McDonald's fries: Former employees share weird anecdotes about this flagship product

Whether you're a Five Guys, Burger King or McDonald's team, you've got to face it: fries from Ronald McDonald's restaurants have something extra. We don't know if it's a sort of Proust's madeleine or if the company has found the miracle recipe and the perfect blend of flavors, but McDonald's fries are instantly recognizable. As you'd expect, they're the fruit of meticulous preparation by dedicated employees. Some old-timers reveal some, shall we say, 'surprising' anecdotes.

Cones look fuller than they really are

The Buzzfeed website asked former McDonald's employees to share their stories. As Buzzfeed is an American site, these anecdotes concern restaurants located across the Atlantic... Rest assured, nothing indicates that what you're about to read is also happening in the UK.

In short, a former McDonald's employee in charge of preparing the fries recounts that, when he was in this position:

We were taught to manipulate the red box of large fries to make it look like it contained more fries than it actually did.

Another confesses to 'hating' customers who ask for salt-free fries. He recounts:

We have to prepare them fresh, but that's not the problem. The problem is that they can't touch the fry receptacle and we have to pour hot fries, covered in boiling oil, directly into the fry box. I have burn scars. We all have burn scars. And don't get me started on people who order small fries. It's PAPER. You're killing us.

Okay, old-timer, we just wanted slightly healthier fries, not to send someone to the hospital.

Chocolate sauce tastes like... barbecue

Testimonials are not confined to French fries. Another anecdote concerns milkshakes, and more specifically, the sweet sauces served with them. According to a former employee, someone once mistook chocolate sauce for barbecue sauce. This obviously had the effect of confusing some customers!

We discovered it because a few people complained that their chocolate milkshakes were sour. We made them again for a few people, who moved on, but one lady wouldn't budge. My manager tasted the milkshake and thought 'WTF'.

Speaking of sauces, an old-timer who used to take orders at the drive-in confirms an age-old rumor: normally, extra sauces (ketchup, mayonnaise) aren't free. When a customer was polite, she 'forgot' to count the extras. On the other hand, when they lacked finesse, she never forgot to add a few extra lines to the bill...

Read more:

⋙ McDonald's has revealed the right way to eat ketchup and fries...And we have all been doing it wrong

⋙ McDonald's customer outraged after finding this in her milkshake and burger

⋙ McDonald's opens CosMc's, its brand new chain: Here's all you should know about it

⋙ McDonald's changing up recipe for iconic menu item: Here's what you can expect

⋙ Beware of this McDonald's glitch that cost customers up to £155: Here's what you should know

This article has been translated from Gentside FR.

Source used:

Buzzfeed: 28 McDonald's Employees Shared Their Insider Secrets, And I Feel Like All Customers Should Be Aware