Emma set to serve up an Olympic treat

Jul 9 2012 by Andy Newport, Paisley Daily Express

AFAST-FOOD worker will serve up an Olympic treat to sports fans after her burger-flipping skills earned her a gold medal from bosses.

McDonald’s floor manager Emma Neish has been handed an all-expenses-paid trip to London to work at one of the firm’s four giant restaurants based at the Olympic Park, where the likes of sprinter Usain Bolt will go for glory later this summer.

The 19-year-old Renfrew girl – who normally works in the burger chain’s Renfrew Road outlet in Paisley – is all set to serve customers in what will become the busiest McDonald’s store in the world for the three-week period covering the Games.

Emma was chosen after her hard work and dedication earned her the title of the Renfrew Road restaurant’s Olympic Champion of the Month for May last year.

She then proved her abilities in front of senior McDonald’s bosses at a selection event at Braehead, in Renfrew, involving another 80 hard-working staff members.

Now she and 13 colleagues from Renfrewshire are under starter’s orders to head south on August 1, when they will combine work with play as they are also handed tickets to some of the Games’ most exciting events.

Former Renfrew High pupil Emma said: “I’m really looking forward to getting down there.

“When I found out about the Olympic champion contest, I was keen to get involved, so I just kept working hard and made sure I did my job as best I could.

“I won the award in May last year and was put forward for the selection event at Braehead. It was just a normal shift but the senior management were watching your every move to see how you coped. It was nerve-wracking but I did well.”

Emma and her pals will now be put up at the four-star Lancaster Hotel in central London, before heading off for her daily duties.

“I’ll be working six-hour shifts, working on a till and anywhere else I’m needed,” she said. “There are four restaurants inside the Olympic park, including two in the actual stadium itself.

Incredible

“I won’t find out what restaurant I’ll be based in until I get down there but it’s an incredible opportunity for me and I’m really looking forward to it. One of the perks is that we should get to see some of the Olympic events, which will be amazing.

“I really like the swimming and diving competitions, so I’m hoping to see them. It would be great to see Tom Daley in action and, hopefully, he can pick up a medal.”

Trips to the London Eye and other capital city attractions have also been arranged and Emma is hoping this year’s visit is more successful than her last.

She revealed: “We qualified for a football tournament called the McDonald’s Cup last year and played at Wembley, which was an incredible experience, but we didn’t get much of a chance to look round the city because it was at the same time as the riots were going on!”

Emma’s boss Peter O’Keefe, who runs three McDonald’s franchises in Renfrewshire, said she deserves the chance to get her teeth into the Olympics.

He added: “Emma started with us when she was just 16 and has worked her way up from being a crew worker to her current position.

“Her work ethic and the way she acts in the store impressed us a lot. When we were looking for people to become Olympic Champion of the Month, we wanted people who turned up on time and who worked hard.

“Emma was then picked for that selection event at our Braehead store, where there were 80 people from across Scotland competing. One of the stores at the Olympic Park is expected to be the busiest McDonald’s in the world for those three weeks.

“There will be a lot of high-profile people using our restaurants, so we need to ensure we have our best staff there and Emma is definitely one of them.”