Expecting crew members to whip up orders that aren't on the menu

A former McDonald's crew member from Virginia told Business Insider that "there is no such thing as a secret menu."

So how is it possible that Business Insider's Joe Avella and Nathaniel Lee were able to score some "secret menu" items from the fast food giant?

Well, according to a 2015 Reddit post from a former McDonald's crew member, they just lucked out when it came to the on-duty manager and store location.

"There is no 'secret menu,' really," the ex-employee wrote. "What these are, are 'menu hacks,' combinations which aren't on the menu, but are possible with the ingredients found around... What matters is if the manager on-duty will actually let you do these things. It's a crapshoot. Sometimes you'll get lucky. Sometimes you won't."

While McDonald's is famed for the consistency of its food, every store is different when it comes to serving up more avant-garde orders.

"McDonald's is a franchise and is independently owned and operated by thousands of different companies and owners across the world," the former crew member from Virginia told Business Insider. "Yes, we get our food from the same place, and we are all more or less designed the same, but there are regional differences between us."

The ex-employee said they worked at a McDonald's in Lynchburg, Virginia, that was situated beside a busy highway. They said they often encountered customers from North Carolina and Georgia — even some from as far away as Wyoming.

The former crew member said these travelers would often "order things I'd never heard of before in my life."

"If it's not on the menu, we don't have or don't know how to make it," the ex-employee said. "I don't care if they do it in Pennsylvania, I can't give you something we don't serve."

So, if you're craving a Land, Sea, And Air Burger or a Big McChicken, you can head over to your local Golden Arches and try your luck. Just be prepared to pivot back to a standard Big Mac if your request gets denied.