Get the Real Stars on TV

Nobody doubts that a professional athlete has superior skills.  They are stars.

The average employee working at McDonalds doesn't have it.  They are not stars.

But, here is a surprise, as related by Jerry Newman in his My Secret Life on the McJob: Lessons from Behind the Counter Guaranteed to Supersize Any Management Style : that major leaguer might have a hard time keeping up with the skill players at McDonalds.

"The McJob ain't easy".

Here is Jerry's full description.

"It's my third day at Krystal, and James the store manager, wants me to learn how to assemble and wrap the different menu items.

He points to an item, on the point-of-sale (POS) screen that looks to me like "s. gr. scrams."

He then whips out a cup and starts putting ingredients in -following a prescribed order that I know I should try to pick up.

Eureka!

It's got sausage, gravy, and eggs.  I'll bet those words on the POS screen mean "sausage, gravy scrambler".

Before I can pat myself on the back, James is on to the next item.  For the next 10 minutes a whirlwind of activity produces half a dozen different items, some assembled multiple times, others only once.

James then says, "Jerry, why don't you try the next one?".  I can read the disappointment on his fact when I grab for the wrong cup, open the wrong warmer bing, and generally mess up the order. If you give me 10 minutes to learn 6 different things by watching rather doing by watching rather than doing, I guarantee I will fail.  In retrospect, I attribute the failure to poor training, but I suspect more than a few newbies wonder what is wrong with them.

Yet even for those new employees who learned quickly, there is little ego gratification.  After all, they should have done well.  The job is McEasy, isn't it?"

So, here is my suggestion.

Those lovely new menu boards which have TV's in them & play commercials, let's put them to good use.

Cut to the real pros in the preparation area once in a while - give those sandwich artists their due.

Cue applause & buy Jerry's book for more great insights. My Secret Life on the McJob: Lessons from Behind the Counter Guaranteed to Supersize Any Management Style