McDonald's

[Wolfie]

Okay so my area got hit hard by a snow storm. Some areas the snow goes half way up to my knee (should give you an idea of how bad it was).

 

Tried to visit the McDonald's at a local hospital (nothing wrong with me, so don't worry), but they were closed. Understandable and was rather courteous of them to hang up a sign saying that they were closed due to the weather and the sign said that they expected to re-open at 11AM. Awesome deal, it let me know that it'd be awhile and to not check back because I would be elsewhere by then. Kudos to that McD's, not only for that, but also because on previous visits, the time spent waiting to place my order (let alone for my order to be completed) is impressively short. One of my first visits to that store had about four long lines waiting to get an order placed. Normally when you see that, the first thought is, "Oh geez, this is gonna take awhile." Under five minutes later, my order was placed and in my hand. Most visits there, the order is in my hand almost before I'm able to finish paying for it. Talk about impressive.

 

Okay so it was closed. No biggie, just have to check other stores in the area. Went to one that is usually open 24/7 in hopes of getting some breakfast. Drive thru is 24/7, the lobby opens at 6AM. Not that day. Few cars in the parking lot was a good sign to me, so I parked and went to the door. Locked. Okay, maybe short handed so they're likely to do drive-thru only. Tried that only to get no response there neither. Would have been helpful had there been a sign on there saying that they were closed. I bet they lost some business because people didn't know when to come back, so instead of returning over and over again, just went elsewhere. Was an inconvenience to get out of the car to find the doors locked and then realize they were completely closed because they didn't have the courtesy to put up a sign saying so.

 

Went to a couple of other McD's (hey, I like their sausage biscuits!) and it was the same thing. Only difference is that instead of stopping and going in, I drove around and looked inside to see if there was any activity. That first one was on the ball, putting up a sign to make sure that potential patrons were informed up front of the situation and even included a re-opening time.

 

 

So the next day, decided to try again. This time I called one of the McD's (near me) to check that they were open AND that they were serving breakfast. This was at 10:20am and breakfast ends at 10:30am (weekdays, but 11am on weekends). The lady that answered the phone said breakfast would end in 5 minutes. So I was like, "I thought it ended at 10:30" and she said it does and said that would be in 5 minutes. Instead of arguing with her (and I did comment that 10:30 was in 10 minutes), I went to the store. I got there at 10:27am (my time, the correct time) and the breakfast menu was still showing. At 10:30, I heard a voice from the back saying to switch over to the lunch menu. I was the second person in line at that point. When it was my turn to order, I started with my breakfast order and was told that they're not serving breakfast anymore. Wait a minute, I was in the breakfast line for 3 minutes before they switched it and despite that, I'm being told that it's lunch now? No way! Ended up speaking to the lady from the phone and she kept on about how their clock said it was 10:25 when I called. When I tried to tell her that their clock was wrong she asked me how I knew my time wasn't off. She obviously thought I wouldn't have a good answer for that because I told her that I keep it synchronized with NIST (Atomic time anyone?) and that she could call NBC, ABC, CBS or any other well known organization to get an opinion on the time. There's also the fact that my cell phone's time is kept accurate by my service (never known the time to be off by more than a couple of seconds, if even that). Of course, when I say any of that, she starts blowing me off (not in a good way) as though I'm full of it. Hate to be the bearing of awesome news, but lady, if 1000 other people say it's 10:30 and you're claiming it's 10:35 (being 5 minutes fast), then guess what.. Odds are, YOU'RE WRONG! Add in the fact that those other people consist of news anchors, news crew, people working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and you're fighting a battle that you just won't win.

 

Not ONCE did she ever say that she would check into it to make sure their clocks weren't off. Never offered that as a solution nor did acknowledge that I can still order breakfast if I was already in line when they switched the menus over. The only thing she did right was to let me order breakfast and made sure it was cooked up. Aside from that, she made no effort to make nice with the consumer. The person behind me left because he wanted breakfast and realized that it'd be a battle to get it. He was there before the switch as well.

