[Reader-list] fast food chains

[tripta]

Dear Khalid,

Your research sounds really interesting and as is evident, even from 
your posting, MacDonald's has become synonym with Fast food. While 
reading your post, I was thinking that one of the ways to enrich your 
research and data would be to collate experiences of MacDonald's across 
sites; different cities, different places, different countries, across 
airports and drive in super markets. Start a blog and then just invite 
people to write about their experiences about MD's all over. You are 
sure to evoke vivid and interesting responses. For instance I met a guy 
recently who has been to Mac Donald's in more than 6 countries (the 
states etc and all are too tiresome to count here). He is a compulsive 
mac Donald's consumer though not lacking critical insight. Whenever he 
goes to a new country he has to pay a visit to Mac Donald's when asked 
why? His response was, `the uniformity of experience which it allows 
makes me find some sense in my displaced sense. Macdonald's like a space 
shuttle you walk in and you could be anywhere in the world. It defies 
the logic of specificity of a place'. The standardization in customary 
call essential to maintain that protocol, i guess!

If you are not already aware of it sending you the link to the 
documentary which is making waves all over and which has forced Mac 
Donald's to re-work on their image.menu etc and all; 
http://www.supersizeme.com/home.aspx

and i have a vague feeling that the thought that if cut they will bleed 
Ketchup haunts the living daylights of the Macdonald's staff, temporary 
and permanent.

best
t.
p.s. just a suggestion, start taking nice packed tiffin box lunches 
(paranthas and achar) on your field trips lest the burger bites you!




Khalid wrote:

