[scott_w]

> these places assume I'll leave as soon as something "corporate" pops up.

This sentence struck me as a little odd. Is the USA at a point where McDonald's expect a burger flipper to commit to a career with them?

Maybe I'm biased because all the non-skilled jobs I worked were before/during university, but I never got the feeling that anyone believed I'd retire from there.

Yes, we had the whole rigmarole at the interview "I want to work here because you do great customer service blah blah", but I was never asked about spending my entire career there.

I even know a guy who was begged by the McDonald's staff to work weekends there (after he left for a corporate job), because he was better than all the other staff.

[plorkyeran]

They want people who at least aren't actively looking to leave before they've even started.

[scott_w]

That's almost certainly the case. I just find it a little odd. For most jobs like this, training costs are negligible - usually a day of watching videos. Food services probably have an extra day for health and hygiene regs, but it's not a massive burden.

As long as the guy has half a brain and is reasonably personable, I'd rather have someone like that for 3-6 months than the standard buffoon who will last just as long before getting fired/bored of working, and do some damage in the process.