With three young children, McDonald’s is usually the place they request for meals on the go. It’s not my favorite, but I usually give in because they love going to McDonald’s. Well, we recently went through the drive-thru at McDonald’s and let me just say it was the worst experience. It totally turned me off to McDonald’s and I’m not sure I’ll go back.
So we order our food, pay at the first window and head on to the second window to pick up our food. The girl at the second window could have cared less about us. She hands us our drinks, while not speaking at all. Usually when you hand customers their food or drinks in this case, you should probably say something along the lines of “Here are your drinks ma’am and it will be just a couple of seconds before your food is ready”, heck even “Your food will be right out” would have sufficed. She said N-O-T-H-I-N-G!
So our food is finally bagged and ready and she proceeds to hand me our food. We had several bags because the children got Happy Meals and each comes in its own bag. She tries to hand me all THREE bags at one time. Really? Could she not have taken the time to hand me the bigger bag and then the Happy Meals or vice-versa?
I noticed a little sticker on the window where they are rationing their sauce supply and you would have to pay $.30 for a sauce if you didn’t order chicken nuggets. If you get a 4-piece chicken nugget Happy Meal, you can request one sauce. If you get the 10-piece chicken nugget meal, you can request two sauces. After she hands me our bags, I asked if I could have barbecue sauce. (Which she should have asked if I wanted anyway, along with ketchup!) The manager behind her says, “Well, did she get chicken nuggets?”, and she proceeds to ask me, “Well, did you get chicken nuggets?” Who the heck is bagging the food in this place. Nobody knows if I fricken’ bought chicken nuggets and they act like I’m trying to pull something over on them over stinkin’ barbecue sauce! Really McDonald’s?!?
So, when did McDonald’s start charging for condiments anyway? I can go to any other fast food restaurant in my area and can request sauce with out any questions, even if I don’t order chicken nuggets! Is McDonald’s that bad off that they need to charge $.30 for a tablespoon of barbecue sauce? I’m not sure they if they thought about that decision hard enough. If I have to pay for my condiments, I’ll happily take my business elsewhere!
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Sadly, that’s exactly how our McDonalds is too. Very rude employees. We have this one guy that acts like a robot, no words, no emotion, just robotically hands food through the window.
And if you ask for ketchup, no matter how many fries, nuggets, whatever you bought, you get two measily little packets.
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I even had to pay for mayonnaise which I use for my fries. Any other place its free.
I agree the employees are rude and you are lucky if they get your order right. I have the same pet peeve with Burger King.
Ooo, that’s awful. And I hate that they can just get away with it cause everyone just keeps on going, including me.
what a load of crap….ugh ours hasn’t done this yet but I am sure they will >:( shame on Mc Donalds!
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That is just insane. That little packet of sauce is probably only worth three cents. If that!
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I think McDonald’s has gotten cocky because they are the number one food chain and think that they no longer have to even TRY! There’s no excuse for bad service and I would be all over their web-site contacting everyone on their list to let my voice be heard!
.-= Stacey´s last blog .."The Big Bang Theory" Season Two =-.
Same here in KC…it’s getting ridiculous! I have a fav Mexican joint, the ONLY thing that peeves me is that they charge $0.80 for a freakin oz of sour cream. HELLO! You’re serving Mexican food…sour cream is a requirement. Maybe it’s just me. Where I used to work we had a phrase called “Give ‘em the pickle.” Why would you charge your customers for something as simple as a pickle if you want to keep them happy and make them returning customers??? Boycott McD’s until they make a change I say.
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Oi…McDonalds. Makes me think of the documentary Super Size Me.
Poor customer service is no good. We want smiles and manners!
I can’t believe they’re charging for condiments now!
I certainly sympathize with you. It is very difficult when management doesn’t train their staff well. It’s as though it’s a different era and this one doesn’t care. It’s a sad situation indeed. I agree with your conclusion. I’d do the same. I’d take my business elsewhere.
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I had a different experience at my local McD’s. The kids that work there are usually really nice and polite to us. There is only one girl there that is kind of robotic, but otherwise it is a good experience.
Our store doesn’t charge extra for condiments which is nice.
I think our country has lost it’s sense of pride at the workplace and sense of customer service too.
Employees now have bad attitudes, bad manners and can’t hear a darn thing because they are either on their cells or listening to their iPods! Unfortunately, I don’t think management ever cares because it’s just too much effort to discipline their employees (much like our children, eh?).
As for the condiment issue, that’s bunk. I agree. Is McDonald’s really that bad off that they can’t give us extra sauce?
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that is why we always go to chik-fil-a when we get fast food. the food tastes better, it’s healthier, the employees are kind and they also use their proceeds for good.
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I am not surprised at all. This is the standard of service I get too. Don’t you hate it when they hand you your stuff and say,”There you go” (or in your case, nothing)
Not, “Thank you.”
