10 Customer Habits That McDonald's Employees Can't Stand

Like with any fast food chain, McDonald's employees deal with a high volume of customers every day. Although things generally go pretty smoothly for both parties, now and again, things get on the workers' nerves. Sadly, a lot of these occurrences come from customers. The relationship between McDonald's customers and the people who work there could be so much smoother if the former party understood a few things, including the reason you're not allowed to tip McDonald's employees and why certain habits are so annoying. But, for some reason, customers often don't realize what they're doing is riling up the restaurant's crew members.

To be honest, in some cases, we get why they wouldn't. Some habits, such as asking for no salt on fries or endless customizations, have been somewhat sanctioned by folks online who constantly tell us how to "hack" our orders. However, they're still highly irritating to employees. Others are way more obvious; for example, it's a shame some customers still think asking workers to do something while they're on their break or shouting through the drive-thru window are acceptable. We decided it was time to call out some of the habits you really should try to break.

This is a big one. Asking for salt-free fries is a McDonald's ordering hack that's been passed from person to person for years, and not because the fries taste better when they have no sodium. The logic behind this one goes that if you order your fries without any salt, then the employees in the kitchen have to make them from scratch instead of scooping already-salted fries out of a tray (where they may have been sitting for a while). As a result, you get the freshest possible fries.

Sounds pretty good, right? Only, if you do this, expect the person serving you to roll their eyes internally. The problem with ordering salt-free fries is that it disrupts their workflow, not only making processes take longer but also causing employees to perform potentially risky tasks. "We have to pour fries directly from the hot basket into a fry box for a no-salt fry. It is hard to do," stated one possible employee on Reddit. "Half the time you end up burning your hand." They went on to state that it just adds insult to (literal) injury when the customer they're serving then asks for salt sachets. Naturally, if you genuinely need sodium-free fries, then the workers should understand and be happy to make them for you. But, if you're doing this because you want fresh-cooked fries, just ask for them to be made fresh.

You'd think people would know how to place a drive-thru order at McDonald's by now, but apparently it's not that simple. McDonald's employees frequently have to deal with folks driving straight past the first drive-thru window (where you pay for your items or order if there's no speaker system) and heading straight to the second one (where you pick up your food).

It's no great shock this is super-irritating for everyone involved, but most of all for the workers. McDonald's employees may not be able to take orders or payment at this second window, nor do they have the time to relay your requests back to the people at the first window. Beyond this, it also adds way more time to everything, and you either have to reverse back to the first one (which isn't easy if there's another car behind you) or go around and start again.

Another irritating quirk customers have is dawdling at the first window after they've paid for their items. Although this might seem harmless if there's no one behind you, hanging around may well get the employee serving you in trouble since McDonald's workers are monitored for how quickly they move customers through. If you park up and don't move forward, they may not hit the goals required and could face disciplinary action through no fault of their own.

Have you ever been asked to work through your lunch break? It's pretty annoying, isn't it? That feeling is universal, so we don't understand why some people think it's acceptable to ask McDonald's workers (or any other fast food employee for that matter) to do so. Regrettably, it's an all too common occurrence for McDonald's employees, with customers not respecting they're not working at that very moment and asking them to fetch items or take orders — you better believe it riles them up.

While doing this is sometimes an understandable mistake on the part of customers, other times it feels like entitlement, particularly when the employee clearly isn't working. "I'll be standing in the lobby, hat off, bag [and] belongings in hand, waiting for my crew meal at the end of my shift, and I'll still get customers who tell me I need to get back behind the counter and take their order [and] bag their food," said one frustrated worker on Reddit. Before you do this, take a moment to consider whether that person is actually still on shift — if not, look for someone who is. It doesn't take much longer.

We live in a world where it's no longer enough to be happy with standard items from a fast food menu. We want more choice, and restaurants give it to us. However, this has a snowball effect. Now, customers feel as though they can completely revamp their McDonald's orders, customizing items to the point they're almost unrecognizable, or constructed or cooked in such bizarre ways that it feels strange they'd taste good at all.

Who do you think has to make these wild orders? That's right: the employees. Although a little customization here and there is totally fine, McDonald's workers often have to juggle a wide variety of changes, sometimes dealing with multiple different versions of the same item. All of this adds additional hassle to their day and stress to their workload. What's even more annoying for them is when a customer asks for a customization that likely ruins their sandwich (like loads of extra mayo on a McChicken), and then the customer complains that said sandwich is — you guessed it — ruined. The key here is to stay moderate and consider whether what seems like a simple request is actually a nightmare to put together.

If you've ever watched a video of a cheeseburger being made in a restaurant or diner, you know the chefs usually make sure the cheese is perfectly melted, often by trapping hot air around the patty and cheese with a dome or plate to steam it. That's not how things go at McDonald's. Instead, the workers making your burgers generally place each cheese slice on the burger buns or toppings, and the residual heat from the patties or other ingredients softens it.

