All The Golden Rules McDonald's Employees And Customers Have To Follow

According to a former employee, burgers made with "regular" meat get thrown out after 15 minutes, while higher-quality meats (think: angus beef or crispy chicken) get tossed after 60 minutes, and chicken nuggets can only sit for 20 minutes. The more you know!

The restaurant says it makes a huge difference in the taste of the food. "In some cases it has a big impact," a department manager named Sam told Mental Floss. "Like placing the cheese between the patties with a McDouble—if they don't put the cheese between the patties, the cheese won't melt."

Staff members are often happy to accommodate a customer who asks for a special request, whether it's a McDouble dressed as a Big Mac or a grilled cheese.

And that's Ronald McDonald. Those people chosen to embody the mascot must undergo training and can't answer to anything other than Ronald while in costume. One employee even refused to give his real name to police after being detained for a minor car crash in 2000.

Smudged makeup? No, thank you! Ronald McDonald also can't hug children (a pat on the back will do) or tell kids that beef patties come from cows.

There's technically nothing employees can do about a driver refusing to pull forward and park when their food isn't ready yet. Though said customer definitely won't win any friends in line behind him by behaving this way!

No car, no problem? At McDonald’s it is a problem. According to the company's website, staff can't serve pedestrians and vehicles from the same service window for safety reasons.

But you should be warned that not all employees enjoy digging through the toys to find the item you requested. Some locations will also allow you to purchase just the toy itself.

While the internet is flooded with rumors of a McDonald's "secret menu," according to Mental Floss, an official list of all off-menu items doesn't really exist and is not given to employees.

Stars love their Mickey D's—hey, they're just like us! If, say, Rihanna, Selena Gomez, or the Kardashians waltz into the chain, employees must stay calm and aren't allowed to ask for a selfie. Give Kim her Big Mac and keep it moving, people!

Love McDonald's Monopoly game? Then don't become an employee. Sadly, they're reportedly not allowed to touch, open, or redeem any Monopoly pieces.

In addition to following the instructions of their manager and the offender, employees are told in a policies handout to be "observant and calm," not to resist, and to prioritize themselves over the money in the register because "money can be replaced, [YOU] CANNOT!!!!" So true!

A handful of locations temporarily treated customers to an all-day breakfast menu, but that had to be put on pause during the COVID-19 pandemic to "simplify operations." Now, employees at most locations accept breakfast orders between 5 a.m. and 11 a.m. every day except Fridays, when breakfast is served until 11:30 a.m.

The drive-thru has sensors, so the store can monitor how long a car has to wait. "We get measured based on something we call OEPE. Order end, present end. [That measures] from the second that your tires move from the speaker until your back tires pass over the sensor on the present window. My store is expected to be under two minutes," Bob, an assistant store manager, told Mental Floss.

The chain offers free meals during lunch or shift breaks at some of their locations. According to Glassdoor, certain franchises offer employees up to three free items per shift.

After one month of being an employee, McDonald's staff is given an Employee Discount Card to use when they're not working.

Employees can't dole out food to friends or family without risking immediate termination.

McDonald's has a no tipping policy. If a customer happens to leave a tip, the money goes straight into the Ronald McDonald House donation box.

There are lots of policies in place for employees who have to miss a shift—so just not showing up is unacceptable. According to the company's workplace policy, "a no-call no-show means you have abandoned your job"

To uphold safety and hygiene standards, McDonald's separates their employees between cashier duties and food preparation duties. This procedure ensures that an employee who handles money doesn't touch—and potentially contaminate—food. Honestly, we feel really good about this rule.