Experience #1:
During one of my breaks in my Wednesday schedule, I went to meet up with my boyfriend at the NBA store on Fifth Avenue. Afterward, I had just enough time left before my next class to visit a McDonald's near the store, around Rockefeller Center.
Around this time, many people were out from work to getting their lunch, so the lines were long and the cashier registers were crowded.
When I reached the counter, I ordered the special "hamburger with exactly four pickles and the well done small french fries with no salt". Not only did the cashier lack enthusiasm for her job, but she also lacked manners. She asked me to repeat my order while rolling her eyes. Once the order was sent, she went to the deep fryer area and told the person my special request. He also rolled his eyes and sighed deeply while opening a fresh batch of frozen fries. The time it took for the burger and fries was about 12 minutes, which does not seem reasonable for such a small order, even with the special requests. By the time I received my order, I had to ask her again for the receipt, which she forgot. Two major errors: the receipt did not include the "extra pickles" and the burger itself only had HALF a sliced pickle, when i specifically asked for four and placed an emphasis with my four fingers on the NUMBER 4! Frustrated and short on time, I walked out of McDonald's and handed a homeless man my burger and fries. This experience was entirely worthless.
Experience #2:
The second time, I went to a McDonald's on Kissena Blvd in Queens with my boyfriend (again) on a Saturday night. This location was not as busy and bustling as the one near Rockefeller Center. At this time of night, the McDonald's on Kissena was pretty empty, but the drive-thru was still busy.
Once I entered, there was no line and too many open registers. I emphasized that I really needed the receipt to state "1 hamburger, four pickles; 1 small fries, no salt". The cashier smiled nervously, then looked at the cashier next to him and asked if the receipt can say four pickles, and she laughed and told him no. The he turned back and asked me if it was okay that it said "extra pickles" instead. The rest of the order came out smoothly so I began to worry that this place would make the same mistakes as the first time. When he handed me the receipt, he smiled and said that this was the weirdest order that day and it was the highlight of his night (my guess is that it was a slow night since the place was pretty empty). After he handed me the receipt with the correct information, he wen to tell the manager about my order to make sure everything comes out right, and he also checked to see if there were exactly four pickles and my fries had absolutely no salt before handing me my meal. All the employees were very confused about the order and looked around to see who the customer was, but they were all in such a good mood that they just laughed about it.
I really liked this McDonald's. Everyone was so polite and funny. However, I'm not sure if this is the right work environment for employees to get their job done, it sure is the right atmosphere for customers to enjoy their time while ordering and receiving their meal. The best part about this experience was that I didn't wait long for my order and it came out just as I asked.
What I liked about this McDonald's was that they were effective, organized, and communicated well. The cashier did not need me to repeat myself, but he wanted to be sure that the number of pickles that I requested was four and the the fries absolutely cannot have salt on it. The people in the back heard the order, and the one who made the burger completed it correctly. After the grilled meat was placed on the bottom part of the bun, the cook recounted the pickles before placing the top part of the bun on top of it. The person who did my fries pulled out a new batch of frozen fries and placed it in the deep fryer, and no, he did not add salt on it. The communication between the employees at this McDonald's was smooth because everyone understood the order and heard it again directly from the cashier.
Overall, the customer service was outstanding. I commend them on their social skills and effort in making sure that customer is satisfied. The only problem was the time that I went to McDonald's; I wonder if my impression of the restaurant would change if I went at a busier time. Another problem that I personally feel is that I don't eat McDonald's meals, unless I have no other choice (like if I was on a road trip and the service area seems to only have McDonald's or Burger King), so how can McDonald's improve on their standards so that picky eaters like me will bend to their influence? I guess the best they can do right now is letting the customers know they can request to change a menu item. One last problem I encountered was that my burger was sloppy; since I specified what to put into the burger, I figured maybe they would take the time to fix it better. Unfortunately when I unwrapped the burger, the meat was almost falling out and the pickles were stacked on top of each other rather than spread out over the meat.
Comparing the two locations that I went to, I realized that there is a difference in work ethics. The employees in the first location do not know how to treat their customers with respect. They viewed me as an abnormal customer with my requests. They only worry about their job, and not following the policy of how McDonald's serves to satisfy the customers. The second location serves to make their customers happy. Even though I prefer not to eat McDonald's, "every bite is pure joy" the second time around.
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