>
>
> Let me begin this piece of writing by stating a universal truth in the 
> form of a poem:
>
> “I bargained with life for penny,
> And life would pay no more,
> However I begged at evening
> When I counted my scanty store.
>
> For life is just employer,
> He gives you what you ask,
> But once you have set the wages
> Why ,you must bear the task.
>
> “I worked for a menial’s hire,
> Only to learn,dismayed,
> That any wage that I had asked for life,
> Life would have willingly paid.”
>
>
> But in McDonald’s you don’t ask.You follow instructions.Instructions 
> which are in the form of scripts and which are to delivered to 
> customers by Actors-employees.
>
> Its all standardized, across the counter.
> Jokes, compliments, advises,questions. “Questions”??.Certainly!!
>
> Let me share this.
>
> I was at McDonald’s,the other day. After my routine observations (and 
> my routine burger ..which is, by now ,has become a ‘kickstart’ for all 
> my research observations) I went to the counter and asked for some 
> French fries.I t was a charming lady in her early twenties.She looked 
> up, smiled and in a clear confident accent asked,’ Big ,small or 
> medium,Sir?
>
> ‘Aaa..Medium,may be.” I said.
> She glanced down at her computer, punched in few things and again,in 
> the same confident manner,looked back at me and said,” Sir,would you 
> like to have some fries with it?”
>
> And there I was realizing the power of standardization.
>
> But I am running ahead. I will come McDonald’s little later.
>
> Let me tell you about this dance-thing in Pizza Hut.
>
> In PizzaHut, workers at the service counter dance.Everytime there is 
> rush, especially during weekends , when the kitchen guys are burdened 
> with loads of Pizzas to make and service guys are burdened with 
> impatient customers, they stop serving Pizzas.I nstead they dance!! 
> This not only entertains the customers ,it also gives time to kitchen 
> guys to do their work.
>
> Dance prevents lot of workers from other stations to come to servicing.
> For dance is not a dance ,it’s a part of work.Its an instruction from 
> the the manger.usually a team of 7-8 crew members forms a dance 
> group.And it’s a known fact who’s a good dancer and who’s not.A good 
> dancer is one who knows those steps..those standardized steps, on that 
> standarized tune.
>
> Let’s come back to McDonald’s.
>
> By and large there are three stations: fries station, veg station and 
> non-veg station.
>
> Fries station: Fries are made here.Obviously.This is usually the 
> first- front for a new comer.He’s paid.18 rupees per hour.He can work 
> part time ,full time or only during weekends.
> Full shift is for 8 hrs appromately.But if you work for 6 hours,you 
> get a lunch free.Luch means 60 rupees. Whatever comes in that.If your 
> shift goes beyond 6 hours,you get “75 rupees lunch”.Breaks are not 
> fixed.And on working hours ,let me quote McDonald’s Crew Handbook:” 
> Your hours of work cannot be permanently guaranteed because the number 
> of staff we employ depends on how busy the restaurant is.Sometimes it 
> is necessary to increase or reducethe number of hours you work to take 
> these fluctuations into account”.
>
>
> Part-timers are allowed “ flexibility”.There is a global debate here: 
> Why flexibility??, which I will talk about soon.
>
> Any way, what does a new guy gets? A uniform, a cap and a batch: first 
> green batch and a locker to keep all this.You are also required to buy 
> a black,leather,laced shoes.This must be self-financed.You wear all 
> this,with a continuous’pleasant’ smile, when you make 
> fries.Pleasant,as I have experienced, is highly subjective in fast 
> food chains.It varies from manager to manager!! But ‘you’ objectively 
> follow the manager.
>
> Fries must be ‘crisp’ and not ‘limp’.Once they are made,they must be 
> served within 5 minutes, otherwise they must be thrown. Throwing is 
> your job, and so is making.But manager will ask you more questions if 
> you don’nt throw them.And he always keep an eye on you.He also ensures 
> that when you are salting, you are doing it thrice making a big M.
> THREE TIMES.MAKING AN ‘M’.
> Anything else will be an invitation to a big scolding.
>
> To make fries 2 kinds of oil are used, in two separate steel 
> containers.These two are are mixed in 3:1 and then fries are fried in 
> it.What oils are these…God knows.
> In next few lines I will prove that I am GOD!!
>
> At a time,there are 2-3 workers at the fries counter.And at all times 
> there has to be one.Continuously making and throwing.
>
> Let me also mention,that at almost all McDonald’s outlets there is 
> this women called chaprone.She wears skirt, and a top, that’s her 
> uniform.She also wears a ‘nicer’ shoes..a kind of ‘slip-on’.This lady 
> is dedicated for organizing the b’day parties.So majorly handling 
> children.And hence her basic qualification is that she must be font of 
> children.This job is reserved for women only.
> Of course,unofficially.
>
> O.K, lets go back to the history of French fries.
>
> “The french fry(was)..almost sacrosanct for me,’’Ray Kroc,the founder 
> of McDonald’s corp.,wrote in his memoirs, “ its preparation a ritual 
> to be followed religiously.” The success of Richard and Mac McDonald’s 
> hamburger stand had been based as much on the quality of their French 
> fries as on the taste of their burgersThe McDonald’s brothers had 
> devised an elaborate system for making crisp French fries ,one that 
> was later perfected by the Restaurant chain.McDonald’s cooked thinly 
> slicedRussett Burbanksin a mixture of vegetable oil and beef tallow 
> ,using epecial fryers designed to keep the oil temperature above 325 
> degrees.As their retaurant chain expanded, it became difficult ,and 
> yet all the more important ,to maintain the consistency and the 
> quality of the fries.J.R.Simplot met with Ray Kroc in 1965.Switching 
> to frozen French fries appealed to Kroc, as a way to ensure uniformity 
> and cut labour costs.McDonald’s obtained its fresh potatoes from 
> almost 200 different local suppliers,and its employees spent a great 
> deal of their time peeling potatoes.Kroc agreed to try Simplot’s fries 
> but made no long-term commitment.
>
> The deal was fianalized with a handshake.
>
> And in fast food chains when ever there is a handshake,there is a 
> milkshake, a burger and a critic.
>
> I will talk more about working conditions, work norm and culture 
> ,quality (..philosophy )of food, and their personal narratives in my 
> subsequent writings.All of which will,for sure ,prove one thing: If 
> you work for McDonald’s, you “Live McDonald’s”.
>
> I often think if you cut a McDonald’s employee he would bleed KETCHEP!!
>
>
> wishing you happiness and health.
>
> Khalid
>
> <http://clients.rediff.com/signature/track_sig.asp>
>
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