McDonald's Staff (Part-time Job)

Hi, I’m Soumame. Around February this year (2025), I had no school until September when I start university. To prevent becoming depressed from staying at home with minimal social contact (lol), I started working as a crew member (part-time) at McDonald’s. I’d like to introduce their internal systems, especially their well-designed kitchen operations.

The content on this page is based solely on personal observations, assumptions, and experiences. I am not disclosing any confidential procedures that aren’t visible from outside the kitchen. We’re instructed not to share such information when signing our employment contracts. In other words, everything shared here is publicly available information that you can verify yourself by visiting a store and placing orders.

Becoming a McDonald’s Crew Member

It all started with looking up job listings and contacting McDonald’s.

At McDonald’s, part-time staff members are called “crew members.”

Part-time workers at McDonald’s stores are called “crew members.” The term comes from comparing store teams to ship crews working together toward a common goal. The aim is to create wonderful moments where customers smile through delicious food and personalized service.

After working there, I think the ship crew analogy is perfect. We face waves of customers (lol) while striving to deliver quick, high-quality meals…

I researched and studied a lot before my first food service job interview, worried about technical questions. However, the interview was simple and conducted at a regular customer table. Having only experienced long, technical interviews before, I was actually concerned if such a basic interview was sufficient. Those concerns quickly disappeared.

McDonald’s has thoroughly standardized everything so anyone can work there - they don’t need to hire experienced people from the start. They gradually increase your responsibilities and train you in different areas.

I’ve heard of people failing these interviews, but I personally think it’s usually due to practical reasons like being fully staffed or schedule conflicts rather than lacking aptitude.

First Day - Potato Person

My first role was making McDonald’s french fries. The “potato person” position is probably the most straightforward yet crucial role.

A Side Menu Item That’s Actually a Core Product

French fries are very cost-effective since they basically only require potatoes, coating, and oil as main ingredients, and can be prepared quickly. While McDonald’s sells many localized products worldwide, fries are sold as the same product globally. It’s no exaggeration to say they’re extremely important both in terms of sales and branding.

Optimized Kitchen

Despite being such an important product, the person making the fries might be quite inexperienced. In fact, I started making them on my first day with guidance. The kitchen is thoughtfully designed to allow anyone to make high-quality fries quickly with minimal training.

At the McDonald’s where I worked, equipment is arranged to flow from right to left, allowing all processes to be completed by simply moving sideways.

First, you take potato bags from the freezer and pour them directly into the dispenser. The dispenser maintains freezer temperature and is structured to dispense the right amount from the bottom. Pre-loading bags into the dispenser allows for more accurate and faster portioning compared to manually scooping from bags.

Once the frozen potatoes are in the basket, they go straight into the fryer. Frying time is computer-controlled, and when done, the famous “ti-ro-ri” sound plays. This sound is so well-known - I wonder if the same system is used nationwide? Even franchise stores use it, so perhaps the equipment supplier is standardized.

Once fried, potatoes go into a holding area and are salted. The holding area seems specially designed to keep fries warm without getting soggy. For salting, a special salt dispenser ensures the right amount in one go.

Finally comes packaging. You open the box and fill it with fries. Using a scoop, you portion the fries appropriately. I personally found this a bit challenging - getting exactly the right amount is tricky. During peak hours, you can’t weigh every portion, so you need to develop a feel for the right amount.

This whole process takes about 4 minutes.

The 7-Minute Rule

These fries have a time limit - any fries over 7 minutes old must be discarded. Among fried foods, fries have a very short shelf life, so you need to be careful not to make too many.

Well, in reality, due to Japanese reluctance to waste food, sometimes fries over 7 minutes old are still served…

Production Quotas by Time Period

To prevent overproduction, there are often production quotas for different times. If you visit McDonald’s during busy hours, you’ll notice fries being made before orders come in. This allows for immediate service when orders arrive. While burgers take 50 seconds to make, fries take 3 minutes to cook from scratch, so pre-making them helps avoid delays.

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