Fast food workers reveal the menu items you should seriously avoid: 'The ice machine doesn't get cleaned as often as you’d hope'

Author image for Isabella Penn
Isabella Penn
Jul 21, 2024 6:00 PM EDT

This might make you think twice about the next time you're feeling lazy and decide to pop through a drive-thru window to pick up a quick bite to eat. According to these fast food workers, no restaurant joint is off-limits. From menu items that are made up of all of the leftovers corporate doesn't want to go to waste to the machines that are built so poorly that they are impossible to clean, you probably should know these gross facts before you go spending your hard-earned money at some of these places. Or you could look at it this way - we've made it this far after years of indulging at these places, maybe were just immune to these un-called-for fast-food norms. Maybe it's the price we pay to enjoy these places' low costs and convenient practices. Either way, you'll probably learn a thing or two from the workers below. After chiming into a Reddit thread asking, "Fast food workers, what menu item should everyone avoid from where you work?" tons of people replied, sharing similar experiences. Keep reading below.

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  • 01
    r/AskReddit⚫ 10 hr. ago notter Fast Food workers, what menu item should everyone avoid from where you work?
    via u/n0tter
  • 02
    ddrive1234567 21h ago The ice machine. They don't get cleaned as often as you'd hope
    via u/ddrive1234567
  • 03
    survivorgreys . 20h ago At dunkin, I'd say everything is fine except frozen drinks made with the old island oasis machine. My store now has a vitamix blender, but the old machine was never cleaned well enough
    via u/survivorgreys
  • 04
    Luna MothThinking 19h ago If you have peanut allergies, don't get drinks from Sonic. They do not care about cross contamination AT ALL.
    via u/LunaMothThinking
  • 05
    If Belteshazzar98 • 20h ago you go to a McDonald's that has a shake machine that is always working, don't get a shake there. If you go to one that is always. "broken," it's perfectly safe to get a shake there. The reason the machine is down so often is because it has a really long cleaning cycle that needs to be done. frequently.
    via u/Belteshazzar98
  • 06
    Minaowl • 18h ago I used to work at a froyo shop. If you see a topping and think "I've never thought of that being a topping for froyo," you probably aren't alone. Things like fruity pebbles were just put back out every morning getting older and older because no one ate them.
    via u/Minaowl
  • 07
    too_many_shoes14 • 21h ago They don't have them anymore but when I worked at Arbys the Arby-Q was the one thing I would never eat. that sauce would sometimes be 2 months old I'm not kidding. Whenever I handed an order to a customer who ordered one I would say "here you go!" not "enjoy your food!"
    via u/too_many_shoes14
  • 08
    Takhar7 • 19h ago As someone who has tried to find the motivation to start a diet recently, this thread is perfect. Thank you, good Reddit
    via u/Takhar7
  • 09
    Inevitable_Tone3021 . 19h ago I worked at Chuck E Cheese years ago and while the pizza was good & safe (its pretty tough to screw up pizza) but the salad bar would be a pass. Adults and kids would just toss the tongs and spoons all over the salad bar, letting the handles fall into the food, getting all the different vegetables and dressings mixed together. All this at one of the
    via u/Inevitable_Tone3021
  • 10
    grossest places on earth where they are putting their hands all over video games, the ball pit, pizza, and around again. At the end of the night then we would flip all of the salad bar vegetables over into fresh containers and top them off for the next day. They did get thrown out every few days. If employees ever made ourselves a salad we would make it from the ingredients in the fridge that were not yet out on the Bacteria Bar.
    via u/Inevitable_Tone3021
  • 11
    Starmilkman ⚫ . 19h ago Sbux barista here, do not get any iced oleato drinks. It just doesn't work and olive oil in coffee was already a big stretch. The hot latte is actually not too bad and tastes a little bit like Cheerios but the oil almost instantly separates from the rest of the drink when it's iced, which is no bueno.
