Saw a few old posts about AMA for maccas and kfc, and thought to bring up a new thread. I do the kitchen stuff at maccas, and at KFC i’m cross certified in all 3 areas.
Will answer questions i can :)
[AMA] I Work for KFC and Maccas
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How much were they previously? Any idea why the price has gone up? Is the oil sourced locally?
Oil is sourced from Newcastle - it used to be around $20 for 15L
A few times I have gone thru the Maccas drive thru & been told to go to the waiting bay yet there is no one behind me. I queried it once & they said the manager told us to. I realise managers probably have KPI's to meet but this seems silly when there is no one around?
they might be trying to maintain their spot on their leaderboard - drive thru stores have a screen where you can see how they are doing (times wise) compared to other stores
Why do you work at 2 different places? Couldn't you just pick up extra shifts at your preferred location? Or is there just not enough to go around?
Thought it'd be nice to try something new
Watch out for the tax man while working 2 jobs!
I'll be earning under the tax free threshold for both since i'm 15 haha
@Quarter Pounder: Doing very well for a 15 years old, since you are so thorough and know how to deal with customers have you thought of getting into a trade.
An efficient aircon installer or a proficient plumber or an eccentric electrician who knows what he / she is doing and can speak with customers in this time an age , you can do great for yourself and your future :)
What does the tax man do differently than he would do to 1 job?
@Darude Sandstorm: It is pretty much just boomer talk from a time before infomation was readily available. People genuinely thought you would get taxed 50% on your "second job".
The only thing you 'need' to be careful about is making sure you are only claiming the tax free theshold on one job. If you claimed it on both, you might have nice tax bill when you do your tax return (assuming you actually earnt over the theshold across all income earnt).
What is your favourite food in KFC / Maccas?
Pepper mayo sliders are pretty good imo, i do also like a wicked wing go bucket :)
On the maccas side, prob a double cheeseburger or a double quarter pounder
Try the steakhouse stack minus red onion and pickles.
I like the sauce for it - will have to try this
Who is responsible for getting rid of the tower burger but keeping the crunch burger and why haven't they been fired yet?
Just fired? I think further punishment is warranted.
Also, what is the sauce that is on the tower burger and where can I get it?
Heard it was a tangy tomato sauce
Cheap As Chips seems to have removed the ability to change the original to hot and spicy (WA). It has also been moved out of the Everday Values section and is now on the promo section. Is this going to be removed soon?
Hmm, no idea about that one - it says it expires at the end of the year but can be renewed. At my store it also went up in price when they did the change.
What are the 3 sections of KFC that you are certified?
Are you paid the same rate for all 3?
Which job do you like the most?What are the 3 sections of KFC that you are certified?
Front of House (Packing orders, Register, Cleaning Dining/Toilets)
Middle of House (Make burgers, Drop fried products popcorn, chips, nuggets, and potato and gravy.
Back of House (Prepping and Cooking chicken, Cleaning fryers, washup)Are you paid the same rate for all 3?
Sadly yes, but it helps me get more shifts as i'm versatile
Which job do you like the most?
Overall KFC but both aren't bad. Since i'm casual at kfc and part time at maccas, i get more pay at kfc
What's the most economical way to feed a family of 4 @ KFC..I am thinking the cheap as chips meal?
Cheap as chips meal will be pretty good value - maybe add on 4pc of chicken for $7.45 (if thats still around) if people are feeling hungry :)
Is anything done fresh at Maccas compared to KFC?
As in the KFC chicken is from fresh chicken, but I think everything at Maccas is from frozen (patties, nuggies, chips etc.)
You have fresh eggs at maccas for breakfast items - Even the buns sometimes at maccas are from frozen.
think everything at Maccas is from frozen (patties, nuggies, chips etc.)
Correct, even the muffins, donuts, apple pies etc are frozen. I suspect the mc cafe toastie bread is also frozen.
How are the potato and gravy made?
The potato and gravy are both powder based now - for the gravy you boil water, add in a few packets of the gravy mix, and mix in some oil, and wait for it to thicken. The potato you just add water too, and we have a mixer for it.
Nice to know! Thanks for the reply!
Makes sense. The gravy is 'fine' and I often use it as a sauce for chips if there's not enough salt on them (often), but man the potato lately has been baddddd lol
The potato gets imported from the US I think, based On the instructions.
How does the new gravy taste compared to the old gravy? Do you know why they went to powder-based instead of scooping up all the stuff from the fryer (or however they used to do it)?
How does the new gravy taste compared to the old gravy?