As a result, the cheese on your burger may not always be entirely melted — but that doesn't stop customers from requesting it. Then, when they don't get the burger exactly how they want, they can make a huge fuss and ruin the day of the employee they're speaking to in the process. It's important to remember that McDonald's workers often can't make sure your burger is cooked just how you want it. They're following a tightly coordinated process in what is essentially a production line. If you want your burger to be cooked exactly to spec, you need to go to a restaurant that can do that.

It's pretty sad we even have to talk about this one, but here we go. McDonald's employees constantly have to deal with customers who think it's acceptable to use no manners whatsoever when ordering at the drive-thru speaker. Workers have spoken of customers screaming at them while they're trying to put their request through, talking down to them, and in some cases even being flat-out offensive. It can get so bad that polite, considerate customers have to end up calling out other people's behavior when they should be able to enjoy ordering their food in a stress-free environment.

It's crucial to extend a little grace here, guys. We all know drive-thru speakers aren't the best, and sometimes the person on the other end may not be able to hear you as well as they'd like. There may also be slight delays here and there, either on the speaker itself or while the employee is putting through your order. Oh, and the worker also has little-to-no control over how many people are in front of you in line, or how long it's taken for you to get to them. Just be patient, and try to be nice.

Some people seem to lose all sense of how to behave when they're in fast food burger restaurants. This is never more evident than when you see how they deal with their trash. In McDonald's, workers don't just have to deal with people leaving their garbage on tables when they're done eating, but also with customers who throw away trash in bizarre, inconsiderate ways.

Finding half-finished drinks in the trash is commonplace for employees, who are then left trying to dispose of a load of liquid that's swishing around in the bottom of the bag. Some people even put their garbage in the built-in trash can area in McDonald's stores when there's clearly no bag or can underneath, leaving the rubbish to fall through thin air and hit the floor at the bottom. It doesn't take a genius to figure out this is annoying for employees. After all, who has to deal with that trash you've basically just thrown on the floor? It's also not that hard to ask someone who works there if there's a better place to put your garbage. Don't just shrug and do it anyway: Make their day easier by checking with them before you walk away from the pile of detritus you've just created.

We're gonna level with you here. Asking your kids to order can be cute, but it can also be slightly annoying when it happens at McDonald's. Parents can often nudge their kids to the front of the queue and let them order their own Happy Meal, but they can often do so without looking at the line behind them. Then, as your adorable child is working on getting their order out (which can often take a lot longer than you think), the queue is getting longer and the employee is slowly realizing they've got some catching up to do.

We know it's good to get your kids to practice talking to people, and educating them in how to order politely and respectfully in customer service settings sets them up with great life skills. Additionally, if you or your child is a non-native English speaker, or has specific needs where having them speak to strangers would help their development, then it's unlikely the McDonald's worker they're speaking to begrudges the conversation — they may well encourage it. However, it's important to think about time and place here. If it's a near-empty store in the middle of the afternoon, go ahead and let your kiddo be brave and order themselves. If it's the middle of a busy lunch rush, you're better off taking this one for them.

"Could I get some ketchup too?" It's not that hard a question to ask when you're placing your order, right? Apparently, it is for a lot of McDonald's customers, who only think to question whether there's ketchup after they've been handed their bag of food — and after they didn't ask for any. This has been an employee pet peeve for years, but people still haven't gotten the message that it's a highly irritating customer quirk. To this day, they forget to ask for ketchup, only to get annoyed when it's not there.

You know what makes employees even more frustrated? When customers do this with their McDonald's ketchup (which tastes different from other brands) or other condiments at the drive-thru window, then ask for extra napkins or salt. This causes the employee to have to make multiple trips to get their items, making everything take longer. The solution is astonishingly simple: ask for what you need when you're ordering your food. Then the employee knows exactly what you need, and they can throw it in the bag while they're placing your food inside. No stress on either side, and a speedier transaction for everyone.

There's no shame in ordering on the McDonald's app, so why do so many customers seem hell-bent on lying about doing so? Whether it's due to forgetfulness or a lack of understanding about why it's important to own up to it, a lot of people who dine at McDonald's immediately state "no" when employees ask them if they're using the mobile app to order. Then, when the crew member proceeds to ask what they want, they give them the rewards code that came up on their app. Worse still, some customers go through the whole process of ordering in the drive-thru, only to present their code to the person at the second window.

Remember, folks: Whether you're redeeming a reward or trying to build up points, you need to give the cashier the code presented in the app. They don't automatically add the points to your order, and unless you mention you're using it at the start, they proceed as though you're not — and may have to start your order again if you backtrack. It's best to listen to what the person in front of you is actually saying instead of just ploughing ahead on autopilot. It might be worth getting more familiar with the app, too: Incorporating it into the customer experience more heavily is one of the biggest ways McDonald's is changing in 2026.