The Discontinued Menu Item McDonald's Employees Couldn't Stand
Working in the fast-food industry isn't all about flipping patties and eating free food, as some might believe. Employees must focus on getting orders done quickly, correctly, and efficiently to ensure the line at the drive-thru isn't stuck at a standstill. They also tend to customers who may have a poor attitude, complicated order, or even worse, both. It takes patience and diligence from all employees to handle a rush, from the cashiers up front to the cooks in the back and all in between.
In addition, certain menu items have been known to cause disruptions in what is typically a quick and easy routine. Burger King employees have voiced their displeasure over the Ch'king (via Reddit), complaining that not only is the breading too thick to allow it to be cooked all the way through, but its size takes up most of the fryers. The best way to upset Chipotle employees during a hectic lunch hour is to order the Chipotle quesarito, a "secret menu item" that's a burrito with a cheese quesadilla wrapped around it (via shared). McDonald's employees are no stranger to these complicated and time-consuming orders, the McWrap being one of them.
The McWrap caused McDonald's employees some stress
The McWrap was introduced to appeal to the millennial audience, per HuffPost, but was discontinued in 2016. At the time the removal was stated to be due to the menu item's failure to attract millennial consumers, but the outlet explains former COO Tim Fenton later said the menu was "overcomplicated," with franchise owners complaining the wraps were simply "too time-consuming to prepare."
If you have noticed the drive-thru waiting time has gotten longer (and according to USA Today, it has) imagine the time spent in line while someone ahead of you orders three McWraps. Employees weren't happy about the long preparation either, venting on Reddit about frustrating orders, with many declaring the McWrap to be the worst of them all.
"For me, it's when one order has multiple McWraps," one user claimed, "One of them will slow the line down for a few seconds, but when there's two or three or more on the screen, everyone starts to complain about slowness." Another, called "TheHamburglurgler," went on a lengthy tirade, describing the tedious 60-second process of preparing the McWrap, from the steaming of the tortilla to ensuring the ingredients are already prepared as not to waste any more time. "Note to self: McWraps, not even once," one user put bluntly.
Although there are some who may miss these fun and tasty snacks, McDonald's employees are happy to say — that's a wrap.
The McPizza was also infamous
While the McWrap wasn't exactly beloved by employees, it wasn't the only item that earned McDonald's workers' disdain. There were some long-forgotten menu items that made customers wish they'd gone to Burger King instead.
In the 1980s, McDonald's rolled out its newest invention: the McPizza. According to Wide Open Eats, this foray into Italian-American cuisine was an attempt to break into the growing mainstream pizza-chain market and go toe-to-toe with pizza juggernaut Pizza Hut. With a few select test locations offering the Golden Arches' take on pepperoni pizza, McDonald's surely expected the "dough" to come rolling in. But the brutal reality was two-sided.
Just like the McWrap, the McPizza was a chore to make — an astounding 10 minutes! — which led to more than a few traffic jams at the drive-thru. The box the pizza came in wouldn't even fit through the drive-thru window, forcing already ragged employees to make a trip out to deliver the pizza to their hungry and annoyed customers. It would seem customers didn't even really like it all that much either, finding it too expensive and too time-consuming for a mediocre pizza. Redditors recalled the McPizza as being "blegh." "The sauce tasted weird," one person wrote, with another adding, "It was good, it wasn't terrible, it was just kind of there."
The McPizza has long been discontinued, although one McDonald's — the World's Largest Entertainment McDonald's, to be precise — in Orlando, Florida still serves the legendary pizza, according to The Daily Meal.
All-day breakfast wasn't popular with employees
There's nothing quite like a McGriddle at 1pm, nor is there anything like ripping into a hot Sausage and Egg Biscuit around dinnertime. All-Day Breakfast was the dream of many McDonald's fanatics, and in 2015, McDonald's answered their long-awaited prayers. Now, young and old could enjoy a hotcake platter or a McMuffin whenever they pleased, no longer shackled to the meager early-morning hours to sate their cravings. While this was popular with fans, some employees weren't as thrilled about All-Day Breakfast.
As Business Insider reported, the all-day breakfast model was hurting company morale at some McDonald's locations. It piled more tasks onto the already overworked employees because the changeover from breakfast to lunch was becoming increasingly complicated. In some places, the kitchen was cramped with equipment, with muffin heaters and egg cookers running next to deep fryers and coffee makers. Not only would they have to juggle lunch-rush orders, but employees would also deal with breakfast-hungry customers who wanted hotcakes in the afternoon. The one mercy, however, was that it wasn't as "annoying" as certain other McDonald's promotions and the worst that came out of it was a busier workday.
With McDonald's All-Day Breakfast having disappeared around the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems unlikely we may ever get a McMuffin or McGriddle for lunch again. And some employees would rather keep it that way.