Personally prefer the old gravy - think the new is fine but the taste of the old one to me was superior.
Do you know why they went to powder-based instead of scooping up all the stuff from the fryer (or however they used to do it)?
One reason was consistency across stores - and less prep time. The old gravy with the chicken fines took 20 mins to make, compared to less then 5 mins with the new stuff. This also means the OR pot can be used for crispy products too.
Is the Maccas soft serve machine always out of order or is it just because no-one wants to clean it?
Not the OP but I recall reading/watching that this was a design problem with the machines, and they're not necessarily broken, but maintenance procedures (automated stuff) often failed/needed to be restarted, making them useless for long periods of time til completed.. Not sure how true that still is though.
No, when I've been working it's always worked
Is the inventory monitored and does a team get questioned if inventory levels dont match sales? I had a friend who worked at McDonalds about 20 years ago when in year 12 - He used to just give us/his close mates free food when we visited his shift which would have been 10-20 burgers, chips, ice cream, drinks etc each time
Inventory is monitored, I'm sure you could get away with giving away a free zinger box as there is a certain percentage allocated to wastage.
How much money have u made from each job
Not enough 😭
I used to hear that employers tend to favour people who have worked at Macca's because Macca's has more stringent policies, procedures, higher standards etc. Does that sound like it's still a thing or is KFC basically the same?
Certainly not the case at the maccas i work at, unless corporate is visiting.
When you are getting hammered, i.e. multiple staff call in sick or just a big event, does KFC or Maccas respond better to this and why? When I worked at KFC, it always seemed like pulling teeth to get people to come in and since leaving I notice that KFC wait times will often blow out.
PS. If your food is taking a really long time, please don't blame the people working, it just makes the wait times longer for everyone and you trying to upset the people who stepped up to the plate when they knew it was going to be a bad night.
When you are getting hammered, i.e. multiple staff call in sick or just a big event, does KFC or Maccas respond better to this and why?
Would say KFC - at my store we have more staff that are willing to come in, and the managers actually try to call people in instead of just a simple post on what we call workplace (facebook for organisations) at maccas.
How does KFC keep fried chicken crispy? How long until it getting soft/soggy?
Depends on the product - Wicked wings keep their crisp better then other products i found. This also depends if the store has their water topped up in the warners
Thanks mate.
Does water make wings soggy faster? Looking to do similar at home
Is the KFC popcorn chicken and nuggets made out of chicken meat?
I saw a comment on a Maccas or KFC deal from a employee of a chicken processing plant - it was chicken breast.
I did 8 years at maccas and finished in 2015 so here's a few q's to catch myself up
What do you call your fry machine?
What's the culture like? Does management let you listen to music? Are there regular warning slips for non-compliance or is it chill?
When did 10:1 onions start being put on the heel of a cheeseburger bun? It was always ketchup -> mustard -> onion -> pickle -> cheese on heel -> 10:1 patty on cheese for me
Can you see when people have ordered specials via the app, or can you only tell if it's an app purchase by the name (if they've enabled it) on the grill slip?
What's the max time for a car in drive thru?What do you call your fry machine?
Franke
Does management let you listen to music?
With airpods, depends on the manager, with a speaker most managers don’t care unless its rap etc.
Are there regular warning slips for non-compliance or is it chill?
Never heard of this happening
When did 10:1 onions start being put on the heel of a cheeseburger bun? It was always ketchup -> mustard -> onion -> pickle -> cheese on heel -> 10:1 patty on cheese for me
Onion is added to 10:1 on the grill now as per best burger procedures, but my store doesn’t do procedure and 95% of the time it goes without onion.
Can you see when people have ordered specials via the app
Yeah, the order will say Pd discount at the bottom near the second timer.
We can’t see if it was a promo on the grill slip
What's the max time for a car in drive thru?
I don’t work in a drive thru store, but i heard it was 3 mins. At kfc it was 2 mins.
Onion is added to 10:1 on the grill now as per best burger procedures
Interesting - so once the grill comes up you add salt and pepper and then onion? Or it goes on top before you press the timer for it to go down?
Does this only happen with 10:1 meat, since 4:1 and angus/3:1 have their own onions?Yeah. We don’t put the grill back down.
4:1 and 3:1 have their onions added at the dressing table.
5:1 also gets 10:1 onions
Thanks for doing an ama and actually answering questions. Quite insightful!
Were the spicy nuggets the worst thing maccas have come up with in a long time?
