It was 1984. Drive-in movies were still a thing, Prince’s Purple Rain was album of the year and Sandra Diewert was hired for her first-ever job as part of the original crew at the brand new Ladner McDonald’s.
Little did the Grade 11 South Delta Secondary student know at the time the “Golden Arch” journey she was about to embark on.
“McDonald’s actually came to our school to do interviews in the cafeteria. I was a shy kid, but I thought why not at that point,” recalled Diewert. “When I was told I got the job my thought was ‘awesome’ and I went to the Town and Country Inn for the orientation.”
Addressing his newly-hired staff was manager Steve Krawchuk.
“He was in front of the whole group and talking about how after 10 years, you get a sabbatical and all that kind of stuff,” continued Diewert. “He said, you know, one day you guys could be up here too. We’re just all looking at each other as I was just 15 at the time.”
Those certainly proved to be prophetic words.
Thirty-eight years later, Krawchuk now owns the Ladner McDonald’s along with three other franchises, including Tsawwassen, while Diewert serves as his operations supervisor for the four locations. The pair have been busy with the Ladner restaurant’s grand re-opening celebration this weekend following an extensive renovation.
Diewert initially worked at the Ladner location for more than three years and was promoted to a swing manager. She then made an inquiry about working out of the McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada regional office in Burnaby. Her dad was an accountant and she always had an interest in working with numbers.
She started as a data entry clerk in accounting and also did night courses at BCIT, which the company paid for, towards earning her Certified General Accountant (CGA). Diewert was doing bookkeeping and accounting when she was approached about a position in purchasing.
She got the job and was soon off to Hamburger University, a training facility at the McDonald’s world headquarters in Chicago, for additional learning. More education followed at Douglas College, again paid by McDonald’s.
Diewert eventually left the company but would occasionally see Krawchuk since both lived in Ladner.
“I would tell him that if ever he needed help to just let me know. I could always do it on a weekend,” said Diewert. “Then one day we ran into each other again and Steve, he was like are you serious? Will you help me? His supervisor was moving to Edmonton.”
It’s now been four years since Diewert re-united with her first-ever boss.
“What I really like people to know out there is McDonald’s isn’t just about serving hamburgers. There’s so much more behind it with the training with the opportunities. If you want to get into management, they will give you all the training you need,” added Diewert.
