r/innout

Zero exaggeration, I mean this. I came to California 5 years ago from the Eastern part of the United States, and I am never looking back. Part of this has to do with In-N-Out. A fast-food restaurant that is relatively cheap, 100% worth the money may I add, open late, and open almost all days of the year. Sometimes late at night, 10:00 PM ish, I genuinely sit and ponder what I can be doing to kill time, and there's an In-N-Out legit one mile away from me. Sometimes on occasions, people I hang out with ask "What can we eat?" while hanging out, and my answer remains the same. In-N-Out. I actually dread going to any other restaurant and rarely if ever do I actually eat at another restaurant, and it never hits as good as In-N-Out. Somehow always more expensive than In-N-Out, and tastes worse than In-N-Out. The burgers are fantastic. The fries, I GENUINELY DON'T UNDERSTAND THE HATE FOR THE FRIES. They're fresh, and you can literally enhance it by ordering animal style fries, or getting them done extra well for a crispy, potato chip vibe. Everything is made fresh. Quality standards are through the roof. In conclusion, my life wouldn't be the same without In-N-Out. I LOVE IN N OUT!

Okay so my history of working at in-n-out is pretty quick so before we jump into it let me tell yoy where I am rn. I got hired back in May of 2025! So i've been working there a year and some time, and i got my level 3 before I had even worked there a year, so its been a minute. I've gotten flawless at pretty much all of those positions, weather its DHO, Backpay, front line, wtv it is, i'm very good at it, and able to move around where and when it helps the store. I'm pretty social but also not really, I put work before talking, so I can be a pretty boring person to work with, but agian i put my job before anything (as I think all things should).

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So getting into whats happening with me, i've been working on my level 4 for a while now, like almost 6 months, and I pretty much work frys every day if not every other day. I'm not perfect at it I'll admit, bit I never, and I Mean never make the fry table snowed, so I think thats pretty good. And as one would do at this point, for the past 1 or 2 months i've been trying to get my promotion, I asked daily when I work with the store manager if he could watch me, but every time I do, he either doesn't put me there or when he does says I'm not good enough.

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We are gonna explore the "doesn't put me there" part of this firs because honestly its ridiculous. I do all the right things to get my promotion, I ask at thr beginning of the day, and remind him throughout, but it feels like he just brushes me off and forgets about it. Yes I know he has a store to run but come on, like this has happened a few dozen times now, and is by far the most frequent, but every other manager has no problem putting me on fries and all say I'm ready. So like huh, what do I do here? Does he hate me. Agian i'm doing all the same things if not more then the people who are getting their level 4 promotion, and most of them arn't even over due. So why do I have to try so much harder then they do?

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The second part is the part that makes me the most mad so i'm sorry if its kinda a ramble.

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The "feedpack" he gives when he does finally watch me is crazy, this has happen on 2 separate occasions, in which he had obviously denied me for my level 4. He literally nit picks every little thing i do, but when he's watching someone else for their level 4, that thing is completely fine. The lower level managers all say i'm ready for my level 4, I drop baskets on time, pull correctly, separate correctly, my salting is good, portions perfect, and speed is good, but apparently not enough for him. I was literally talking to someone who got their level 4 the other day and they had said to my face they don't deserve their level 4, THEN WHY ARE WE GIVING IT TO THEM. it makes no sense to me, I have to try like 10x harder then the person before me does, and its honestly infuriating, I tried talking to him about this and he judt blows it off as "oh just keep trying and you'll get their eventually". It's so annoying, and honestly makes me not wanna keep trying for my level 4, but I can't mentally take guest facing positions anymore, so i'm stuck, I have to keep pushing forward with no end in site.

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What are my next steps here, is there something i'm doing wrong, I mean when he gives me feedback I apply almost instantly to become better, so why do I have to be perfect but everyone else can be flawed. Because i'm gonna be completely honest, I had to take over for a level 4 the other day to clear to the table, AND I'M A LEVEL 3, I'm a level 4 thats they don't want to pay as a level 4. Do what str my next steps?

I’ve been seeing people on TikTok ask for gloves to eat their meal, and I’m wondering if anyone else has been doing this?

If I apply online, do I need to select specific days and times that I'm available to work, and does my availability affect my chances of being hired?

Also, do I need any previous restaurant or food service experience to get hired?

In-n-Out is famous for putting Bible verses on packaging. I'm not sure about their burger wrappers, but I know they're visble at the bottom of their cups. I think the burger wrappers and fry trays mainly just show nutritional information and franchise history, though they may be hidden. I think the order bags have them too.

Is this why In-n-Out doesn't have a kid's meal on their menu and rather gives out the activity books, hats, stickers, and other items tailored for children for free at the counter? In-n-Out is a private chain which is why they're even allowed to place these Bible verses on their packaging in the first place. I'd imagine the backlash they faced for having that on their food packaging in general is why they don't have size options tailored for small children the same way McDonald's does with their Happy Meal and most other popular fast-food chains do. I doubt children will really care to even pay attention to or seek out such an unnoticeable detail unless they're autistic (not throwing shade; it's just a fact that many autistic people pay attention to small details). But then again what's the big deal if said children are either not religious or they follow their own faith independent of their favorite fast-food place? (I'm talking older children; a three-year-old has no sense of religion beyond what their parents have taught them if even then.) In-n-Out has many kid customers who choose the smaller portions of the regular menu and they're given the same packaging as adults; it's not an issue even then because they usually don't care about what the packaging says (not that many of the adults do either).

The main attraction of fast food kids meals is the toys and colorful packaging they come in; kids desire that aspect more than the food itself.

It is annoying that In-N-Out doesn’t have mobile ordering. It’s a fast food restaurant, but on a busy weekend evening it’s really not that fast. If they had mobile ordering it wouldn’t have to have a significant time impact on your evening (which is kind of the idea of FAST food). I could place an order while I’m out and about or doing things at home and then go pick it up when it’s ready. More efficient for customers and more efficient for the restaurant. Win-win

Is it only me? Or has INO cut back dramatically on the amount of lettuce put on burgers? I kinda miss it.

edit: whgr = whole grilled onion

pretty self explanatory i hate cooking whgr’s. i’m a pretty fast cook and whgr’s always slow me down. it doesn’t really help that sometimes people order 10 at a time ._. are whgr’s really THAT much different from chopped grilled onion? why can’t people just become obsessed with regular grilled onion instead? it’s way easier for us cooks.

Hi there I’m a relatively new hire at in-n-out, just starting my 4th week. I’m already certified in counter hand out and order taking and I’m almost done with host and tomatoes as well and I feel pretty confident in my role and I’m very happy where I’m working. Recently, me and my best friend have started planning the feasibility and logistics of going to Europe for about a month next summer. We’ve found out it’s financially possible with my job and his aid refunds, and I really want to go on this trip as I think it’ll probably be my first and only time traveling for a long time, but I also really like and don’t want to quit my job.

Is it possible to ask for a one month leave next summer? When should I ask, and how should I go about it? My managers are pretty chill but I don’t want to under-communicate or ramble unprofessionally and unclearly.