On just her second shift at McDonald’s, Joelle Ryan’s daughter thought she was going through a miscarriage.
She skipped work and was extremely apologetic.
Now 15 years later, as it turned out, mum and bub were fine, and Joelle is now teaching her granddaughter Jayda the tricks of the trade at the same store she skipped work from that night.
“I thought I’d be fired, but everybody was very understanding,” she said.
At 63, “Nan” as Jayda calls her, is one of a couple of seniors working at the Loganholme Maccas.
Ms Ryan did have an office job, but got bored. That took her to the golden arches, where she says she loves her customers.
In one single shift, colleagues counted that she knews the names of 53 customers.
“Some people come in and ask for their regular,” she said. “I don’t always know what that is, but sometimes I do.”
Carol Skinner, 61, said friendships were key to a great day at work.
Between them, the two grandmothers have nine grandchildren, and “one on the way”.
And while McDonald’s does offer training pathways for young people, don’t bother suggesting to Ms Ryan it’s only for kids.
“Absolutely not,” she said. “It comes from the heart, and we get paid for it. It’s great for us.”
She said although Jayda works different shifts, she doesn’t get fazed by having “Nan” around the building.
“She’s very quiet, so I’m a bit louder than she is. But everyone here is very flexible, and family definitely comes first.”
