle customers some manners. I'm sick of the meanness and mockery. I managed Teamsters labor for forty years so I not only know how to skin a cat,. I can do it with the cat turned inside out.

Be nice and polite and we all get along......or I'm spilling this hot coffee from across the room.

 

[Imissedagain]

Dave Thomas had a buddy who helped him with the Wendy's thing, as Roy, not to be confused with Quigley, had been in the business of fine dining.
Roy had a sign in the wheelhouse of his 60' Sport Fish that said:
God is my co-pilot,
and one on a seat that said:
Reserved for my heart surgeon,
that always traveled with him.

Wish Wendy's had a jamocha frosty to go with their Baconator or spicy chicken sandwich.

 

[ACORN]

If I were to go to a fast food store it would be Burger King. They have soft ice cream.

Even better is Wendy's the Crispy Hot Chicken Sandwich is the bomb. I don't think they have ice cream.

Whaaaaat? No Frosties??

 

[NFrameFred]

I've previously ripped on the culture these days that has allowed kids to graduate with a high school diploma and still be functionally illiterate. A culture that has been allowed to abandon common sense and not been taught that language, while evolving (slang and new phrases enter the lexicon non-stop), still operates on basic principles of meaning and definition of words. Having been made a mockery of to the point of ridiculous absurdity ("It depends on what the meaning of 'is', is." Remember that golden nugget?) it's pretty much carte blanche these days to just decide for yourself, personally, what words mean - Miriam-Webster be damned.

Being a retiree and of that age I consider myself adequately educated and fall back on my education (professional and practical) and tend to view the words I use by the meanings commonly assigned to them as I was taught (slang and new pop phrases notwithstanding) from my youth.
It befuddles me when simple, plain, easily understandable words don't seem to be understood by many.

One of my favorite such examples ? Well, since a lot of folks have used 'Mickey D's' (pop lexicon that is now universal) in their examples, allow me the same indulgence, Not just at McDonald's but many other retail establishment employees, as well, seem to be confounded by the apparent unknowable, undecipherable complexity of the use of the highly specialized and technical term "couple" these days, as it applies to quantity. As in, "Oh yeah, gimme a couple of apple pies on that order, too!"

In my experience, 90% of the time or better I'm met with a blank stare, the sound of mental gears grinding, and the smell of burning lubricant as the current captain of the cash register replies "How many apple pies ? Three ? . . . Four ? . . . "

I usually just ignore it and tell them "two", which, in any universe I've ever visited has been the definition of "a couple" , , , but occasionally the heathen in me rises up and I have to ask the cashier/order taker, "If you and your boyfriend/girlfriend are 'a couple', how many of you are there?" Most of the time they look at me, obviously confused, and ask," Two?"

I know the lesson is lost on them, but sometimes I can't help myself and have to confront the idiocy of it all . . .

 

[OLDSTER]

Dairy Queen Blizzard--YUM !

 

[Yaworski]

I've previously ripped on the culture these days that has allowed kids to graduate with a high school diploma and still be functionally illiterate.

I'm irritated by people who tell me how much better education is today than it was when we were young. They use examples of their kid taking law or psychology in high school or that there are robotics teams. However, these young geniuses' handwriting still looks like a kindergartner's, they can't do simple arithmetic without a calculator, and their communications skills are abysmal ("Traffic was like really bad and he was like 'you're late again." So I was like 'you're not in charge of me' and he was like 'I own the company, you're fired.' So now I'm like I don't know what to do" Typing that hurt my head.

School has become a system of do-overs. Bad grade? Automatic retest. Too busy to take a test? Take it later.

Bah!

 

[chief38]

From what I understand, the McDonald's Corp. owns the company that produces the ice cream machines and they are WELL AWARE of the problems with them. That said, they FORCE the Franchises to purchase them anyway (part of their contract). Strictly a profit driven scenario and the individual store owners can't do much about it. Apparently there have been law suits filed but so far nothing much has been done.

 

[pasound]

There are four fast food joints within a block of my work. In the past two decades of my employment, I have seen all deteriorate from fast and accurate service and orders to nearly impossible to get a simple order correct and not capable of making change. The change part is worse now that all registers show the change back total on the screen. One time at a will-remain-unnamed establishment, I ordered a sandwich and fries, totalling $4.90, and handed the clerk $5.00. The clerk fat-fingered my payment, and tried to give me $45.10 back in change. I took the ten cents from their hand and left the clerk standing with $45.00 in their hand.

 

[Yaworski]

url=https://www.nbcdfw.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/even-the-feds-reportedly-want-to-know-why-mcdonalds-ice-cream-machines-are-always-broken/2733421/?amp=1]Even The Feds Reportedly Want to Know Why McDonald's Ice Cream Machines are Always Broken – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth[/url]

From that article "Owners of McDonald's have said that the McFlurry devices, which blend soft serve with add-ins such as M&M's to make a tasty frozen treat, are overly complicated and hard to fix when they break down."

Somone is lying here. The McFlurry machine is a mixer that uses the McFlurry spoon as the beater. It's probably the simplest thing in the store outside of a drip coffee maker.

 

[Yaworski]

From what I understand, the McDonald's Corp. owns the company that produces the ice cream machines

Taylor is the company that makes the machines, owned by publicly traded Middleby Corp which makes a myriad of commercial and residential appliances.

 

[Bekeart]

Middle Class Staff - a Theory

Middle Class Staff - a Theory

Fast food vendors are know for high turn over in staffing.
Low wages and high stress are factors often sited.


I will comment on three levels of competence/skills that may or may not be related to individual intelligence.

#1) Excellent (Over Achiever) - Desirable Employee may leave for higher pay or better hours.

#2) Good Enough - Passed drug test - shows up regularly - shows up sober - shows up neat - low error rate.

#3) Not Good Enough - Can't make it - Soon to be CANNED!

I believe many Managers HOPE that they can retain enough "GOOD ENOUGH" employees to keep the system operating at a reasonably good level.

Locally many Fast Food provider have had long standing signs offering employment.

 

[ladder13]

Correction: Culvers has BUTTER burgers and MUCH better shakes.

And those concrete mixers, yumm

Never walked into a Culver's and told they were broken.


Concrete Mixers | Frozen Custard Ice Cream & Candy Mix-ins | Culver's(R)

 

[yeti]

American civilization is sliding downhill and food service (especially fast food) is now barely functional.
I hope ya'll like self checkout because that and robotics are what we can look forward to on the retail side. Punch in your own order, bag your own sale and tap/scan to pay. Most of us here are of the age that we were provided and expected decent customer service. Buckle up boys, because those days are gone!

Much prefer Culver's over McD's.
Will say this. McD fries are often decent and still enjoyable.
Bad for you, but enjoyable if fresh and hot.