What happens behind the counter at McDonald's?

It's the world's most famous fast food spot - but we don't really know that much about what happens behind the scenes.

But now thanks to Reddit user Mishka2d the lid has been lifted on the life of a McDonald's worker as they describe their experience of working at the famous Golden Arches, reports the Manchester Evening News.

The UK based 16-year-old has only been working there less than a year, but already has some great insider info - and has posted a picture of their McDonald's name badge and hat to prove they're legit.

Redditor Mishka2D's proof they work at McDonald's
Redditor Mishka2D's proof they work at McDonald's

Writing on the feed, Mishka2D kicks off the conversation: "I have been working for like 9 maybe 10 months now, and the shortest i have ever seen someone work here was about an hour.

"They were new, got put on the front, and after a customer stood there looking at them waiting for them to ask for their order, they said 'What the **** are you looking at me for?' They were sacked on the spot."

First things first: the cheese. Why is it sometimes "dried out and hard", asks one Reddit user.

Mishka2D replies: "The cheese used on food is out in the air for sometimes days, as long as it hasn't got to the point of making people ill, we are supposed to use it."

A McDonald's quarter pounder

Another point of contention is the ice cream, which some people complain is all too often 'out of order' - but that's not always really the case, claims Mishka2D.

"When you say the ice cream machine is down are you lying?", asks a Reddit user.

"Sometimes yeah, sometimes we just can't be bothered, or we have ran out of mix."

One Reddit user was curious how many troublesome customers they get at McDonald's.

"Honestly don't get many, worst we had was a woman who said that she ordered some nuggets weeks ago and still didn't have them, walked in demanded new ones for free and then just took a box from someone else's tray of food and stormed off. We replaced their food for free and gave the police cctv," writes Mishka2D.

A woman was reported to police for taking McNuggets from someone else's tray, says Mishka2D

And one of the biggest mysteries in McDonald's is the secret menu - but Mishka2D is about to burst the bubble, as apparently there are no off-menu items.

"Only off menu stuff is just changes to current items like add cheese or stuff like that. Best one we got was a guy who ordered a chicken sandwich, without the sauce, chicken, or bun, and with cucumber and tomato, so basically a salad."

Another urban myth about McDonald's is the kitchen antics. One Reddit user asks: "do you see a lot of unsanitary things happening in the kitchen?"

Thankfully, Mishka2D assures us that there's nothing untoward happening back there: "No not really, we are really clean and the entire place gets washed down every night. And my favourite job is probably taking out the rubbish(sounds weird I know), but it lets me get out of the kitchen for a while which I like."

The McDonald's golden arches

In response to the post a McDonald's spokesperson said: “We’re pleased to see that this thread identifies the importance placed on cleanliness in our restaurants. Hygiene and cleanliness is a key priority for us and we’re proud that 99% of our restaurants have an independent, hygiene rating of 4 and above.

"We’re committed to providing our customers with a great service and processes are in place to ensure our high standards are upheld.

They added: "We’re not aware of the customer services incident referenced in this post and we strongly refute any claim made about the poor storage of any food in our restaurants.”