McDonald's Can Suck It!

[Alice The Goon]

Yeah, so I went to McDonald's today, the drive-thru. I rarely go there anymore, because I think they suck, but yesterday a coworker had a quarter-pounder, and it just looked so good, and it started a craving. So I happily receive my QP without cheese, and go on my merry way. Home, where I eagerly opened it's little cardboard box and hungrily chomped down. Hmmm- it's cold. Unusual for it being "without cheese" because they have to make it right then. Mine have always been fairly hot, even after the ride home. Hmmpf, wait a minute, what's that taste??? RAW HAMBURGER!!! :eek: :( :mad:

YUCK YUCK YUCK!!! BLECHHHHH!!!

So now I get to load back into the car and drive back. And what will good old Ronald give me for my troubles? My money back or a new burger. Wow. I think I should demand at least a hot cherry pie for having to come back. Those bastards.
It'll be a long time before I go to McDonald's again. I better not get e-coli from that one bite, either.

[rorty]

I swore off McDonald's years ago after biting into a half frozen chicken McNugget. YUCK!

[Airman Doors, USAF]

How come I never get mine raw? It's not like I never asked.

Anyway, their liability is limited to your money back or a replacement product, same as any other company. Would you ask Dell for a flatscreen monitor for compensation if they sold you a lemon computer? I think not.

BTW, the whole E.Coli thing is blown way out of proportion, in my opinion. I eat raw meat of all types regularly and I have never been sick.

[Scruloose]

Joe Pesci said it best. They fuck you at the drive thru.

[ethanwinfield]

How come I never get mine raw? It's not like I never asked.

Anyway, their liability is limited to your money back or a replacement product, same as any other company. Would you ask Dell for a flatscreen monitor for compensation if they sold you a lemon computer? I think not.

BTW, the whole E.Coli thing is blown way out of proportion, in my opinion. I eat raw meat of all types regularly and I have never been sick.

In this case it would depend on how sick he got from eating it. If it made him sick, they would have to pay his medical bills. It's a good thing he didn't order the coffee to go with it.

[Alice The Goon]

Yeah, so I went back. Got my money back. Didn't mention the cherry pie. The manager I spoke to looked PISSED. I hope whoever cooked my burger gets reamed. As for e. coli, I realize it's a small risk, however, let's not forget that whole Jack In The Box thing when lots of people became seriously ill from it. It does happen.
And I'd never heard that Joe Pesci quote, but it's very true. I've contacted the owner of this same McD's in the past because they suck so very bad even compared to other drive-thrus. She doesn't give a shit and just got very defensive and snotty. Fuck them. Much to my kids' chagrin, we won't be stopping by again any time soon.

[tomndebb]

Would you ask Dell for a flatscreen monitor for compensation if they sold you a lemon computer? From Dell? In a heartbeat.

[Alice The Goon]

Oh, and ethan, I'm a woman. Not that it's that important.


I did give them the burger and fries back, but I kept my large soda. I figured it's a small compensation for the drive back. Then I went to the taqueria and got a chicken burrito. It's cooked. And it's good.

[tomndebb]

(If it was HP, I'd probably go for a printer.)

[Paranoid Randroid]

Anyway, their liability is limited to your money back or a replacement product, same as any other company. Would you ask Dell for a flatscreen monitor for compensation if they sold you a lemon computer? I think not.

Why not? It never hurts to ask. My father used to do that sort of thing all the time when he received poor service, and he often got free stuff. Seems to me that the inconvenience of having to return the burger should be worth something.

Anyway, this isn't an issue of liability - at least not legal liability. No one would argue otherwise. It's an issue of politeness and the demands of good service, which I think would necessitate something more than a comped burger.

[erislover]

What time did you go? Usually only two possible times to get a partially-raw burger, and that's after breakfast (change in grill temp and cooking times on the automatic clamshells), and towards the evening when one grill is often shut down (another time change).

The undercooked nuggets is moderately easy to do, alas. Improper temp setting isn't the real problem (though it can be, sometimes), it is when some dope pulls the wrong basket when the timer goes off. I'd say it is rare but it happened when I was managing there years ago. I've never felt so bad working at that place as I did when a customer came back. I was ready to strangle the dumb-ass worker. I would have sold my soul to appease her. Should have asked for the pie. ;) Hell, if it were me, I'd have refunded your money and replaced the entire meal.

Don't miss that job.

[Guinastasia]

Yeah, but aren't chicken nuggets usually pre-cooked? So it's not as much of a danger of eating it raw.

