Ever wonder what fast food workers actually eat at their own restaurants? Turns out, there’s a lot they avoid, and the answers might change how you order. People who work behind the counter see things that most of us never think about, from how long food sits around to what really goes on with those machines. These aren’t just picky opinions either. These are the folks who prep, serve, and clean up after thousands of customers every day. When they say skip something, it’s probably worth listening to.
Soda fountain ice sits in machines that rarely get cleaned
That ice in your soda might look perfectly fine, but workers tell a different story. Many fast food places don’t clean their ice machines as often as they should. Some employees admit they’ve seen mold growing inside, along with slimy buildup that never gets scrubbed away. The machines are supposed to be cleaned regularly, but when a restaurant is busy and short on staff, cleaning often gets pushed aside. One worker described finding something they called soda gun snakes, which were gross tube-shaped growths made from sugar, yeast, and who knows what else.
The problem gets even worse at places like pizza restaurants where there’s yeast floating around in the air. That yeast can settle into the machines and start growing in all the moist, sugary areas. Some workers say they’ve tried to teach other staff members how to clean these machines properly, but not everyone takes it seriously. The guns that dispense the soda can get just as nasty, with buildup forming inside the tubes where you can’t even see it. When workers themselves are avoiding the ice, maybe it’s time to ask for your drink without it.
Slushie machines are nearly impossible to clean properly
Those frozen drinks look refreshing on a hot day, but the machines that make them are a nightmare to keep clean. Workers point out that slushie machines at places like Sonic have so many parts and hard-to-reach areas that proper cleaning is almost impossible. Even when employees want to do a good job, the machines are designed in a way that makes thorough cleaning really difficult. The spinning mechanisms and internal parts can trap old product and build up layers of bacteria over time.
Fast food restaurants are usually focused on speed, not deep cleaning complicated equipment. When there’s a line of customers waiting and only a few people working, taking apart a slushie machine for a proper clean isn’t going to happen. Some workers admit that their stores only do a surface cleaning at best. The sugary drinks create the perfect environment for bacteria to grow, especially in those hidden corners that never get attention. Next time you’re tempted by a colorful frozen drink, remember that the machine making it might not have been properly cleaned in longer than you’d like to know.
Subway’s chicken strips smell terrible right out of the bag
If you’ve ever ordered chicken at Subway, workers want you to know something. The plain chicken strips that go on your sandwich have a reputation for smelling really bad when the bag first opens. One employee described it as smelling like a fart that’s been vacuum-sealed for freshness. That’s not exactly the kind of thing that makes you want to eat chicken, right? Even at locations that follow all the food safety rules and keep everything clean, this smell is apparently normal.
New employees often get warned about the chicken smell during training, with managers telling them it’s nothing to worry about. But when something smells that bad, it’s hard not to wonder if it’s really okay to eat. The chicken might be perfectly safe according to food standards, but that doesn’t mean it’s appetizing. Workers who deal with opening those bags every day say they wouldn’t order it themselves. There are plenty of other sandwich options that don’t come with a warning about weird smells, so maybe stick with those instead.
Restaurant soups sit at dangerous temperatures all day
Soup might seem like a safe choice, but workers have concerns about how it’s handled. Some say soup sits in warming stations all day long, which sounds fine until you think about how many hours that actually is. Other employees point out a bigger problem with how soup is prepared in the first place. When soup is made in large batches, it’s supposed to be cooled down quickly to prevent bacteria growth. But the batches are often so big that they can’t cool fast enough, leaving the soup sitting at temperatures where bacteria love to grow.
There’s another issue that might bother you even more. Some workers say soup is where leftover ingredients end up. If something is cooked wrong or starting to get old, it gets thrown into the soup pot instead of being tossed out. Soup that comes frozen and gets reheated in a bag can also be problematic, with some employees warning that tiny pieces of plastic can end up in your bowl. When you’re paying for soup at a restaurant, you probably don’t want to be eating yesterday’s mistakes or plastic bits mixed in with your meal.
Steak ‘n Shake milkshakes suffer when restaurants get busy
Steak ‘n Shake is known for hand-dipped milkshakes, which sounds great in theory. The problem is that making them properly takes time and effort that busy restaurants don’t always have. The ice cream base is rock hard and difficult to scoop, which makes the job physically demanding. Workers are supposed to make each shake within two or three minutes, but that’s nearly impossible when there’s a backup of orders and not enough staff to handle them all.
