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30 Chain Restaurant Employees Share Industry Secrets Most Of The Customers Don’t Know About
From McDonald's golden arches to KFC's colonel, chain restaurants operate all around the world. However, there are still plenty of things we don't know about them—every business wants to get ahead of the competition, and to do so, they might try practices they want to keep on the down-low.
To gain a better understanding of the industry, we started digging around the internet and discovered a few discussions where people who worked at these establishments have been sharing insider secrets they learned on the job. Here are some of the most interesting ones.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Protip: When you ask your server for something, add "when you have a second". E.g. "Can I have a refill when you have a second?" 9 times out of 10 the basic human empathy you showed by acknowledging that you personally are not the centre of this very busy, very stressed worker's existence, will prompt them to put your needs as high up on their list as they can. It always worked on me. F*****g witchcraft.
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#2
I used to be a waiter and it wasn't my fault that it's taking forever for your food to come out. That's the kitchen's fault. Yelling at me won't make it come out any faster. You're just making me sad and ruining my night :( I'm a person too.
BeesEelsAndPups 4 weeks ago
Can't say that I have ever yelled at a waiter. However, I did once yell at a restaurant owner for yelling at my waitress. Or more specifically, for yelling at and firing my waitress for bringing her child to work. It was Sunday morning and the restaurant was empty except my GF and I, and the child. The child was sitting at a table coloring, she was probably 11, good kid. The owner/manager came out onto the floor while we were being served and started yelling at the waitress about the kid. She said her husband would pick up the kid in 30 minutes, and the owner fired her right in front of us. I said "the girl isn't bothering anyone, and to fire her mother in front of her like that shows an absolute lack of humanity. I will pay for what we've eaten, but I won't be coming back." The mom and girl left crying, the manager comped our meal but I never went back there.
#3
At Chipotle, the servers usually put more ingredients into the bowl version rather than the burrito version. However, you can ask for the wrap on the side when you order the bowl version for no extra cost. This way, you can make your own burrito with more ingredients for the same price.
#4
Worked at Red Lobster as a stocker. The biscuits are baked then brushed with an oily coating to give them most of their flavor. Also you have no idea how God d**n good those things are the second they're outta the oven.
#5
Not a restaurant, but we serve food too. The $7 tub of popcorn you buy at a movie theater costs about 9¢ to make.
FlamingZombies 4 weeks ago (edited)
This really isn't a secret. It's widely known that the margins on the movies themselves are almost nothing. It's the concession stand that makes the money for the theaters. Just like gas stations - the profit margins on the actual gas are miniscule. It's the people who guy inside and buy stuff that keep them afloat.
#6
How slippery floors in the kitchen can be, and how f*****g hot plates can be when running food. Forever more I will always tip my waitstaff well.
#7
Not a chain, but I work at a burger joint with a few locations around the area.
1) I can't do S**T about our prices. I'm a cashier, I don't decide the prices individually.
2) Nobody spits in food unless you're ordering at the trashiest restaurant in the most ghetto area of town. Not only would I not want that done to me, but if someone found out then I would get my a*s canned faster than you can say "horse testicles". We'll just complain about you out back.
Rachel Pelz 4 weeks ago
Tempted to say "horse testicles" as fast as I can for the rest of the day.
#8
Worked at Burger King in the 1990s. Aside from the half the crew being permanently s****d, there were no real shenanigans. We wouldn't serve anything that hit the ground, made most things to order, threw out old and stale s**t.
Hell, we even threw out the frozen meat we played frisbee with.
#9
I work at McDonald's. I'm f*****g sick of people asking me if I can make a suggestion that we should have the Big Tasty all year round, or that we should try and bring in a new type of McFlurry. I'm like 'Yeah, I'll just go give Ronald a call and let him know..'. The only person I can tell is my manager and he won't give a c**p.
#10
Former Starbucks employee here and here's a secret:
*No one cares if you don't like the price or the coffee.* They still make millions without you. Go be hipster someplace else.
#11
Panera is pretty much just as bad for you as McDonald's. People come in thinking they're eating healthy, but they're really not.
The Italian Combo used to have more than a thousand calories, but they took some stuff off so it's 980 now. All the soups have >1000mg of sodium (Italian Combo has >2000mg or a day's worth). A You Pick Two with Broccoli Cheddar, Frontega, and bread on the side is not significantly different from a McDouble with medium fries.
EDIT: And the "fresh-squeezed lemonade" is made from cartons of concentrate and regular old faucet water. Green tea is the same.
#12
The better question might be---who has worked at a restaurant and would still happily eat there? I used to work at Paragary's restaurants in Sacramento (for 3 years) and they are still one of my favourite places to eat. seems to me that is a mark of a good restaurant.
