At first site of the requirements for this extra credit project I was in disbelief. I think I could say with confidence that this was definitely he most creative extra credit project I have been given in my life. Staring at the paper I thought there was no way im going to be able to complete this order, I didn’t even know there was such a thing as well done fries, but I knew I had to at least give it a try. I wasnt willing to give up 10 points of extra credit. On November 6 2010 I put McDonalds 1992 slogan of “what you want its what you get” to the test. As a child the mere site of a McDonalds would fill me with joy, this day however there was not even a trace of those feelings, instead they were replaced with feeling of anxiety. I was thinking about how the McDonalds clerk would respond to my bizarre order and already planning on which McDonalds I was going to visit after the manager tells me they could not fulfill my request. Upon entering I first scanned the place and saw which of the clerks I thought would be the best to take my order. I decided to go with the only guy clerk feeling that I would be able to express my order clearer and get a little loud with him if I had too. This ended up being a great decision, I believe I got one of the nicest McDonalds employees ive ever met.
Once it was time to order I began by telling the guy that my order was going to be pretty specific and that I needed everything written on the receipt. Even with this warning I do not believe he was ready for what was to come next. I started with the hamburger with exactly 5 pickles on it stressing that the 5 pickles needed to be shown on the receipt. He then asked “you’re whole order is going to be like that?... 5 pickles?” when I replied yes he told me to give him a few seconds so that he could find out how to write that on the receipt, and told one of the cooks not to prepare the order that comes up until he explains it to them. He went to ask his manager how he could write my order and im guessing he was told to hand write it on the receipt. I completed my order adding the small fries well done with the side of Big Mac sauce the receipt was printed and he began writing in the missing parts of my order on it. When I noticed this I asked him if there was any way he would be able to get it printed on the receipt because that’s how I needed it. Instead of going back to his manager who I guess he felt was no help he decided to try and figure it out on his own. The only part that seemed to give him trouble was the 5 pickles, which was weird because I would’ve thought that the fries would have been the most unusual part of the order. He came up with the idea of just showing each pickle as “add pickle” and adding “well” to the fries which he said was how they indicate well done, and that seemed fine to me. He then went to go talk to the cook to explain my order to him. I saw him personally place my fries back into the deep fryer for a few more seconds, and make a unique creative holder for m extra big mac sauce using some sort of container and covering it with an upside down soda cud lid. My order was placed and completed in approximately nine minutes, which is not close to the 58 second wait time displayed on the register but acceptable given the complexities of my order. Upon examination my order was completed correctly and the cashier had completed it without the attitude I had expected, and without even questioning the bizarreness of my order. I sat down and began to eat the well done fries with big mac sauce I had been waiting to give a try.
As a management consultant of this McDonalds I would have a few complaints but would not be completely disappointed with the performance of the employees. The order placed was not a typical one and there were able to satisfy the customer in a time that wasn’t horrible. When dealing with the organization of the McDonalds I would say that they are not prepared sufficiently for an order such as this. The order was able to be completed but in a time that is not typical of a fast food restaurant. It seems the employees are trained to handle the typical orders, and when an order out of the ordinary comes along they choke. The reason for this maybe that in an establishment such as a McDonalds you get many different employees coming and going making it hard to properly train each one of them for every expected event. I was not surprised to see that the employee had never received an order such as mine and expected to wait longer because of it. To correct this problem however I may focus on getting more fulltime workers then the typical high school part time workers. I understand that this may result in increased wages but it will also provide more efficient workers and happier customers.
In the communications field I believe the cashier did an excellent job at expressing what he had to to his manager, the cook, and to me ( the customer). He made sure he understood the order and wrote it exactly as I wanted it, and then made sure it was made accordingly. If there were any complaints in the communications department it would have been with the managers communication with the cashier. The manager didn’t seem to really try and help the cashier or pay as much importance to the issue as she needed to. If I requested the order to be printed on the receipt I do not believe she should’ve taken the easy way out and told him to write it out, but rather took the time and showed him how to correctly print it on the receipt. To correct this problem I believe better training is necessary and better screening for management positions should exist. Its not only about the amount of experience a person has, in an industry such as this experience is nothing without proper communication skills.
I believe overall more training is what was needed to deal with orders such as this. The cashier basically had to come up with a solution to satisfy the customer on the spot, I was lucky that I had gotten this cashier that logically thought through the problem and used what he knew to come up with a solution. I feel with someone else many more complications would have arisen due to this lack of training.
If any one would have been described as a leader in this situation I believe it would have been the cashier. He stepped up to the plate made sure my order was recorded as I requested and then personally made sure my order got completed as I requested taking it upon himself to prepare my well done fries with a side of big mac sauce. While waiting for my order I had also seen him ask his manager if he would be able to deliver an order to a table of elderly women so that they would be able to sit down instead of having to wait at the counter. I believe leadership is a quality needed in a place like McDonalds. Leadership increases productivity, creates order, and most importantly provides a happier customer. Such drive and desire to go above and beyond requirements is something you don’t really see in a place like McDonalds making me believe that the employee was just starting. All employees should act like he did however especially the manager to set a good example.
Looking back on this assignment I realize it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. It was a great learning experience, provided me with a good story to tell and how many people can say they’ve eaten well-done fries.
No comments:
Post a Comment