I’m a college student looking to make some money so I’m not $200k in debt by the time I’m done with undergrad. The McDonald’s in Zion Crossroads (yes I’m giving the location, I don’t gaf), Virginia, is paying $16/hour so I thought “hey, that’s pretty good money.” I applied for a job, got in, and that was that.
I thoroughly enjoyed training. It was 6 hours a day at Orange County. The people are really nice, I love the managers, the kitchen is usually on top of service, they’re fully staffed, they’re always wiping counters and machines down so they don’t get messy, and even at their busiest, they gave me a full 30 minute break (even though in Virginia only 15 minutes are legally required for 6 hours of work). It gave me hope.
Then I started working at Zion Crossroads. Within 10 minutes, I was being yelled at for super mundane shit, especially given it was only my 5th day working at a McDonald’s ever. They were fully staffed in the morning, but by the halfway point of my shift, there were only 4 people working. I asked for a break because I hadn’t eaten or had anything to drink for 6 hours because I didn’t have the time to do so and I was told “we don’t do breaks here.” Even for the 15 and 16 year-olds working. Keep in mind, this is 8 hours straight of running around without a break. We aren’t even allowed to have drinks with us since we can’t have drinks up front, but we aren’t allowed to abandon the front to get a drink.
I took today off as a “sick day” and am applying for other jobs. This is the fastest I’ve ever quit a job, but I’m not dealing with this bullshit for $16 an hour. If you can, please report this place. There is mold in corners, they don’t wipe down counters or machines until bugs are stuck in them or an inspector comes, and the “mat” by the service window is a soggy piece of cardboard. Most of the employees also don’t wash their hands or wear gloves when working with food. My boyfriend (who used to work at that same store) and I have also seen (on two separate occasions) a cockroach crawling around. Please help me get this place shut down. I’m going to be taking pictures of the health code and labor law violations during my next shift and then I’m quitting.