Pferdchen 4 weeks ago
Me. I worked at an Irish pub/restaurant for a while. The owner and his wife, both Irish, were there pretty much every day. The food was excellent. The husband made his money working the oil fields in Alaska before he started the restaurant. The place was was decked from ceiling down to the floor with nautical kitsch, which was appropriate because it was on a river with direct ocean access, heavily traveled by large yachts, which could tie up right in front. The funny thing is that the husband still dressed like a rough neck. He could wander around the restaurant all day and the customers would think he was the handyman. Absolutely none of that "I'm the owner" big head nonsense that is common here in S. Florida. "Just" a modest, friendly and soft-spoken gentleman.
#13
The "delivery fee" is not a tip that goes to delivery drivers.
#14
I work at a Papa John's and as you may know Papa John's brags about never frozen ingredients. Well, that's a big lie. Every time that we get a truck with food all the meats are frozen. The apple pie topping also comes frozen. The only things that don't come frozen are the dough and the vegetables.
#15
I also used to work at Applebees, and can confirm that steaks are microwaved. At the location I was at the cooks threw them on the grill after the microwave to get char marks on them. Seriously guys, don't order steaks there.
#16
I used to work at Romano's Macaroni Grill and their delicious Rosemary Herb Bread comes in frozen and is stored at room temperature. It must be loaded with a million kinds of preservatives to last sitting two weeks in a storage closet.
#17
The servers are in charge of making bread sticks at Olive Garden. I can't remember exactly how it worked but all the soup/salad/bread sticks were done by the servers. Two servers would usually be scheduled to be in charge of those things. I can't remember if the breadsticks were frozen or fresh...but I think they were fresh. As soon as they came out of the oven they were slathered in butter and salted, and they usually didn't last long. So chances are the breadsticks you get at Olive Garden are gonna be fresh and tasty. We were told that a table gets one bread stick per person and then one extra...this did not help curb massive consumption of bread sticks.
Once we had to throw out a bunch of old boxes...one of which I managed to take home. I ate bread sticks for at least a month...it was glorious.
#18
Don't eat at Golden Corral. Ever.
DON'T.
F*****G.
**EAT.**
***AT GOLDEN CORRAL***.
Zara VP 4 weeks ago (edited)
I visited this place once and witnessed something incredibly unhygienic and honestly just gross. A kid was dipping a dessert into the chocolate fountain, licking it, and then sticking it back in—over and over again. I saw it happen multiple times. I immediately let the manager know, expecting it to be addressed right away. I waited well over 30 minutes, and nothing was done. No one stopped the kid, and no one even spoke to the parents. That kind of behavior is unacceptable in a place that serves food to the public. Where were the parents? Why didn’t the staff take action? This isn’t just bad manners—it’s a health risk. Parents, please watch your children. Better yet, teach them how to behave properly in public spaces, especially restaurants. It’s not just about you—it affects everyone around you. Needless to say, never will eat there again! 🤢
#19
I worked at a Culver's a few years ago, and some people know, but I don't think many do, the burgers are fresh. They are portioned out hamburger, not pre-made patties. They take a cube of hamburger and press it on the grill as soon as you say you want a Butterburger. Also, chicken salad is made fresh every Wednesday morning.
So unlike Wendy's that says they have fresh, never frozen burgers (I find it hard to believe), Culver's actually does. And for those that don't know Culver's, it's a "fast food" burger/ice cream restaurant. After eating there for a year, I still am not sick of it.
#20
I work at Panera bread. Although the dough comes Pre-made from another place. Everything there is "as advertised". The leftovers get donated, and the managers are nice to the employees. As a company, Panera is probably one of the few that are honest.
#21
I work at mcdonalds: if you ever want to get fresh fries cooked hot for you order them with no salt. The normal fries can get old and if you order no salt then we have to make a new batch and not add salt. It will take 3 extra minutes but you will get freshass fries and you can salt them yourself.
#22
I used to work for Chick-Fil-A back in high school. Practically everything but the waffle fries and maybe the chicken salad (someone else confirm this) were made in the store. We breaded the chicken, we assembled the cool wraps, and I would cut countless boxes of fresh lemons, squeeze them in a machine and add sugar every shift. There is not a thing on the menu that I would not eat. Moreover, the employees would get to take home the cool wraps if there were any at the end of the night.
#23
Chipotle's deep, dark secret... It's 50/50 lemon lime juice in the rice. Oh no! Seriously, that place was above-board all around.