[Alice The Goon]

I went at 1:00 on a Saturday afternoon. They were fairly busy. I think their pushing of the '12 seconds' rule of drive-thru service may be a part of the undercookedness. If this were the first or even tenth time this particular McDonald's has screwed me, it would be no big deal. I've only gone there maybe once a month, but it seems they fuck up EVERY SINGLE TIME. That's what really pisses me off. How hard can it be? Do you really have to be a genius to run the drive-thru successfully?

[Polycarp]

Just politely inquire, "Are you going to make me an offer that I'll find acceptable, in recompense for this, or should I take this raw hamburger, in the wrapper, to the Health Department, and let them discuss it with you?"

[ethanwinfield]

Oh, and ethan, I'm a woman. Not that it's that important.


I did give them the burger and fries back, but I kept my large soda. I figured it's a small compensation for the drive back. Then I went to the taqueria and got a chicken burrito. It's cooked. And it's good.

Sorry aobut that!

Do you still have eegee's in your area? Much better than McDonald's.

[Alice The Goon]

Yes, eegee's is still going strong. I never go there, though, because I find their sandwiches to be very "bready" and I don't like bread a whole lot. Plus I just never think of going there.
Sometimes you just want a plain old-fashioned hamburger. I would've killed for a Six Dollar Burger from Carl's Jr, since the thread talking about them had whetted my appetite for one, but today I didn't want to spend that much (they are $3.99 for the sandwich alone) and besides McDonald's is close. Just a regular quarter pounder without cheese, the nectar of my youth. Was that too much to ask for? Apparently from this McDonald's, it is.

[erislover]

Do you really have to be a genius to run the drive-thru successfully?Well, the drive thru didn't cook the burger, that much is certain. Do you need to be a genius? No. But it isn't easy. It only takes one person "just adding a drink" at the second window or counting his change to slow drive thru down. Even given perfect customers, large orders simply take more time to fill, and plenty of people don't hesitate to order three extra value meals, two happy meals, and whatever.

I'm not trying to defend these people. Just sayin'. Good drive thru service is hard to provide. It usually takes four people and a bunch of regular customers; and a franchise, concerned about actually making money, rarely has four people on drive thru. You usually could only see these conditions at lunch and dinner rushes. I've long felt it is mathematically impossible to achieve the standards that corporate wants and retain profitability, but maybe I just had a bunch of shitty kids working for me (not unrealistic, given the pay).

At my store, you could expect superb service from 7:30AM until about 1. We had a reliable number of customers and a swarm of long-time employees (several years). It's a service industry. Just 'cause anyone can do it doesn't mean everyone can do it well. Before 7:30, too few employees, and after 1:00, too few employees plus the high school kid factor. Add that to the fact that most managers are just super-workers rather than anyone who actually has a clue about management, and you get your typical fast food restaraunt.

In my time, we were expected to average thirty dollars per clocked employee (which was everyone but the head and assistant managers at my place) per hour. For a four-person drive through, that's $120 an hour (given 90-sec drive thru times, you're looking at about $3 an order average). A decently steady but not straining amount of customers would provide that, depending on the time of day (at breakfast, where many just order coffee, for instance, it is a lot more people than it would be around lunch time). But you'd want probably two grill workers in that situation (especially now that they no longer have sandwiches prepared ahead of time), making $180. Of course, the walk-in counter service must still be available, and that's not a lot of business, but the service has to be there, so now you're up to $210. For $210 of business, you'd want another person available for grill and relieving breaks, meaning you're up to $240. But with that much business, you'll also need someone to take care of dining room and keep the trash kept up outside, and they're not producing anything but you still need to get an extra $30 for them, so now you're looking at $270. That's an awful lot of business. I assure you that most stores simply cannot maintain that level of business over the course of the day.

That leaves two general choices, from the perspective of the head manager (the proxy for the owner): keep people on the clock and take a hit on the $30/person/hour hoping your bigger hours like lunch and dinner will take up the slack (they can, sometimes), or understaff and take the hit on service to maintain regular profitability. At the store I was at, the latter was the order of the day post-lunch, and the former was the order of the day pre-lunch, for reasons which were more related to getting employees in rather than any possible business or management model. Even if you only need someone for two hours, you'll never find employees that will only come in for two hours.

