The McDonald Project

There were numerous attempts on ordering from the dollar menu.  The first attempt was done late night Saturday.  I when to a McDonald restaurant located on Coney Island Ave and Avenue U.  I parked my car outside of the restaurant and walk in side to place my order.  Because I knew placing this ordering will be time consuming and troublesome.  I told the cashier I wanted to order a hamburger with exactly 5 pickles (and totally forgot that I also need to order fries).  At first she didn’t understand what I wanted to order.  As I told her the second time around, she started laughing.  She didn’t think I was serious about it.  Maybe that had something to do with me looking a little drunk, since I actually came from a bar.  I also explained to the cashier that I wanted a receipt showing that I order hamburger with 5 pickles.  Cashier inputted the order in to the machine and communicated with the kitchen about my order.   The cashier didn’t tell me how long I have to wait.  She just took me to step aside, so she can help the next customer.  I waited about 5 minutes for my order to arrive.  The five minutes wait was acceptable to me for fast food order.  So I opened up the burger to check and make sure that it contains exactly 5 pickles.  When asked for the receipt which she failed to print out at the time of the transaction.  A manager was called into action.  When the receipt was printed out to show extra pickles, it only showed “one” extra pickles once.  But instead of me going to complain about the issue, I decided to leave the restaurant.  I knew people at the restaurant weren’t taking me seriously.  And I can always attempt to do this project another day. 

So I decided to attempt this project again by going to McDonald near my home.  I walked into a McDonald restaurant late Sunday afternoon.  I told the cashier that I wanted a hamburger with exactly 5 pickles and fries with Big Mac sauces (I totally forgot to ask for well-done fries.  I hope you won’t take off a lot of point for this) and a receipt showing hamburger with extra pickles 5 times & fries with Big Mac sauces.  Maybe this is an unusual order for the cashier, because she didn’t understand what I wanted a first.  As I restate my order to the cashier, she wrote it down on a piece of paper and told me that she needs to consult with her manager.  I told her okay, take as long as you want just make sure I get what I want.  After returning from consulting with her manager, I asked if everything was okay.  The cashier states, everything is fine.  I will input your order into the system.  After the cashier input the order into the system, she communicated her request with the kitchen chief.  The cashier states to me that the wait would be about 5 minutes.  Five minutes to me was acceptable since my order was a special request.  The cashier really pay close attention to my order, she kept on reminding the kitchen what I ordered.  She wrapped the Big Mac sauces in a small container for me to take home.  A receipt was printed out showing what I ordered.  I really felt special as they took the time out and help me put the order together.  The cashier didn’t tell me to step aside to take another customer.  The cashier dedicates all her attention to me and my special order.  The whole process was seamless, the cashier communicated with the manager about my orders and manager told her what she needed to do.  She inputs my order into the system, and communicated with the kitchen about my order.  The manager involvement was non-existence in this process. 

 The staff’s management processed my order was great.  The staff was well trained to handle special request.  The organizational process does not need to change.  The manager should only get involve if employee cannot accommodate the customer request.  This McDonald restaurant was set up to handle “extra special” orders effectively.  The only interaction between the manager and the employee was when I first placed my order.  Because this interaction took place in the background, I was not aware how the manager handles this situation.  But interaction seems to put the cashier on track as to how to input the order.  But what I would recommend to manager to do is walk the cashier step-by-step.  Make sure everything is done correctly.  The communication to me as a customer was great.  I was told by the cashier that this was a special order, so it will require a waiting period of 5 minutes.  The cashier told me this request was certainly unusual but it shouldn’t be a problem putting this order together.  The cashier that took my order was well trained.  But I do advocate company regular training their employees in all aspect.  A well trained employee mean good customer service.  A weakness that I observed is when cashier first communicated my order with the manager.  If the employee was well trained in all aspects, interaction with the management would not be necessary.  In my opinion, the cashier took leadership during my visit.  The cashier consulted with manager at first to make sure my request was possible.  From there, the cashier took the leadership role handling my order.  While I think leadership skill are require in all retail environment.  If there problem or issue arise, someone could take leadership to handle the problem.  Manager is the one key individual that definitely could have shown more leadership qualities.  But the manager absence during this whole process, the credit is definitely due to the cashier for being well trained.  But the manager should show leadership by guiding the cashier step by step to how to input the order.  But due to the manager absence, the whole process was solely relies on the cashier itself.