    via u/Starmilkman
  • 12
    . pugteeth 18h ago Worked CircleK for 3 years - coffee is surprisingly good and machines were well maintained, but the cappuccino/iced coffee machine was disgusting and impossible to clean despite best efforts (lots of tiny parts where powdered drink mix could sit and rot). My location was next to a university and we had a regular who was an engineering professor, once he came in and watched while I was trying to clean the cappuccino machine, and said he should use it in class as an example of p
    via u/pugteeth
  • 13
    EffectiveDue 7518 • 20h ago I don't work in fast food but I have a buddy who fixes and services fountain soda machines. Never ever drink fountain soda. The hoses that the syrup runs through are never cleaned and rarely changed. He says they are stained and/or have mold. My buddy says the insides of fountain soda machines are usually disgusting.
    via u/EffectiveDue
  • 14
    garbashians • 15h ago I worked at Jimmy John's for almost 7 years and they are obsessive about keeping things clean, to the point they go through a 8ish page packet of cleaning lists each day and all food items are super fresh and labeled to be used within 24-72 hours. The only thing I would not eat from there is the bacon because it comes cold and it's just kind of unpleasant lol.
    via u/garbashians
  • 15
    NICEnEVILmike • 18h ago Former Disney CM here. I worked in Foods for the last 1.5 years I was there. I can honestly say that you should be comfortable eating or drinking anything from the parks. Obviously, it's not health food, but from a food safety perspective, Disney is super diligent. Ice machines are cleaned regularly, at least once a week. Same with beer tap and soda lines, they
    via u/NICEnEVILmike
  • 16
    are flushed weekly. Of course, things occasionally happen, and something can go wrong, but as soon as it's noticed it's addressed. There have been times when items have been pulled from every location because there was an issue with a single item at a different location in another park. Disney can't afford a hit to its reputation, so they don't take chances.
    via u/NICEnEVILmike
  • 17
    supreme_wavedash • 21h ago Any "sandwich" from Starbucks. No, we don't make anything in house. It's shipped out to us frozen and we just reheat it in the oven for you $$$
    via u/supreme_wavedash
  • 18
    u choccy Fedora200 • 19h ago • 19h ago Edited 12h ago There's way too much Wendy's chili slander here. Mfs here don't know what chili is, it's not supposed to be "fresh". It's a stew that simmers and sits, made from leftover ingredients that would otherwise be wasted, that's the whole point. And as someone who made it for a short while in high school, it's completely fine. The thing to avoid at Wendy's
    via u/Fedora200
  • 19
    are the salads, but I'd assume that's a given for every fast food restaurant. Edit: ight so quality definitely depends on location but I bet 9/10 places are FINE, and if it's watery put crackers in it, that's what they're for
    via u/Fedora200
  • 20
    akhanger 20h ago I agree with the ice machine. I worked at a very popular Midwest burger joint in two different cities. The busier one would clean out the ice machines twice a week and the less busy one wouldn't until there was black floaters. Also be watchful of how they scoop ice in your cup. If they scoop the ice into the cup, your ice is going to have wax in it
    via u/akhanger
  • 21
    • sixfourty... 17h ago ⚫ Edited 15h ago There have been a couple AMA threads on here with health inspectors and time and time again they'll mention that if a restaurant, such as a buffet, smells like almonds, they have a roach. problem. Any restaurant that has an ice cream machine are at high risk of roaches.
    via u/sixfourty
  • 22
    protomanEXE1995 • 20h ago I worked at Steak 'n' Shake and Burger King 10 years ago. Everything was on the level over there. My brother, however, around that same time, worked at Arby's and told me that other workers would regularly drop roast beef on the ground, pick it up, and still put it on the sandwich to serve. Given that that's their signature item, I say just avoid the entire restaurant lol
    via u/protomanEXE1995
  • 23
    HE CHILL E SUN
    via Digital Buggu

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