McDonalds’ has been stirring up a lot of trouble lately with its menu of unhealthy food. There are even those out there that want to legislate ways to make McDonalds’ healthier, or to at least hurt their business with menus full of health facts. I’m not among that group. I think everyone knows that McDonalds isn’t the healthiest choice, but it is their choice and shouldn’t be regulated by government.

My biggest issue with the McDonald’s Franchise is not their food but their employees. When I was a kid I worked at McDonalds and took pride in my job. So did the other teenagers that worked with me. The training was excellent and the management was good. In the last decade teenagers have left McDonalds and the ranks have been filled with employees that appear to me to be illegal immigrants, ex-welfare recipients, and others who hate working - and show it.

Now when I visit a McDonalds – which is becoming more and more rare – I have to deal with employees that either don’t know English or know English but have such limited social skills that the best I can expect is a grunt. While the manager and a few employees work hard the rest are either standing around or don’t care enough to even get the order correct.

I have a theory that you can hire fewer employees in food service if you hire better employees. While your local McDonalds Franchise is paying minimum wage to workers that either don’t want to work or shouldn’t be working due to illegal status the Dominos Pizza Franchise next door is paying more drawing in better workers. This doesn’t cost Dominos more in wages because they have fewer employees that are actually doing their jobs, instead of goofing off while customers wait. It’s simple really.

McDonalds has a negative stigma and that also keeps better employees away, but with the right campaign, better working conditions, more opportunities, and better pay they could attract great people. Just look at Chik-fil-A for another reference. When’s the last time Chik-fil-A got your order wrong? When’s the last time McDonalds got it right?