FW: "Can you drive up? The fries are still cooking. Drive up, thank you."
She disappeared inside the window. I looked forward. There is a small area to pull up from the drive thru to throw away trash. The only other area out of the line of traffic is a row of parking spots. The ones directly in front of me were taken up with cars and a lone man standing in a spot talking to someone parked next to him. I drove forward to the garbage can.
Me: "Seriously? I had to pull forward? I can not be the only person ordering fries."
Darcy and I watched the next person in line, but he got his order and pulled around me, having a bit of difficulty, which made me in turn inch forward some more to get out of the way. One by one cars got their orders, gave me dirty looks, and pulled around me to exit. I got tired of watching and glanced down at my receipt. There were two #10 meals and a price. There was a sweet and sour sauce with $0.00. There was a fillet-o-fish and a price. There was a ranch sauce with a $0.00, and then there was an extra sauce with a charge of $.30. Also on there was ketchup at $0.00. I wondered what in the world was the extra sauce. Darcy and I debated it for the five minutes it took for the frantic woman to arrive with our food.
She literally thrust the two bags at me, trying to work around the trash can I was parked next to, and apologized for my wait. Then she tried to scurry away.
Me: "Excuse me. Can I ask you a question?"
FW: (still trying to make a run for it) "Yes?"
Me: (showing her the receipt) I have a charge here for an extra sauce that is for $.30. What is that for?"
FW: (still posed to run, shrugs her shoulders) "It is not my fault. Sorry."
Me: (a #3 on the about-to-blow scale) "Well, I was charged for something I did not order, and I'd like to know what it was for and why."
FW: (sighing, finally turns toward me and comes over to the car and looks at receipt) "You order ranch and sweet and sour sauces, you have extra."
Me: I ordered two #10 meals. They both should come with sauces at no charge."
FW: (shrugging) "It is not my fault. Sorry."
Me: (now a #5 on the about-to-blow scale) "So I just ignore the fact that I paid out an extra $.30?"
FW: (raising voice and turning back to the restaurant) "You want me to get you extra sauce?"
Me: "No. I want what I ordered."
FW: "You want more sauce? You want $.30? You have your sauce?"
I look in the bags and discover that I have two ranch sauces, no ketchup, and no sweet and sour sauce. Not even the sauce I ordered is in the bag! I am now rising on the about-to-blow scale. I guess at this point I'm a 7.
Me: I don't even have the sweet and sour sauce I ordered. It isn't even in the bag. And there isn't any extra $.30 sauce here either."
FW: It is not my fault!" She runs away. She returns and thrusts 7 packets of different sauces in my hand. "It is not my fault! Sorry." And she runs away back into the restaurant, leaving me sitting with packets of sauce that I can't possible eat in my hand.
Me: (now at the blowing point, a complete 10 on the scale) "Darcy, take these sauces back into the restaurant and get your ketchup. I do not want these and it is a waste to throw them away at $.30 a pop."
Darcy took the sauces back into the restaurant and got her ketchup. We left the trash can area and all the way home I blew up, ranting and raving about the frantic woman and her unconcern with her customers issue. Darcy tried to calm me down, but at a 10 on the scale she had no real chance. We got home where we discovered the food was cold and inedible, although Darcy ate hers. I told Madison the whole story and she tried to perform her zen, lawyer-like, peace and love explanation on what had really happened, but again at a 10 on the scale she wasn't going to get through to me.
Madison: "It's only $.30 I think we can survive."
Me: "Only $.30! Only $.30!"
Darcy: "That is the one thing I made sure I did not say to her, Madison."
Me: "Only $.30! That's two days of the library fine Darcy is racking up with her lost Be Nice to Mice book! Today it's $.30. Tomorrow it's $1.30!"
Madison: "You know what I mean."
Me: "Yes, yes, I do, but it isn't really the $.30 that gets me. It was her attitude. She told me four times it wasn't her fault? You're the employee and I'm the customer, lady, who's *&6%ing fault is it? Oh, I wish I had said that to her. Who's *(&^ing fault was it? That's the answer I want to know!"
Madison: "I...