When employees are rushing to keep up with orders, cleanliness becomes less of a priority. Nobody wants to be assigned to shake duty because it’s such hard work, and that means corners get cut. The equipment doesn’t get cleaned as well as it should between uses, and workers are more focused on speed than quality. Your shake might still taste fine, but knowing what goes on behind the scenes when a restaurant is slammed might make you think twice about ordering one during peak hours.
McDonald’s McRib comes with sauce that gets everywhere
The McRib has a cult following, but workers absolutely hate it. The sauce is the main problem, with employees describing it as incredibly gross and impossible to clean. It doesn’t come off trays without running them through the dishwasher multiple times. The smell is so strong and unpleasant that some workers say it’s turned them off barbecue sauce completely. When the McRib is on the menu, that sauce gets all over everything like it has a mind of its own.
Even worse, the pork patties sit in old sauce for hours without being changed or cleaned. Workers describe watching the same batch of sauce and meat sitting there getting older and nastier as the day goes on. The whole setup is apparently pretty disgusting to anyone who has to deal with it regularly. Some employees say they feel bad having to serve it to customers because they know how gross it really is. If the people making your food won’t eat it themselves, that’s probably a sign you should skip it too.
Burger King’s chicken sandwiches often come out undercooked
Raw chicken is no joke, but it seems to happen a lot at Burger King. There are enough social media posts about raw chicken sandwiches from this chain that it raises real questions about what’s going wrong. Workers suggest several possible problems. The fryer temperature might not be set correctly, or employees might not be paying enough attention to cooking times. Different chicken products have different thicknesses, which means they need different amounts of time to cook through completely.
Some workers say that during busy times, nobody bothers to check if the chicken is fully cooked. They just assume it’s done and send it out. Even more concerning, some employees report that after getting raw chicken returned, work stations don’t get properly sanitized before the next sandwich is made. That’s a cross-contamination problem waiting to happen. When workers are rushed and cutting corners, chicken is one of the most dangerous things to mess up. The risk of getting sick from undercooked chicken just isn’t worth it.
McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish sits around longer than you’d think
Fish sandwiches aren’t exactly flying off the warming rack at McDonald’s. Workers say hardly anyone orders them, which means the ones that do get made sit around way past their freshness window. Fast food restaurants have time limits for how long items should stay in the warming cabinet, but those limits don’t always get followed when something isn’t selling. Your fish sandwich might have been sitting there for hours before you finally ordered it.
Think you’re being smart by asking for a fresh one? Workers have a trick for that too. Instead of making a new fish patty from scratch, they just toss the old one back in the fryer for a few seconds to warm it up again. So you’re still getting old fish, just reheated. Some employees also mention that the fish sandwich seems smaller than it used to be, even though McDonald’s denies making it smaller. When the people working there are telling you to skip something, it’s probably good advice to follow.
Subway’s tuna contains way too much mayonnaise
Subway had a whole legal battle about whether its tuna was real, which it is. But that doesn’t mean workers think you should order it. The problem isn’t the tuna itself, it’s all the mayo that gets mixed in. Workers say mayo jugs often get stored improperly, which is concerning for something that needs to stay cold. Even if storage wasn’t an issue, the amount of mayo used is apparently ridiculous. Some locations use a one-to-one ratio of mayo to tuna by volume, which means your sandwich is half mayonnaise.
One worker said their store had to cut the mayo in half just to make it edible. The problem is that there’s no real standardization, so the tuna quality varies wildly depending on who made it that day. Some employees go heavy on the mayo, others use less, and there’s no consistency. Even if you like mayo, there’s a limit to how much is too much. When your tuna salad is swimming in mayonnaise to the point where workers are complaining about it, you might want to choose a different sandwich filling.
Next time you’re standing in line at a fast food restaurant, maybe think about what the workers would actually eat. They see how the food is prepared, how long it sits, and what really goes into making everything on the menu. When they’re telling you to skip certain items, they’re doing you a favor. Sure, not every location is going to have the same problems, but these issues are common enough that you should at least be aware of them. Maybe ask for no ice in that drink, or pick a sandwich that doesn’t involve questionable chicken or mayo ratios.
