I am a McDonalds Atlanta Mom and have been compensated for this post. All opinions are my own.
This past Friday, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mary Shimko, the Operations Manager for McDonalds in the Atlanta area. I learned a lot from talking with her and I can't wait to share it with all of you!
Me: How did you first get started with McDonalds?
Mary: I had started in full service dining and then I got pregnant and need something better to fit my life. I had never applied for McDonalds so I'm not sure how they got my information, but I went on an interview and have been there for 25 years.
Me: What have you accomplished since working at McDonalds?
Mary: I started out as a manager trainee, and then worked my way up to second assistant, first assistant, store manager, general manager, supervisor, operations senior supervisor, and MSL before becoming an operations manager.
Me: What's your favorite part of the job?
Mary: I love being able to develop people. McDonalds isn't a deadend job. You can be anything you want to be. Especially since they will pay for your education up to a Master's degree. Plus the benefits are amazing like the 3 to 1 profit sharing.
Me: Do you have any kids?
Mary: Yes, I have two girls. The youngest is in all AP classes and wants to be a Disney Imagineer. My oldest is 27 and is a manager for Race Trac.
Me: What are some of the menu items coming out soon?
Mary: The pumpkin spice latte, pumpkin and sweet potato pie, custard pie, mint hot chocolate, McRib, mighty wings, and a dollar menu and more section which will feature 3 tiers of savings. Like the first tier will be $1 and the second tier will be $1.19.
Me: What's your favorite menu item out of everything?
Mary: The BigMac of course!
Me: What does McDonalds do with extra food?
Mary: We try to help out where we can. We give vouchers to the Red Cross for people to come redeem them for food, we fully support the Ronald McDonald charity and we also do school nights where organizations can get 20% of the profits. Also, if it's getting late and we have some extra food still and we see families eating, we'll always offer a cookie or a ice cream to kids. No one ever goes hungry at McDonalds.
A big thank you to Mary for her time and also the lovely Pumpkin Spice Latte she treated me to! Yum!
CONVERSATION