My encounter at McDonald’s for this extra credit assignment was actually quite different from what I expected. Contrary to my expectations, it didn’t turn out too bad at all.
Before walking up to place my “special” order, I had all but positive thoughts. I was so sure I would get a lot of irritation and attitude from the cashier as soon as she heard my unique order. Still I proceeded with the plan. Before actually placing my order I forewarned the cashier that it was a special order and that I needed to see the details of my order on the receipt. I then told her what I needed: a small hamburger with four pickles and a small fries with no salt, all from the “Dollar Menu.” She first looked at me as though I was ordering lobster at McDonald’s at market price. She then turned to call her manager and asked her if it was possible to expedite the order and have it shown on the receipt. Thankfully the manager advised the cashier that it was indeed possible. Now that the cashier had the go ahead to put through my order, she yelled back to the food preparer my exact order. The food preparer rolled his eyes as he proceeded to make my burger with four pickles. He slowly and sarcastically placed one pickle at a time on the burger and then slapped the bun on top. Making the fries (with no salt) was a much less painful order to execute because it only required them to put the fries into the wrapper before salting the batch.
In total, only three staff members got involved – that being the cashier, the manager, and the food preparer. The entire order took only eight minutes to complete. With the exception of the minor irritation displayed by the staff members, they were very cooperative and were able to complete my order correctly.
The overall management process went by very quickly. The plan was simple. When summoned, the manager simply ordered the cashier to enter my order in the register. As the procedure took place, she stepped in and out when needed. I saw her brief the food preparer on what to expect shortly before the cashier yelled out my order to him. The manager even went as far as to personally make my “no salt” fries. The communication between the three was simple and straightforward. Once the manager approved the order it was as though she cleared up an uncertainty among the other two workers and got the task jumpstarted. They had good coordination and organized the process well through their quick response. Their customer service skills were satisfactory. However, they could have used some improvement in being a little friendlier. In terms of leadership, the task was lead well by the manager. She was able to rally together her staff members to get the job done right. Both the manager and the cashier double checked the receipt to make sure the order was on it. I viewed this part of the process as the control phase because they measured their achievement of the task by making sure the receipt accurately recorded the special order.
If I were brought in as a consultant to McDonald’s to help them improve their efficiency I would not have much to say except that they train their staff to improve their interpersonal skills and be friendlier to the customers.
I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome of this assignment. The management process was done in a fairly fluid manner with no major interruptions or delays worth emphasizing. The staff members were successful in carrying out my unique request. Ultimately, as a business, they served me as a customer. I don’t think I could’ve asked for much more.
Before walking up to place my “special” order, I had all but positive thoughts. I was so sure I would get a lot of irritation and attitude from the cashier as soon as she heard my unique order. Still I proceeded with the plan. Before actually placing my order I forewarned the cashier that it was a special order and that I needed to see the details of my order on the receipt. I then told her what I needed: a small hamburger with four pickles and a small fries with no salt, all from the “Dollar Menu.” She first looked at me as though I was ordering lobster at McDonald’s at market price. She then turned to call her manager and asked her if it was possible to expedite the order and have it shown on the receipt. Thankfully the manager advised the cashier that it was indeed possible. Now that the cashier had the go ahead to put through my order, she yelled back to the food preparer my exact order. The food preparer rolled his eyes as he proceeded to make my burger with four pickles. He slowly and sarcastically placed one pickle at a time on the burger and then slapped the bun on top. Making the fries (with no salt) was a much less painful order to execute because it only required them to put the fries into the wrapper before salting the batch.
In total, only three staff members got involved – that being the cashier, the manager, and the food preparer. The entire order took only eight minutes to complete. With the exception of the minor irritation displayed by the staff members, they were very cooperative and were able to complete my order correctly.
The overall management process went by very quickly. The plan was simple. When summoned, the manager simply ordered the cashier to enter my order in the register. As the procedure took place, she stepped in and out when needed. I saw her brief the food preparer on what to expect shortly before the cashier yelled out my order to him. The manager even went as far as to personally make my “no salt” fries. The communication between the three was simple and straightforward. Once the manager approved the order it was as though she cleared up an uncertainty among the other two workers and got the task jumpstarted. They had good coordination and organized the process well through their quick response. Their customer service skills were satisfactory. However, they could have used some improvement in being a little friendlier. In terms of leadership, the task was lead well by the manager. She was able to rally together her staff members to get the job done right. Both the manager and the cashier double checked the receipt to make sure the order was on it. I viewed this part of the process as the control phase because they measured their achievement of the task by making sure the receipt accurately recorded the special order.
If I were brought in as a consultant to McDonald’s to help them improve their efficiency I would not have much to say except that they train their staff to improve their interpersonal skills and be friendlier to the customers.
I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome of this assignment. The management process was done in a fairly fluid manner with no major interruptions or delays worth emphasizing. The staff members were successful in carrying out my unique request. Ultimately, as a business, they served me as a customer. I don’t think I could’ve asked for much more.
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