And because I am polite, I always say,”Thank you” and then they say,”You’re welcome” ?? Wha??
It’s time we start voting with our dollar.
Good job writing about something lots of us are frustrated about!!
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I hate that they charge you for condiments; sometimes they ask if you want them but don’t tell you that there is a fee for them. That is even more annoying.
I supersized something I’d gotten at McDonalds, and they gave me the wrong sized cup – I asked someone else if the cup I had was the largest, and they said no, and got me the larger one. But really, it should be right the first time.
I always go into fast food restaurants and add the condiments myself. I can’t tell you how many times they gave me the wrong thing – Wendy’s gave me a burger with mustard on it instead of the bacon cheesburger I’d ordered. And it was YELLOW mustard which I truly despise. They replaced it with what I’d ordered, but no apology.
Ages ago, Ground Round charged me 50¢ for barbecue sauce. After that I brought my own bottle, LOL! And now they are closed!
awful customer service, eek!
Our McDonalds out here in So Cal have been “claiming” to cahrge for sauce for a few years now. I say claiming because most of the time they give it to us for free
.-= Tena´s last blog ..WW: Need a Lift? =-.
I noticed the sign last time I was there. I think they’re losing money because they throw 20 ketchups in your bag everytime you order food! Start handing out a reasonable amount and you won’t have to ration the condiments people actually want!
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crazy, they can be so rude! I remember when I was working quite young I had to deal with some rude customers talking down to me and it could set me off for the entire day. Now I try to be extra nice to them since I know what it’s like. However there are still those I’d like to smack (lol).
how much could those condiments be setting mcdonalds back? seriously, like .0000001 cents?
I hate this fact of Mcdonalds and I thought this could have been only a CT issue. Sad to see it is not. My son hates ketchup. He likes sweet and sour sauce for his fries. I spent 20 bucks in food. Give him a sauce. Not hard.
Corp goons is what i say
Not to play the devil’s advocate, but maybe the employee was having a bad day. Don’t let her bad day ruin your day. She makes minimum wage, for a pretty crappy job, cut her some slack. As stated above, if you’re really that pissed off “vote with your dollar” and don’t go there again.
As for paying for condiments, I think it is great. That’s been the standard for European FF restaurants for years. I think it is time we all learned to cut back. We should all carry reusuable bags to stores, bring our own food on airplanes, and pay for condiments. Nothing in life is free. Making people pay .05 for packets would save a big company like McDonald’s millions every year, and an optimist like me would like to think some of that savings would get passed down to the consumer. Yes, one free packet should be included with certain foods, but why should I subsidize the people who ask for 20 packets, most of which no doubt end up in the landfill, or worse, as litter on the side of the road.
@Tammy I can totally understand having a bad day. We all do. But when you work in a position where you interact with customers, you have to put your personal issues aside.
Although I love your optimism, I doubt the savings would end up in our pocketbook. As good as it may sound, I just don’t see it happening. McDonald’s has continued to raise their prices, make portion sizes smaller and fail at customer satisfaction, as you can see from reading the prior responses.
Do I think McDonald’s should hand out 20 barbecue packets for a 4-piece nugget? Of course not! But I also don’t agree with charging customers $.30 for one packet either.
Wow that is insane! Would would think that they would be a little more polite too! Working in the service field whether it be fast food or the keg! And having to pay for sauce that is crazy!
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The last three times I went to Mc Donalds they have gotten my order wrong and this last time I ordered two cheeseburger happy meals they gave me chicken nuggets. My daughter loves cheeseburgers and it’s the only time I can get her to eat meat so I was very angry that we didn’t get cheeseburgers.
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I can happily say that it depends on who we get at the window if I get a polite converstation or I just get thrown my food.
The charging for condiments issue well sometimes it a big deal and sometimes not usually 1 of my children will oder nuggets and I will order Strips. So I get two (cause my child won’t use one) BUT I usually need two. Any left overs usually go in the fridge.
Not sure why they started charging I think people were ordering or taking so much that they never used it all and threw it away so they wasted. now they charge. Instead of just rashening.
Your right others don’t charge extra but they may just start.
They’ll rethink it when either business slows or when people start bringing their own condiments in.
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At some McDonald’s they have been doing this a long time. I rarely go there because I don’t eat meat but when I do I order fries and BBQ sauce and they often charge me for the sauce. Gimme a Break McDonald’s!
That’s insane! McDonald’s is one of the few corporations that is actually thriving in this recession, so you’d think they would be bending over backwards to thank their customers with great service!
I live in Germany, and you have to pay for extra sauce/ketchup here too. I agree with it. You don’t see people asking for handfuls of condiments that just get thrown away. It cuts down on McDonald’s costs, and also cuts down on the amount of trash thrown away. We rarely ask for condiments, if at all now.
As for the rude employees, I can definitely live without that!
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