Personally didnt like them, thought regular were better
BOYCOTT
Up to your individual preference to support a business :)
Geoffrey?
Are they bringing back original fillet burger? The new crispy one is awful, has no flavour.
I agree, guess zingers will have to do for me
No chance of original fillet coming back - my manager reckons in the next few years there’s going to be crispy original recipe which might see the crispy fillet revamped with the actual original spices.
Bummer, only thing I liked there, I'm sure I'm not the only one that feels that way
On the rare occasion you’ll get nice pieces and cooked well, however my last few visits, the pieces have been really greasy, skin hanging by a thread and more often, gizzards and giblet type crap not cleaned off before flour coating, cooking. Is this just laziness or something else?
Also, can you ask for say no drumsticks if you’re ordering say the family feast?
I’m sure you can ask for no drumsticks but it depends on what they have at the time. If they only have houston cut (Drumsticks and Thighs), they probably won’t fulfil the request
At KFC there's a holder for the tongs on the warming cabinet, whenever someone takes the tongs out it looks like there's liquid in it. What's the liquid in the holder?
There shouldn’t be a liquid in them - at the two kfc stores i’ve worked at theres never been any liquid in them
Huh that's interesting, I swear I've noticed the staff shake liquid off them. I thought it was oil or something but it made no sense why they'd keep the tongs stored in oil (or any liquid for that matter).
Whenever I order a bucket I swear I get a high ratio of wings compared to the really meaty pieces (breast, thigh, drumstick).
Do you guys actively try to give out a fair mix when filling the buckets?
Do you get more wings delivered than other pieces? Or is it I just come after some guy who specifically asks for no wings and then I get stuck with them all?In your opinion / knowledge why can't kfc put the hot & spicy chicken a permanent menu item?
My store hasn’t ever sold it before, but there may be something coming up which involves it :)
It’s a permanent item in QLD, which are stores owned by collins food group.
Hmm interesting… Didn’t know the owner of a franchise can make the call for a menu item affecting state wide 😬.
Collins group run most kfcs across a few states, as well as other takeaways. They used to run sizzlers.
@BewareOfThe Dog: They do, i just used QLD as an example because i heard they own at least 90% of the stores there
Why doesn't maccas have the jalapeno dip like overseas?
Why is the fried chicken at Red Rooster better than kfc?
Probably because it’s crispy and has flavour lol
Red rooster is ordinary. El jannah is better. Henny Penny even better.
Haven’t tried El jannah fried chicken yet - is it any good? Will have to try henny penny when im next in newcastle
@Quarter Pounder: Henny Penny started in Australia a few months before kfc in 1968?
At one stage they had around 20 sites in Newcastle, and were the initial sponsors of the Newcastle Knights. Regtettably, there only 6 sites left due to the influx of competition.
As you know op, kfc usually use henny penny pressure cookers (no relationship) to cook chicken.
You sound very mature for your age.
What made you join ozbargain?
How do you manage your studies while working so much?
Where do you see yourself working in 10 years from now?
(opening up your own fast food chain?)What made you join ozbargain?
Can't remember exactly now, but i think there was a deal on a phone plan which i was looking to save money on :)
How do you manage your studies while working so much?
I only get rostered 2-4 times a week, the rest i can spend on revision/study :)
Where do you see yourself working in 10 years from now?
Hopefully in the telecommunications industry :)
Why are Big Macs small now, and the so called meat so small its see through and not even the same diameter as bun?
The 3 sizes Big Mac's come in are Small Tiny and Mini…
Why does quarter pounders 'meat' taste like sludge?
Why are KFC pieces so small - do you believe should wait for the chicken to get out of the egg?
Why are Big Macs small now, and the so called meat so small its see through and not even the same diameter as bun?
The meat used on the Big Mac is 10:1 (one tenth of a pound.) The bun is the same as a quarter pounder bun, but with an added middle bun.
The 3 sizes Big Mac's come in are Small Tiny and Mini…
Can you elaborate on this?
Why does quarter pounders 'meat' taste like sludge?
Don't know, doesn't taste that way to me.
Why are KFC pieces so small - do you believe should wait for the chicken to get out of the egg?
This varies on the chicken supplier - piece's recently have been pretty decent size.
That's a question i can't answer
That's a very well preserved burger, almost like it was made at the same time as the other one.
@Daabido: I wonder if its an option to have a burger made at McD's that looks as edible as that.. might be an options extra… $50 or so…. ?
I reckon some stores are trying to cost cut with changing the oil - the 15L oil boxes that both maccas and kfc use are around $50 now.