Fast food is about thin margins and squeezing out the most you can of high-turnover, low-skill, (generally) low-eductation, low-pay employees (which isn't much, as common sense should dictate). Give 'em a break. If you want better service, go pay for it. I man that politely, though, I know how it sounds. If given the choice between Chili's and McDonalds, I personally choose McDonalds every time. The extra service and small improvement in quality is simply not worth the considerable difference in price to me when all I want is a burger. For $4 I get an eatable, if not decent, burger at McDonalds. Including tip, and hell, wait time, at a regular franchise restaraunt it is easily double that for only a marginal improvement, IMO. If McDonalds in the US sold beer, they'd beat everyone out for me except when I'm in a steak mood.

Everything costs money, especially good employees and service. There are no personal shoppers at dollar stores!

All that said, there is no excuse for undercooked food. Ever. There are plenty of plausible causes, of course, but no excuses.
If this were the first or even tenth time this particular McDonald's has screwed me, it would be no big deal. I've only gone there maybe once a month, but it seems they fuck up EVERY SINGLE TIME.I've seen so many people on the boards echo such experiences. I boggle at it every time. I travel for work all over the continental US and some of Canada and I have to say that I've yet to run into such spectacularly poor service. Maybe I'm biased. ;) I'm not saying you're lying to me, in fact I believe you (my order gets screwed up sometimes, too, but since I like the entire menu I don't bother doing anything about it), I just feel like the luckiest fast food shopper alive sometimes. :D (Though now that I think about it, I do tend to get unacceptable service from Burger King.)
Yeah, but aren't chicken nuggets usually pre-cooked?Not that I was aware of, but frankly it wasn't something I would have taken any pains to notice, either. I only recall the sausage patties and cinnamon rolls being pre-cooked, and later, the pancakes. Of course, I haven't worked there since probably 1996.

[kanicbird]

2 things come to mind:

1 - the saying "You always get screwed at the drive thru"

2 - At NYC Penn station while waiting for a train I ordered a hamburger which took longer then I expected, I told them to just give me the burger. It was cooked barely rare which I ate on the train. Though messy, It was the best fast food burger I ever had, and most likely ever will :(

[zweisamkeit]

And I'd never heard that Joe Pesci quote, but it's very true.


They FUCK YOU at the drive-thru, okay? They FUCK YOU at the drive-thru! They know you're gonna be miles away before you find out you got fucked! They know you're not gonna turn around and go back, they don't care. So who gets fucked? Ol' Leo Getz! Okay, sure! I don't give a fuck! I'm not eating this tuna, okay?

Heh heh heh.

[Typo Negative]

Just politely inquire, "Are you going to make me an offer that I'll find acceptable, in recompense for this, or should I take this raw hamburger, in the wrapper, to the Health Department, and let them discuss it with you?"
Shouldn't have been needed. The manager should have buttered the OP up and offered free....just about anything in arm's reach. That way they'd have a decent shot at trublmakr remaining a customer.

[ZebraShaSha]

Airman -

When my father decided our family finally needed a computer with two kids and all several years ago, he got a pretty standard to sub-standard run of the mill package. No frills, nothing fancy - when the need arised we would upgrade accordingly.

Well, it was Compaq, and we got atleast 3 lemon computers in a row. I can not remember the details, but we kept getting a rock instead of computer and each time my father demanded compensation.

In the end, we went from a $400-$500 dollar system to atleast a $1200 system that included their largest and one of their best printers at the time.

So, it does happen, and if you work it well you can get a fair amount of compensation.

[Typo Negative]

I have a gift for pointing out what's already occured to everyone......


Sorry.

[blowero]

In my experience, some McDonald's are great and some are horrible. It all depends who's running it.

[Dragwyr]

In my experience, some McDonald's are great and some are horrible. It all depends who's running it.Funny you should say that. I've found that McDonalds (In my experience) tend to be more consistant with their quality and service, which is why I rarely go to Burger King.

On the same note, I have run into problems at a McDonalds drive-thru on occasion, typically when I am ordering my occasional breakfast sandwich on my way into work. It has happened often enough that after they give me my order, I check it before I pull away. It doesn't take me any longer than about 10 seconds to do this so I don't worry about holding up the line, and it saves me the hastle of having to turn around and go back into the restaurant to have them replace my sandwich.

The funny thing though is that I only seem to have problems with them when I forget to check my order.

Figures. :dubious:

[Liberal]

Just politely inquire, "Are you going to make me an offer that I'll find acceptable, in recompense for this, or should I take this raw hamburger, in the wrapper, to the Health Department, and let them discuss it with you?"Agree completely. Too much fraud and deception is allowed to go on in this country. TV ads with unreadable disclaimers. Pictures of food that look like chefs' masterpieces when it is actually served with half the patty on the bun and all the mayo on one side, with wilted lettuce and green tomatoes. Fried thorn bricks that they call hash browns. Enough is enough.