[Kat]

Well at least you got your breakfast.. a day late...

 

I have yet to get out and about. After the storm hit last Thursday, all we have had is ice. Hubby took a few hours Sunday to get the truck unstuck from the driveway. He couldn't get back into it once he left. That was so funny! We have a really steep driveway and the truck just kept rolling back... Neighbors must have loved it - I did! My car could not get out of the garage - the snow was too high. We were stuck until then and he had to get to work! This state apparently has no idea how to plow or salt a road. The schools are STILL closed today!

 

P.S. BK's sausage sandwich is so much better!

[ShoeChef]

Wow. I think the standards of customer service have gone down the drain. Hardly anyone follows the old saying, " The customer is always right." anymore. In all reality ( as much of a pain in the butt some customers are) it's true. These people pay your paycheck and keep your business alive, so you should be as nice/helpful as you can ( I'm not saying start giving your customers free money if they ask for it, but within reason) in order to insure they return.

 

 

 

"P.S. BK's sausage sandwich is so much better!"

 

 

I prefer Mickey D's. BK has better hashbrowns though.

[Wolfie]

The complain that I filed:

Date: 02/01/2010 10:30 AM

Visit Type: In-Store

RestAddress: *************

RestCity: *******

RestState: **

RestLandmark: ***********

Comment: At 10:20am, I called the store to make sure it was open and that they were serving breakfast. The person I spoke with (happened to be a manager) told me they would stop serving breakfast in 5 minutes, that her clock said it was 10:25 and not 10:20. I arrived at the store and was inside the lobby at 10:27 (by my time). After another 3 minutes, I heard an announcement made from the back to switch to lunch. At this point, my order had not yet been taken. When I was finally having my order taken, I was being told that they were no longer serving breakfast and when I spoke with the female manager, she tried to insist that their clock said one time compared to my watch. When I said that she could call NBC, CBS or ABC or any other well known company to compare times, she ignored me. I would like to point out that I keep my clocks and watch synchronized with nist.gov, which is accurate to within a second. Not only did she refuse to consider the possibility that their clock was wrong, but she had the audacity to ask me how I knew that my time wasn't wrong (to which I referred to NIST). On top of that, there was another customer behind me that left when he saw the difficulty in trying to get breakfast even though he was there before 10:30. She did make sure that I was able to order breakfast, which I appreciated, but I felt how she handled the matter showed very poor respect to a McDonald's patron.

 

Note: I had actually formatted it (ie, used paragraphs), but it decided to scrunch it all together...

 

 

The reply I received...

Hello ******:

 

I want to thank you for taking the time to share your recent experience at the McDonald's in **********, ** with me. Your feedback is very important to us as it allows us to better understand how we can improve our service to you.

 

I am sorry for the unsatisfactory experience during your recent visit. Please be assured that we want to provide you with an exceptional experience every time you visit us. From your email, it is clear we did not meet your expectations. Again, I am truly sorry we disappointed you.

 

I want you to know that I have already taken action on your feedback. After reading your email, I immediately shared the information you brought to our attention with the local franchise owner of the restaurant you visited. Additionally, I notified our regional McDonald's consultant who works with this owner for follow-up in the restaurant and appropriate corrective action.

 

Again, ******, thank you for sharing your feedback. We appreciate your business and we hope to have the pleasure of serving you soon.

 

Kelly

McDonald's Customer Response Center

 

I also got a voicemail from the office that oversees the McD's that I went to (franchised of course). The woman that left the voicemail apologized for the incident (and referred to the persons actions as being rude, when I didn't use the word myself) and said that she'd be sending me a couple of coupons to get free meals from that McD's (or one of the others that they own).

