Company: McDonald-s
Date: 2009-03-24
Overall rating: 2/5
Employment status: former

McDonalds business is at the top, but treat some of their people like they are on the bottom.
Pros: One of the best reasons to work for McDonald's is the comprehensive benefits package. The company offers unique benefits such as an extra week of vacation after your 5th year, extra weeks of vacation for new parents and a sabbatical program after 10 years. They also provide a company car for restaurant managers after 5 years in that capacity. The 401k match is very good, and the bonus program is one of the better ones I have seen. Another unique benefit they provide is the company-wide event (known as the convention) to celebrate the restaurant managers within the company (usually held in Las Vegas or Orlando).  Finally, if you make it to a department head or director level, the compensation package is quite impressive.
Cons: Unfortunately, there are more downsides than good. You often hear of people who started as crew and "worked their way up". I have to tell you that the buddy system inside the company is how people get promoted. Performance has little to do with promotions. Another downside is having a job in a remote market. The company is divided into divisions, regions, and markets. Often, some of the better employees are remote workers in a market, and get little or no visibility from senior leadership at the regional or divisional level. Unless you want to relocate, you can get stuck in the same job for quite some time and makes a promotion very difficult. Or, you can take a promotion t a different market and spend most of your time on the road driving to that market. There are instances where someone has been in the same job for many years and has been forced to take another job in the same band to "create" movement. Finally, McDonalds says that people are important to them, but it is largely just talk. People are used, abused and often spit out by the company.