#24
I guess this is the opposite of a secret I wish everyone knew. It's a truth I wish more people understood. There is no "Secret Menu" at Starbucks. There is no recipe for drinks called a Clint Eastwood, Undertow, Tear Drop, Tuxedo, Bloody Tuxedo, or my most recent favorite "Butter Beer." Ordering these drinks makes you look like a d****e and you've got a good chance of getting decaf from your annoyed barista. If you want one of these drinks, just order it by ingredient.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 4 weeks ago (edited)
Are they censoring d****e now? EDIT: Yep apparently they are.
#25
Former Domino's Employee here. Something that I didn't realize was that your delivery driver gets paid $3.15 an hour for all the time spent on the road. Please tip well. They do not get reimbursed for gas and are using their personal cars. If your pizza was late, it is much, much more likely that it was the manager's fault (the managers are the only ones allowed to make the pizzas). You work s****y hours and there is absolutely no way you are getting a Friday or Saturday night off because that's when everyone wants pizza. They will most likely be working from 5 PM to 2 or 3 AM on those nights and then if you're opening the store on Sunday, you'll be back at 11 AM. Domino's isn't even good.
Emilu 4 weeks ago (edited)
Ugh. I wish $hitty pay like that was illegal. I'd have to look it up to be sure but I think our base wages for delivery would be around $15-$18 an hour. Yes, the Aussie dollar sucks at the moment, but at least workers don't need to rely on the good graces (or otherwise) of customers. For the record, if my delivery driver goes above and beyond I will always tip them, even though I know they get a livable wage. And tip them in person! Make sure it goes to them!!
#26
Chili's
The molten cake that everyone seems to love is frozen. The paradise pie is frozen. If you complain that your food isn't hot enough, it just goes into the microwave. Oh, and people used to ask for the queso recipe all the time...it's delivered to the restaurant in a bag. The cooks would just heat it up and dump it in a skillet.
When the dishes came out of wash, there would still be wet lettuce and food particles stuck on the plates and silverware, and we'd just wipe it off. Makes me want to use plastic ware at every restaurant now.
Most of these things probably aren't secrets though.
#27
Employees at Chuck E. Cheese use the same towels to clean the arcade games as they do tables. Also, the tubes that your children crawl in are usually only cleaned once a month, if that. Don't take your kids to Chuck E. Cheese. (former employee).
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 4 weeks ago (edited)
And keep them the hell out of the ball pit. God only knows what's down there. If I needed to hide a body for a while, a Chuck E. Cheese ball pit might not be the worst place.
#28
When you complain that the coffee isn't fresh, we take your cup, add hot water to it, and give it back to you. no one has ever been able to tell the difference and usually go on about how much better it tastes now.
#29
Any employees from IHOP here? That place always seemed really shadey...
Once, I ordered a BLT and found a piece of banana under the sandwich. I'm guessing they really don't clean their plates, either.
#30
I worked at Subway until this afternoon. I will say that the food is surprisingly very fresh- we sliced all the vegetables other than olives and jalepenos on location, the bread was fresh-baked daily, the meat came in frozen bags but was otherwise not-nasty. Super clean, fresh place.
That said, the managers are money-hounding, condescending, sneery a******s that insist your work schedule come before your school schedule. They expect you to be available every f****n day and if you can't do that, you're fired. Screw that!
EDIT: I would eat at Subway every day if I had to- it's all real fresh, clean, and pretty healthy given the alternates. But I wouldn't work there ever again.
Poll Question
What do you find most surprising about chain restaurant operations?
Use of secret recipes
Employee treatment
Waste management practices
Marketing strategies
What do you think ?
Gwyn 4 weeks ago
A lot of people on here complaining about things being frozen but honestly, there are some things that you probably WANT to be shipped frozen to reduce the chances of spoilage or bacterial growth especially on things like meats. Any chain restaurant is going to preserve or freeze much of the food because of the time required to ship and store. If you want to make sure it's fresh, make it at home.
Hippopotamuses 4 weeks ago
We only have a fraction of the franchises mentioned in this article in New Zealand. But the same rules apply. Put people on minimum wage, with no prospects for career development, and treat them like shīt, what the hēll do you expect?
Gwyn 4 weeks ago
A lot of people on here complaining about things being frozen but honestly, there are some things that you probably WANT to be shipped frozen to reduce the chances of spoilage or bacterial growth especially on things like meats. Any chain restaurant is going to preserve or freeze much of the food because of the time required to ship and store. If you want to make sure it's fresh, make it at home.
Hippopotamuses 4 weeks ago
We only have a fraction of the franchises mentioned in this article in New Zealand. But the same rules apply. Put people on minimum wage, with no prospects for career development, and treat them like shīt, what the hēll do you expect?
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