Fat experiences

Fast food workers

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It obviously depends on the place, but I think you'll do better at either a local restaurant (not a chain) as a cook or even just a place that isn't characterized as "quick service" (though funny thing is, sit down restaurants aren't usually much slower). Franchises, as chains often are, will be very hit and miss. At chains, margins are also a lot narrower than you might think.

You may do better at bakeries, ice cream shops, or other places that advertise freshness. This increases waste. Can't sell the day old bread and pastries, but you can still eat them.

You probably aren't going to find many, or any fast food joints that offer free food. The exception might be unsold apple pies or whatever at the end of the day that have to be thrown out anyway, but efforts are made to minimize this as much as possible so this isn't going to give you very much food.

I worked at a chain fast food place as a teen once. While I didn't try to gain, the environment was not very conducive to that. While weight loss was uncommon, very few gained any meaningful amount of weight.
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I will have to delve into some business arguments to explain this. Some will probably find this interesting; business models often help explain a lot of otherwise bizarre situations.

Franchise agreements often don't leave a lot of room for setting pricing, those some room is given. This disappears in the case of nationwide promotions, that the franchise operator may or may not be able to opt out of. This cuts into margins.

In addition, franchise agreements generally specify a highly restricted supply chain, generally from the franchisor. This is their bread and butter, to ensure consistency. A McDonald's location for example, has to purchase their beef patties, buns, cheese, and so on from the corporation. The pricing of these ingredients are generally far above market, so the restaurant will spend a lot more on raw ingredients than they otherwise would.

So even in spite of the characteristically terrible salaries at most of these places, with the exception of the general manager and sometimes the assistant, margins are very thin.

I worked at a McD's once when I was a teenager. I had a shift manager once tell me that about half the cost of the products was raw ingredients. This is madness, and I have little reason to think this has really changed.

This is why most fast food restaurants are unlikely to offer this benefit.


A local restaurant, would be able to obtain ingredients at market pricing. Sometimes even a volume discount depending. At most restaurants, the raw ingredients is one of the cheapest of the ongoing expenses. When someone orders at a restaurant, he's purchasing an experience and convenience. Don't have to wash the dishes, or cook. The most expensive component is labor, as it should be. Pricing of each entree, side, and so on is also typically higher, so margins aren't as razor thin.

So, you *might* have an easier time finding free food at a local restaurant, especially if you cook it yourself. This makes it a very low cost way to make employees happier, as well as encourage employees to try the entire menu, which only helps them make suggestions to customers.
5 years

Fast food workers

My friend worked at Mac Donald’s, worst job he had no free food no good for gaining your run off your feet
5 years

Fast food workers

A few years ago I volunteered at a food stand in a MLB stadium. Most of the portion/cost control was based on the serving container, i.e. drink cup, ice cream bowl etc. So eating anything from a container went against your meal allowance, which was pretty measly. However at the end of a home stand, all of food prep equipment had to be emptied, that included pop corn, and soft serve ice cream, you could eat as much as you wanted to, as long as you didn't use a counted serving container. I didn't partake, though some of the younger crew members did.
5 years

Fast food workers

I worked at a pizza place. There were usually mismakes lying around for anyone to eat and we got 50% off. Free drinks too. That's how I started to get fat.
5 years

Fast food workers

I work in a cafe that sells a lot of fried food (full english breakfasts, burgers, etc.) and we get tons of free food, whenever things are made wrong but also our lunch is free & we can have whatever we want. I don't want to gain weight, but if I did, it would be so easy. It's more fun to watch the customers eat than to do it myself. (((:
5 years

Fast food workers

There were a lot of shady guys that would order a lot of food and then pretend to be "surprised" that their cards didn't work (we both know that card was stolen)

Most of the time, they looked like they expected the boss to give it to them.

I often went home with 3-5 dishes of food
5 years

Fast food workers

I worked at a pizza place that had a policy of if you make something under X size, you get it for 50% off, and any unsold stuff past 2 hours (we'd cut the price on it every 30 minutes) we could buy it for next to nothing. Addmiitidly I didn't take advantage of that too often but one coworker did, and she damn near exploded lol.

There was also a deli at a grocery store I worked at where me and my coworkers would typically take some chicken tenders or whatever to cook for ourselves and eat in the back room, then again we did that because our manager said we didn't work enough hours to warrant lunch breaks (apparently 8-10 hours wasn't enough for a lunch break) and we had a shit Discount at the store of just 5%, although there would be the occasional deals exclusive for employees like buy 2 get one ice cream, or 50% on coke products ect.

Although I'd never go back to that job, burned (well nuked) that bridge just before I left
5 years

Fast food workers

Simplypoison:
I worked at a Wendy�s knock off and we got a discount but I actually lost weight because they worked me to death due to having to fix others laziness. I worked at Arby�s but the discount was only for 1 sandwich, I gained but it wasn�t because of that. Now I work at a Sub place and I�m gaining but I don�t eat much of the food though I we can have a half sub for free sometimes.

Know what you mean about fixing others crap, part of the reason I left my deli job (there was legitimately only one person there I trusted to get anything done)
5 years

Fast food workers

Simplypoison:
I worked at a Wendy�s knock off and we got a discount but I actually lost weight because they worked me to death due to having to fix others laziness. I worked at Arby�s but the discount was only for 1 sandwich, I gained but it wasn�t because of that. Now I work at a Sub place and I�m gaining but I don�t eat much of the food though I we can have a half sub for free sometimes.

biggirlsok:
Know what you mean about fixing others crap, part of the reason I left my deli job (there was legitimately only one person there I trusted to get anything done)

Simplypoison:
I hated bathroom duties too but people always seemed to get out of it.
Also mad props for the black jack baby.

Thanks.
Never got stuck with bathroom duty, so that's a plus
5 years

Fast food workers

Kid came up to the deli department one morning wanting a cookie (we had small kids cookies for those that asked) told the kid itd be another minute till they came out. Mom said something about "how dare we not have them ready" when we'd literally just opened the doors, and kids cookies being the last on the list of priorities (had to actually finish cleaning the department because night shift sucked) mom and kid get into small argument about waiting for the cookie, when suddenly she spins her wedding ring into the palm of her slapping her kid, I stop her after the 3rd slap when I noticed this giant bleeding gash on the kids face. Women on a "how dare you stop me from disciplining my child " speech ignoring her kid bleeding (thankfully coworker gave the kid some napkins to cover it while she ran to get the first aid kit) eventually the mom drags the kid to the front of the store screaming like a banshee for the manager, when he arrives she then tries to flip it to I cut her kids face.

Ensue a big shouting match between me, the mom, my manager and a random customer who joined in (had overheard the initial argument) that eventually ends in cops having been called (assistant manager called), and the woman bolting out the door when, after a cop asked if we had any security footage of the incident.
5 years
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