McDonald's employee spills all the behind-the-scenes tea, tips and secrets of the fast-food chain

A 19-year-old McDonald's worker went viral on TikTok this month for revealing some juicy behind-the-scenes secrets about the fast-food chain. Ashton, who goes by motheraangel on the video-sharing platform, has been a McDonald's crew member for a year and a half during which she has learned quite a bit about how things work. In a video that's been viewed more than 6.1 million times, the college student listed out a number of tips that are sure to come in handy for McDonald's customers and also dispelled some commonly-believed myths about the chain.

Here's all the tea she spilled:

1. "That life hack 'Get a fry with no salt. Just ask for salt at the window. You'll get a fry made fresh.' It's bullsh*t."

"First of all, you can just ask for the fry made fresh, and they'll make it fresh. Second of all, you know we can just take the fries out of the thing and just put it back in the fryer for like five seconds and it burns all the salt off?" Ashton revealed.

2. The secret menu doesn't exist

According to the teen, "the only 'secret' is that you can customize any item on the menu, and we'll do it."

3. 99.9% of the time, the ice cream machine is not broken

"There are three reasons why we usually tell you the machine is broken. One: It's being cleaned. The ice cream machine is cleaned on the clock. No one comes in when we're closing and cleans it. Two: It's in Heat Mode, which is basically, the ice cream in there is hot, for whatever reason, so we can't use it," she revealed. "Three: If it's extremely busy and we're extremely understaffed... and we're backed up with cars, a lot of the time, we'll just not serve ice cream until the rush is over."

4. The oil in the frier gets changed once a week

Ashton clarifies in another video that even though the oil in the frier is only changed once a week, it does get filtered multiple times a day. Additionally, the friers are also reportedly cleaned daily.

5. "A cone is significantly less expensive than a plain sundae."

"So if you want a plain sundae, get a cone, and ask for it in a cup. It’s less money for the same amount of ice cream, and you get a cone."

6. Quarter meat is fresh

"It's in a fridge. It's not frozen. We drop it fresh, it's cooked to order every time. So, if you want something fresh, order a quarter pounder," Ashton says in the video.

7. If you want fresh, come later

"Also, if you don't want a quarter pounder but want something fresh, after 10 or 11 o’clock, everything is cook-to-order," she revealed.

8. "If you want cookies, and you want them to taste good, ask them to make them fresh."

According to Ashton, it takes about two minutes to make fresh cookies and "they're delicious when they're fresh. If they're not fresh, they're fu**ing horrible."

9. Tip your service workers

Although McDonald's employees "technically" aren't allowed to accept tips, Ashton strongly suggests that you do tip them. "It will literally make our day. A fu**ing dollar will make our day. Tip us," she says in the video.

10. Don't ask for extra M&Ms or Oreos in your McFlurry

"It’s a waste of money," she shared. "The reason they're at the bottom is because some [workers] don’t mix it well." Instead of ordering extra M&Ms or Oreos, Ashton recommends that you ask employees to mix it all well.

11. Never ask for a refund. Ask for a free meal card

"If your order gets fu**ed," the teen revealed that asking for a free meal card is a much better deal than requesting a refund. "You can get literally any meal on the menu, add whatever you want to that meal. You can get a large bacon double Quarter Pounder with a large shake, literally the most expensive f***ing meal you can get for free. That's what you do. Never ask for a refund. Sometimes they give you two free meal cards," she says.

12. The water bottle is a waste of money

"You can get a large cup of water for free. Just get that!"

13. Points on the mobile app are stupid

"They're a waste of time. If you're using the mobile app, just use the rewards they give you. It's a much better deal. You have to spend like $60 to get, like, one Big Mac," Ashton pointed out.