McDonald’s, McDonald’s, McDonald’s I hate it, however I’m not going to lie I ate it. The burger was good and the pickles were great however the fries I couldn’t not get. The workers were all slightly confused and the salt came standard on the fries. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy but it seemed like they were just lazy.
Unfortunately I am in school during the day or at work, so I cannot get to a McDonald’s, but today on my way to work at about 10pm I walked into a McDonald’s near my house, it was not packed but had about 15-20 people. As I waited in line I was getting a little anxious and finally I came to the counter. There were about 4 people behind the register looking at me, and a gentleman in his late 40’s asked me for my order. I said “I would like a hamburger with 4 pickles and a small fries with no salt”. He looked at me all confused and at first asked if I wanted a hamburger or a cheeseburger, so I replied hamburger with 4 pickles. The gentleman looked at me and said so “one burger with pickles and a small fries”, I corrected him with salt-less fries and 4 pickles, he told me that he could not make fries without salt, so I told him to delete them off the order. Again the confused clerk, review my order incorrectly, checking that I wanted 4 hamburger’s; I laughed and reminded him that it was only one burger and 4 pickles. The young lady at the register next to mine seemed intrigued by my order and stood watching my clerk try to get it right. Eventually he repeated my order correctly, “1 hamburger with 4 pickles”. Next he went to the chef in the back and told him to put 4 pickles on the burger; he did, and out came my burger as perfect as can be.
The whole staff seemed like a group of brain washed zombies, by asking for something unusual they were all confused and had no idea how to handle the situation. My order completely threw them off their routine of just pushing a button for orders. It seemed that there was no way to electronically submit a request for 4 pickles so my clerk had to actually walk over and talk to the chef. I would have to say that this is quite an unusual order, but was handled fairly well after he comprehended what exactly I wanted. The biggest issue for the clerk seemed to be actually understanding what it was I wanted. I could not get my fries, however the burger had exactly 4 pickles on it. As I checked my receipt I noticed what the clerk had done. I was charged an extra $.15 for extra pickles, but the exact number was not on the receipt.
If I were a McDonald’s consultant the only change that I would have to make on the order screen is possibly adding a comment box. With a small comment box on the bottom, the clerk could automatically request special orders, such as 4 pickles and not have to walk all the way to the back. However this is a rare occurrence at a fast food chain considering most people just order their food via a number. An investment into special order comment boxes would require a keyboard or a writing utensil, and would be quite costly to upgrade at thousands of restaurants. I think that the best way to handle this situation was the way it was handled, directly through the chef. I would have to say leave it as is, if a restaurant serves 100 meals a day and 2 of them are special order then just walk over to the chef. Since this is not a usual process an extra 30seconds did nobody any harm. I’m also pretty sure that nobody other then I has ever requested a specific number of pickles. For those people with specialty orders, it is a simple request, because a clerk can easily add ingredients with the push of the extra button, and the ingredient button.
Ultimately the situation was handled well. I got my 4 pickles and the fries were just a ridiculous request. People who are watching their calories or want a healthier French fry should not be going to McDonald’s. The fries are prepared in batches and if one batch is not salted then the remainder of the fries after my order would have to go to waste. This would not be a smart managerial or financial move. As far as the confusion, the employees were slightly baffled but adapted quite rapidly; my order barely took longer then usual. Again I would not change anything because this is a rare occurrence, and the employees deserve a hand, or in this case a burger.
Unfortunately I am in school during the day or at work, so I cannot get to a McDonald’s, but today on my way to work at about 10pm I walked into a McDonald’s near my house, it was not packed but had about 15-20 people. As I waited in line I was getting a little anxious and finally I came to the counter. There were about 4 people behind the register looking at me, and a gentleman in his late 40’s asked me for my order. I said “I would like a hamburger with 4 pickles and a small fries with no salt”. He looked at me all confused and at first asked if I wanted a hamburger or a cheeseburger, so I replied hamburger with 4 pickles. The gentleman looked at me and said so “one burger with pickles and a small fries”, I corrected him with salt-less fries and 4 pickles, he told me that he could not make fries without salt, so I told him to delete them off the order. Again the confused clerk, review my order incorrectly, checking that I wanted 4 hamburger’s; I laughed and reminded him that it was only one burger and 4 pickles. The young lady at the register next to mine seemed intrigued by my order and stood watching my clerk try to get it right. Eventually he repeated my order correctly, “1 hamburger with 4 pickles”. Next he went to the chef in the back and told him to put 4 pickles on the burger; he did, and out came my burger as perfect as can be.
The whole staff seemed like a group of brain washed zombies, by asking for something unusual they were all confused and had no idea how to handle the situation. My order completely threw them off their routine of just pushing a button for orders. It seemed that there was no way to electronically submit a request for 4 pickles so my clerk had to actually walk over and talk to the chef. I would have to say that this is quite an unusual order, but was handled fairly well after he comprehended what exactly I wanted. The biggest issue for the clerk seemed to be actually understanding what it was I wanted. I could not get my fries, however the burger had exactly 4 pickles on it. As I checked my receipt I noticed what the clerk had done. I was charged an extra $.15 for extra pickles, but the exact number was not on the receipt.
If I were a McDonald’s consultant the only change that I would have to make on the order screen is possibly adding a comment box. With a small comment box on the bottom, the clerk could automatically request special orders, such as 4 pickles and not have to walk all the way to the back. However this is a rare occurrence at a fast food chain considering most people just order their food via a number. An investment into special order comment boxes would require a keyboard or a writing utensil, and would be quite costly to upgrade at thousands of restaurants. I think that the best way to handle this situation was the way it was handled, directly through the chef. I would have to say leave it as is, if a restaurant serves 100 meals a day and 2 of them are special order then just walk over to the chef. Since this is not a usual process an extra 30seconds did nobody any harm. I’m also pretty sure that nobody other then I has ever requested a specific number of pickles. For those people with specialty orders, it is a simple request, because a clerk can easily add ingredients with the push of the extra button, and the ingredient button.
Ultimately the situation was handled well. I got my 4 pickles and the fries were just a ridiculous request. People who are watching their calories or want a healthier French fry should not be going to McDonald’s. The fries are prepared in batches and if one batch is not salted then the remainder of the fries after my order would have to go to waste. This would not be a smart managerial or financial move. As far as the confusion, the employees were slightly baffled but adapted quite rapidly; my order barely took longer then usual. Again I would not change anything because this is a rare occurrence, and the employees deserve a hand, or in this case a burger.
