McDonalds… “Having it your way?”

Assignment:

To purchase 1 small hamburger with exactly 4 pickles and one small order of well done fries with no salt.

Assessment:

Upon arriving on a rainy day last Wednesday at the McDonald’s located on 6th Avenue b/w 47th and 48th St, I was surprise to find that there was a long line ahead of me waiting to order, not only one line but five lines. I purposely went at 2:30pm anticipating that I will miss the lunch rush hour and therefore the server will definitely place my order correctly. It was quite the opposite.
As I wait in line to place my order, I notice the commotion going on in the back, cashier’s shouting out orders, workers looked agitated as they give the cashier what was ask for, the person responsible for handling the drinks looked weary and fatigued going back and forth with two cups of soda for two different cashiers. The worker responsible for taken care of the fries had this perturbed look on his face, as if he’s in an amiss situation of some sort as he throw the finished fries out of the fryer into the finished pile and salt them. At the same time he jostled his way through the crowded staff to throw another set of fries in the hot oil. As for the workers in the back who puts the sandwiches together, I really couldn’t see their facial expressions. All I saw was the cashier’s in front screaming out the order to another worker who’s standing about 10 centimeters away from each other, and that worker apparently goes to the back, deliver the order and bring the former finished order to the cashier so she/he may give the customer his/her order. At that point I noticed it took 5 workers to process an order (1 cashier, 1 worker who cooks the fries, 1 worker who gets the drinks, 1 worker who makes the sandwich and the last worker who walks back and forth delivering orders to the back and bringing the finished product to the cashier).

As I stepped up to place my order, the very courteous and friendly cashier ask, “How can I help you,” I told her I wanted a small order of well done fries with no salt and a hamburger with 4 pickles. It took about no more than 20 seconds to place my order; I then stepped aside to wait for my order. The cashier then relay my order to the employee next to her who went to the back to tell the worker who puts my order together and that took about 1 min. In about 1 min later, my order was ready. I tasted the fries and they were according to my order, just perfect. I then unwrapped my hamburger to make sure I got what I wanted. As I did that, I think I may have gotten the attention of the cashier, the worker responsible for taken care of the fries, and the one employee who goes back and forth. I then took out my blackberry, and that’s when they all look intently at what I was doing. Indeed my order was incorrect; it seemed like the lady in the back decided to give me an extra pickle since I asked for 4.


I nicely asked the cashier’ to please remove one pickle, I didn’t ask for 5 pickles, I only asked for 4. The worker took my order to the back fixed it and brought me the correct order. It took about 4 mins for the staff at that McDonalds to get my order correct. The cashier was very friendly, and after I took the picture of the hamburger with five pickles, they moved even faster to make sure I got what I asked for.
In summation, I would give the staff at this particular McDonalds, a good rating not a great one. First and foremost, I did not receive what I asked for the first time. If I was a consultant asked to help them improve their efficiency, I would definitely tackle this issue. A happy customer is one who gets what he or she wants in a timely manner at McDonalds. I thought they all worked well together, their coordination was good, but ther communication was meager (mainly because I didn’t get what I ordered the first time). I think I would eliminate the worker who takes the role as their communicate tool all together. Customer service was good except for the fact that I didn’t get what I wanted. I would also advise them to have more of an assembly line in the back putting the sandwiches together, for example, one worker should be responsible for putting the lettice and tomatoes on the bun, while another put the hamburger or chicken on the bun, while another warp the sandwich. I think that this will intimately cut their lead time and this way a customer might get what they ordered because each person has his or her own task, no longer will there be one person responsible for putting the sandwiches together.