Closing
From Bellybuttonporn
Ok so after the store closes, the employees can't just leave. They have to stay and clean everything up.
In general, there's 5 positions that need to be closed:
Contents |
General
Each station has to wipe down the tables, machines, whatever they have, sweep, and mop. In the case of Lobby, that's about all there is. Other stations have more to do.
Lobby
Lobby is probably the most simple to close. You wipe down the drink station, stock it, then wipe down the tables, then sweep and mop. You have to clean the bathrooms too, but sometimes employees skip that. tsk tsk tsk.
Front
The Shake Machine and Ice Cream Machine get messy as hell, so they have to be cleaned up. Also a lot of stocking should be done, but usually isn't.
The big thing is cleaning the frystation. It comes apart in 3 pieces, which are sent back to dishes. The rest of the station still is covered in oil and fries which needs to be cleaned.
Grill
Grill is my least favorite station to close. That's because it has the most work to do. The UHCs need to be cleaned, the prep table does too, and it's usually got dried mustard on it (pain. in. the. ass). The backline needs cleaned, and there's a nice mix of grease and crumbs over there.
The biggest thing, though, is closing the grills. One is usually done as preclose, but it's still a pain in the ass. One must use this nasty caustic yellow chemical to clean them. There's lots of scrubbing on the hot grill and it's rather dangerous and uncool. After that's done the grill platens are washed down in water to remove the liquified carbon and cleaner, then the vent hoods and other areas over there are wiped down.
Dishes
Some people like dishes, some don't. I don't, because it usually involves getting drenched. You've got a big sprayer, lots of industrial dish soap, and big chunks of metal and plastic to clean off. Pretty much everything not bolted down in a McDonald's is washed every night. A lot of dishes get done during preclose, but not all.
Books
The manager has to count the money taken in and prepare a deposit for the bank. Also he or she has to enter in the waste, count inventory, and fill out lots of paperwork.
Preclose
To make close take as little time as possible, some things are done before the store is closed to prepare. Often, entire parts of the closing procedure are done before the store closes.
Closers measure a close based on how much preclose was done. If the store is really busy and there's no time to get preclose done, the close will run longer.
However, preclose can get in the way. For example, the fryhopper is usually preclosed. That means each basket of fries needs to be filled by hand, and that takes extra time. If the prep table is preclosed, sandwiches take a little longer to make.
This can be very frustrating if the closers aren't intelligent about what they preclose. If there's no time for the dish closer to go back and start dishes, then preclosing by taking valuable things (such as the prep table stuff) back to dish is not only harmful, but pointless.
- Lobby: Often the entire thing is done as preclose.
- Front: the frystation is disassembled and brought back to dish. Same with the fryhopper.
- Grill: the prep table inserts are brought back to dish and the sandwich toppings are put into sandwich boxes or some other temporary container. A grill is closed.
- Dish: dishes brought back before close are cleaned. Often the dish person goes up and gets the dishes him or herself, or cleans the fryhopper.
- Books: unused drawers are changed out and counted, often the manager helps preclose other stations. Well, good managers, anyway.
Pragmatism
It's been a long time since I've closed on a 5-person team. What usually happens is that lobby is "closed" before the store closes, and then is spot cleaned if anyone comes in after. Either a late working non-closer, the front counter closer, or the manager does this.
The dish closer usually does back bubble while doing the preclose dishes.
If absolutely necessary, the manager can close front, lobby, and books all by him or herself if there are only 2 closers aside from the manager.