Me: "No! No! Stop trying to tell me how this should be. It comes down to customer service. You don't know because you haven't had to work for a living. (whoo writing that sentence conjured up memories of my mom and dad saying that very same thing....) Well, I'll tell you now that the customer is always right. That's what they teach you in the business world. The customer is always right! How hard would it have been for her to apologize by saying, "Oh, my goodness, ma'am, I am so sorry about. That is certainly a mistake. How about two complementary apple pies to go with your meal this evening? That would have diffused me right away and made me happy."
Madison: "You don't like their apple pies."
Me: "That is beside the point. You two do. That would have been a better response then "It isn't my fault!" Well, who's (*&^ing fault was it?"
Madison: "I'm sure it was very busy there tonight."
Me: "Madison, you are missing the point. I don't care how busy it was. That isn't an excuse. Wait until you have a job. You will understand then. What if someone had drowned at the pool I worked at? You think as Pool Coordinator I would have shrugged my shoulders and said, "It isn't my fault?"
Madison: "Well, know you're just getting carried away. This isn't the same situation."
Me: "That's what I'm trying to tell you. It is the same. It is customer satisfaction. It is how you respond in situations. She sucked. You think the window girl at Chick-fil-A would have handled things this way? No, because they "look forward to serving us". They are taught the customer is always right. The one time they charged me for a meal I didn't order at the restaurant they refunded my entire meal and gave us complimentary milkshakes!"
Madison: "Well, Darcy actually worked at McDonald's that time for her school project. Darcy, how was it when you got really busy?"
Darcy: "I was trying to stay out of this conversation, Madison."
Me: "Darcy didn't work the counter. She had a higher end management job."
Me: "But you didn't make a mistake and tell someone too damn bad, did you?"
Darcy: "I'm not allowed to say that word."
Madison: "Well, now you're just being ridiculous. And it says right here on the bag that if you have a problem to call this 800 number. Maybe you should do that."
And so I did. I didn't call the number, but instead used the website address that was listed under the phone number. I clicked on the tell us how we did button and left a note explaining everything that had happened. As everyone knows I am more than capable of writing notes and felt this one was a good one. Madison came in and read over it before I submitted it, and she too approved. I ended it with, "the whole experience just annoyed me. Yes, it is $.30, but I think perhaps the manner in which it was handled needs some attention. Either way I feel better getting it off my chest, so thanks for reading this and thanks for allowing us this option. Because of the five minute wait for fries plus the extra time dealing with the issue our food was cold and dry by the time we got home. Sigh. Not my best experience with McDonalds."
I felt much better after writing the letter and could then explain in a calm voice how customer service is important no matter what job one is in. The girls put up with me again, knowing I would soon be off to a meeting, and soon I was. A day later I received an email from McDonald's thanking me for my letter and letting me know it had been sent to the proper person. Two days later I received an email from someone in the customer response center who apologized for my unsatisfactory experience and assured me that action had been taken on my feedback. Then she went on to tell me what that action had been on her part. She had contacted the local franchise owner of the restaurant to explain my issue. Additionally she had contacted the McDonald's Regional Consultant so that that person could follow up with the owner and restaurant for "corrective action".
I shared the email with the girls. It may all be a load of crap, but it satisfied me just to be able to get the issue off my chest, get an apology, and be assured that action would be taken.
That lasted about two hours, and then I was annoyed that no one sent me any apple pies. Seriously? How do I know any of that stuff really happened? How is that satisfying me in the fact that that restaurant still owes me $.30? The one time I wrote a letter to the Frito Lay company years ago in college when I put money into a machine for some Cheetos and the bag was empty the Frito Lay company sent me a box of various bags of chips (full sized, not snack size), and a handful of free coupons to boot and that was $.50 that I lost with them. McDonald's obviously is not at the same level in customer satisfaction. I'll probably not go there for a few weeks just because I'm still a 3 on the about-to-blow scale regarding this issue, but I can guarantee that restaurant has lost my business. Unless I would receive an apple pie in the mail....
You know, this kind of thing can't be good for your blood pressure. It was hilarious reading it, but I am sooooooooo glad I was not in the car with you. I was laughing too hard as I could hear Madison in my head saying, "now you're going too far..."
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