McDonalds: The Epitome of Routinization Elizabeth Tran October 8th, 2011

McDonalds: The Epitome of Routinization

In the United States, there are very few companies or institutions that allow any kind of individuality or sense of identity when it comes to work efficiency. This kind of control in workplaces is called routinization where employers insist on creating a certain appearance and a specific script that is not only used for the interactions between the customers but also amongst the other employees. This kind of standardization creates an atmosphere of monotonous, tedious labor that some people may enjoy due to its effectiveness and speed. Routinization has become part of the norm and is highly expected in workplaces now as if people were created to always act in this happy, optimistic, and friendly way. At McDonalds specifically, the employees are constantly satisfying the societys expectations. There were currently nine people working in various stations. Three of which were managers which was determined due to their uniforms that were white button up shirts with black pants. Two were Caucasian women that were in their mid 30s and mid 40s. The third manager was a Hispanic male that was around his mid 30s. They all were constantly surveying the other employees yet also taking over some of the jobs that were getting overlooked such as the specialty drinks and ice cream area. The drive thru window was usually occupied by a Caucasian male around his early 20s. Every now and then, a Hispanic woman around 18 years old that was primarily prepping food took his place when he needed to go to another station. In the back, there was a Hispanic male approximately 25 working the food station producing the meals. Occasionally, when thered be a rush of people, hed have the help of the Hispanic

woman stated previously. Along with helping prep the food was another Hispanic woman that seemed to be in her mid 40s. In the front at the cashier station were two Caucasians one male and one female. They were both around 18-20 years of age. What I have noticed in many restaurants is that they would place the more attractive people in the front to lure in the customers. On a racial standpoint, though, it seems as if this McDonalds purposely put the Caucasians at the cashier and drive thru window positions to appease certain customers. For example, I have seen a woman complain and demand a new cashier because she felt like her food would come out dirty if she was served by an African American woman. Even though, the customer could clearly see that the other people in the back were actually the ones creating the food for her, she still wanted a cleaner-looking cashier. This clearly shows just how much the front of a restaurant can affect the customers view of its image. However, Id like to think that McDonalds is not purposely trying to better their image by putting the cleaner race up front. For instance, when the Caucasian male at the cashier ended his shift, a Hispanic male relieved him and took over his position. The manager could have easily taken the Caucasian male from the drive thru and told him to take over at the cashier because there the customers would be seeing the employee before ordering as opposed to at the drive thru where they would order before seeing what the employee looks like. Most of the employees aside from the managers were wearing red polos with black pants and a blue baseball cap all embroidered with the McDonalds logo. However some of the employees were wearing a black visor instead of the blue visor. The reason is unknown but it could possibly be because of their rank. Most of the workers followed the script of the work place; however one of them seemed to be straying from it. When I approached the Caucasian female to order my meal, she didnt exactly smile. Instead, she had an indifferent look on her face as if she wanted to just get this

order so she can move onto the next customer. According to Leidners Six Steps of Window Service, the cashiers only executed five of them. I usually pay with my debit card so all I have to do is slide it and the transaction is complete; However, I never know if the employee is going to give me a receipt or not so I stand idly waiting for a response similar to Leidners number 6 Thank the customer and ask for repeat of business(1993) which in turn, I did not get from this employee the three times I went up there to order. All the other employees only seemed to smile and interact with each other in a non-work script whenever the managers stepped out. When they came back in, everyone returned to their stations and only spoke to each other when needed. Also, the younger employees seemed to converse more with each other than with the other older employees. As stated previously, the drive thru window station was occupied by mainly the Caucasian male; however, occasionally, a young Hispanic woman would assist him as well. Along with all the other stations, everyone was helping out whoever needed it. That is, except for the cashiers. They were stationary due to the amount of customers constantly filtering in and out. On the floor, there was constant cleaning of the tables by the mid 30 year old Caucasian female manager; However, the floors were never mopped which is where most of the dirtiness was accumulating. I occasionally saw workers taking a break and eating at one of the tables. I noticed that they usually stayed in one area which was the very back so as to not disturb the customers. This could be because some customers may view an employee eating on their break as being lazy and unproductive even if they are deserving of a few minutes to themselves. When on the restaurant floor, the workers seem to be a bit more relaxed yet still seem to be in the state of performing the script of an employee. The customers also followed the script by knowing what to order before reaching the counter and thanking the employees after a transaction was complete. However, there was one instance where a female came in and asked the employees if

she could search the trash for a cell phone that she may have accidentally thrown away. To see someone dig through a trash can is not necessarily part of the customers script so you can imagine the looks on the customers and employees faces when she did it. Other than that, no one complained or created a problem in this restaurant mainly because of the script our society has been taught. Although many may argue that this routinization in societys work places can be damaging to our identity and sense of happiness, the fact that it has helped improve efficiency and speed in various areas cant be denied. McDonalds has earned its fast food title due to its organization and reliance on workers uniformity. It is because of this script that allows our society to flourish into a quicker-paced, resourceful lifestyle that will in turn benefit not only our present economy but also our future.

Field Work Notes Two caucasian (One male and one female) working the cashiers wearing red polos, black pants, and blue hats. All except pants have the logo on them. (early 20's) One hispanic male in the back cooking food wearing red polo with black visor. (early to mid 20's) One hispanic male manager wearing white buttoned up with tie and black pants. (Mid 30's) One caucasian female manager wearing white buttoned up and black pants. Helping with food prep. (40's) One caucasian female manager wearing white buttoned up and black pants. Just came back in to help after being on a business phone call. (mid-30's) Two hispanic females helping with food prep. Wearing blue and red outfit. (Early 20's; *Caucasian male leaves. Hispanic male takes over. (Mid 20's) Hispanic male wearing red and blue outfit (hat?) Drive thru positions change from a hispanic woman with red and blue outfit to a caucasian man^^ The younger employees talk to each other a lot more than with any of the other employees. Customer walks in claiming to have thrown away her phone in the trash so proceeds to dig through the trash causing everyone to look at her. Floor is dirty yet tables are constantly being cleaned by female manager (Mid 30's) Ice cream and specialty drinks area is never really a main priority of the food prep's therefore sometimes neglected.

Works Cited Leidner, Robin. Fast Food, Fast Talk: Service Work and the Routinization of Everyday Life. Berkeley, Calif. [u.a.: Univ. of California, 1993. Print.