 

I'm more interested in knowing that the next time I go in there, that the clocks will be set to the right time. If I go in at 10:31am on a weekday, then while it would be good P.R. to still take a breakfast order from me if I wanted to order breakfast, in my opinion, I'm S.O.L. if they say that they already stopped and I just need to get over it. But geez, if someone is already in line for something, then if there's a cut-off time, then you have to honor the time that the customer was in the line. Other businesses do it, where if you're "in" before a cut-off, then you're not punished if the time crosses over before you're served.

 

If that's how she's going to be about switching from breakfast to lunch, I wonder what they do when the lobby closes and there are still guests inside. Do they say, "Sorry, we're not taking anymore orders inside, you have to go out to the drive-thru now?" Do they kick out the guests who are still waiting for their orders to be completed? "Sorry, the lobby is closed, you have to get out now."

[Wolfie]

In reference to the other McD's, where I've had positive experiences, this is the feedback I had left about that location:

I was a bit disappointed to find the store closed on Sunday morning, however it was understandable due to the severe snow storm that our area encountered. On the outside of the doors to this McDonald's store was a sign posted which informed their clients that they would be opening at 11:00 am. I was pleased by this action, as it told why they were closed at the time and let people know when to expect the store to be open again. (Upon trying to visit three other locations, those stores were also closed but did NOT have any signs posted to let potential clients know they were closed nor when they expected to re-open.) This sort of communication shows consideration of other peoples feelings and while I was unable to order breakfast from this location at that time, it was another positive experience at this location. Previous visits to this location have consisted of remarkably fast service regardless of how busy it has been. I have been there when there were about four long lines and my order was taken and completed in under five minutes. The first time that happened, I was stunned because of the fast speed of service but now have come to expect it from this location.

 

I had left that both at the corporate level (main McD's website) and also the state level McD's. The state level got to the PR person first (and I told him I had left one on the main McD's site as well). He called me and I reiterated how impressed I have been with how well run that store is (the one inside the hospital). He told me that the owner takes pride in his restaurants (to which I said it showed) and basically gave me the impression that good service/satisfaction is a must. At the end of it, he asked for my address and then mailed me out two coupons for free meals.

 

I don't have a copy of the state level feedback that I sent, but from the main McD's site, I got a response...

Hello ******:

 

We appreciate the time you took to contact McDonald's. It's a rare person who makes the effort to compliment. Thank you for being that person!

 

Your comments have been forwarded to the franchise owner of the McDonald's restaurant you visited so that appropriate recognition can take place at the restaurant. It is always nice when we learn about restaurant staff who provides our customers with a pleasant experience. I'm certain that your comments will be equally appreciated when shared at the restaurant.

 

Again, thank you for taking the time to share your kind words. We hope to have the privilege of serving you for many years to come.

[Apocalyptic]

I worked at a local McDonald's in my state of Pennsylvania for a total of 4 days before I realized that it was time to go. The management was abusive towards the employees, and I decided that I wasn't going to work minimum wage to be talked to by a dog who was clearly frustrated with their mediocre lives. I've noticed that customer service simply is not important anymore. Today, I called a local business to make a payment on something, and they transferred me to quite a few people before I was able to actually make the payment. One of the representatives that I spoke with actually answered the phone and said "What?" to which I replied "Excuse me?" and he quickly apologized and asked how he could assist me. I didn't get his name but it would have been a joy to file a report against him had I gotten his name. So rude. Anyway, the management at my local McDonald's is abusive and gets off on embarrassing its employees in front of customers. They lack a lot of professionalism. I avoid McDonald's as much as possible.

[Wolfie]

You should complain to the owners of the store. Perhaps get a few free meals out of it. Especially if you start recording it and then it results in changes being made.

[Midnight420]

Love the food....hate the service..

 

its rare to find a good store location that actually take pride in their work/store. Not that I go often (for obvious health reasons), but when I do, it would be nice to actually get what I ordered...7 outta 10 times the order is incorrect and I have to go back to get it resolved .. maybe if they payed the employees alittle better they could acquire/retain a quality staff.