15 Secrets Taco Bell Doesn’t Want You To Know, According To Its Employees

"The grossest thing I've seen has to be the fried foods. We'll keep the oil there for hours upon hours with stuff floating in it (old potatoes, tortilla chips.) The fried food still tastes good but it is a little gross." source

"We get the beans from our supplier as dehydrated, small chunks, very similar to Cocoa Pebbles. Red Sauce is a really fine powder that we add hot water to. And the rice seasoning comes in a powder form as well." source

"Cinnamon twists are literally just deep fried rotini pasta! We get these large bags of them. Once fried, they puff up to the familiar look and we put cinnamon sugar on them!" source

"The worst customer experience I ever had was with a drunk man. He came through the drive through and passed out while ordering! So, we yelled into the mic to wake him up, and he passed out 2 more times while ordering. He finally pulled around to the pay window, hit the wall 3 times, and passed out while paying. So we parked him and made him wait on his food, when in reality we called the police on the guy. It was funny, but pretty scary in its own right." source

"Step 1: Put a 10.5" tortilla on the grill for 5 seconds on one side, 5 seconds on the other side. Step 2: Apply a hashbrown. Step 3: Add a scoop of eggs. Step 4: Add the meat (Steak, Bacon, or Sausage.) Step 5: Add a pinch of cheddar cheese. Step 6: Add Creamy Jalapeno Sauce in the shape of a "Z." Step 7: Fold in the shape of a hexagon. Step 8: Grill for 17 seconds." source

The loaded grillers are getting smaller. The portions that go into them, as well as the rolling procedures, have all changed. So they appear smaller. source

"The meat isn't as bad as everyone says. It is mostly meat but there are some spices and water in there. The texture when it's fresh made is very juicy and delicious. After a half an hour of sitting around, it is a little dry. We are required to stir it every 5-10 minutes to spread the juices around."

"To be honest I don't like anything on the breakfast menu. The preparation and the ingredients that go on the items just make it disgusting to me. It's all very greasy and very nasty. It is expensive and not worth it. You could get a better and more conventional breakfast elsewhere, like Hardee's/Carl Jr.'s."

"The working conditions are hell. At least at the one I work at it is. I work about an hour and a half over every day. The air conditioner doesn't work at all. The job itself is really easy though, so I can't complain there." source

"Of course you can sub out meat for beans! Taco Bell supports vegetarian diets, so you can substitute beans for beef on any item free of charge!" source

"The managers get mad if you are under your drawer amount, even though you are the one who has to pay the missing amount. A firing can happen over money that never goes missing. I was threatened/warned after it happened about 4 or 5 times, but I always paid it on the spot. I just had to refine my counting methods so it didn't happen again." source

As training, every new Taco Bell employee has to complete a worksheet where they list the weight of every ingredient that goes into an item on the Taco Bell menu.

The employees are timed on how fast they serve customers in the drive-thru. The target time for the entire process, including taking the money, passing the food, and having the customer drive away is 1:10.

"Peak times can get very crazy. We probably serve about 100-200 customers in the drive thru and 100 in the store per hour during peak times." source

"Meal deals are the best bang for your buck! They provide you with a food item, a bag of Doritos, and a drink for around $2. So that covers a good sized food item and a drink. (Keep in mind, a drink is about $2 by itself.)" source