As an ex McDicks employee the mistake is going into mcdonalds at the end of the night. Past 7pm things slow down and employees start heading home. And drive thru ordering is always prioritized over in store orders.

If you want good McDonalds show up in the lunch/dinner rush, all other times they’re running low on staff, and the food has sat in their warmers for eons. It’s also kind luck of the draw on if you get the employees that have 3 brain cells. Sometimes you’ll show up late when the non nose pickers are there and actually get good food. Other times you’ll get there and spend 10 minutes staring at a guy picking his nose looking at his phone instead of grabbing the food and putting it into the bag.