[PunditLisa]

My thinking is that anytime a customer has to return to the store due to my screw up, I should offer an apology and a free cherry pie/ice cream/whatever. If a customer returned with a raw hamburger, I'd refund his money AND give him a new burger along with a big old heap of hot fries.

[Harborwolf]

This has really very little to do with the OP, but my first thought was of their annoying little jingle

"Ba da ba ba ba I'm suckin' it."

[Barbarian]

BTW, the whole E.Coli thing is blown way out of proportion, in my opinion. I eat raw meat of all types regularly and I have never been sick.

Sushi's a lot different from undercooked hamburger :D

And no offense, but you are an adult male in prime health, so the most you're likely to get from e. coli is a bit of the runs.

[Cyros]

My thinking is that anytime a customer has to return to the store due to my screw up, I should offer an apology and a free cherry pie/ice cream/whatever. If a customer returned with a raw hamburger, I'd refund his money AND give him a new burger along with a big old heap of hot fries.

My neighbourhood McDonald's has the worst drive through service on the planet. If they don't screw up the food itself or forget something entirely (fully 50% of the time), they will not give you a straw or your nugget sauce, even when you remind them. Terrible.

However, as you mention, the store nearest me doesn't expect me to return any part of the meal. In fact, I needn't even return to the store. I phone them, I bitch, they put my name in their voucher book for the value of my order (the entire order, not just what the value of the item(s) they screwed up). If I do want to go down there and bitch, they will replace my meal (again, they won't ask for the other meal back) and give me my money back. Make sure you are speaking with the manager.

[thirdwarning]

We have a couple of fast food places around here that just can't get it right no matter what they do, sometimes it's the twenty minute wait, sometimes it's the wrong order, sometimes it's both. I go out of my way to avoid them. Unless it's seriously the only one around, why would anybody go back if the service is consistently bad? I mean, once in a while everybody messes up, but not all the time. I give them twice.

However, the last time I was in McDonald's they gave me a pie because I had to wait, even though I didn't think it was that long. I think it might have been because she saw the lady in the line next to me pull a fast one, but it wasn't the fault of the restaurant. I wouldn't have expected them to make up for a customer's bad behavior.


Okay, okay, I'll 'splain. I picked what looked like the shorter line when I walked in. While I was looking at the menu, waiting my turn, kind of spacing out, the woman in the other line (that I would have been behind) sent her small child into the line in front of me. I didn't notice him because I was looking up at the menu. When the customer in front of me got her food and left and I started to step up to the counter, the kid's mother scooted over from the other line and stepped in front of me to give her order. I didn't say anything. Didn't feel like getting into it. I think that may have been what earned me the pie.

[blowero]

Funny you should say that. I've found that McDonalds (In my experience) tend to be more consistant with their quality and service, which is why I rarely go to Burger King.

Hmmm...I didn't say Burger King was more consistent than McDonalds.

[Fear Itself]

Sometimes you just want a plain old-fashioned hamburger. I would've killed for a Six Dollar Burger from Carl's Jr, since the thread talking about them had whetted my appetite for one, but today I didn't want to spend that much (they are $3.99 for the sandwich alone) and besides McDonald's is close. Just a regular quarter pounder without cheese, the nectar of my youth. Was that too much to ask for? Rejoice! Help is on the way! In-N-Out Burger, (http://www.in-n-out.com/) home of the best hamburger in the world, is opening a store in Tucson, according to this source (http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Opinion/Content?oid=oid:64564). Once you try the Double-Double with grilled onions, you will never go to Mickey D's again. Honestly, if you have a burger jones again before they open in Tucson, it's worth the drive to Phoenix.

[Honey]

I received my drive-thru order wrong literally every time I went to a particular McDonald's last Summer. My daughter's standard order is a double hamburger with extra mustard and pickles. :eek: The order is confirmed on the screen and I always confirmed again at the pay window. I had to unwrap the burger each time to make sure it was right. It never was. They would always throw in an extra burger or fries or a couple of apple pies for my trouble, but what I really wanted was for the original order to be right.

I finally sent an e-mail to McDonald's Corp. and received an e-mail reply and a phone call from the local McDonald's manager within a week. She genuinely seemed to want my input and sent me $10 worth of food coupons for my trouble.

I have noticed an immense improvement since then and have e-mailed the manager to tell her so. :)