McDonalds - I Ain't Much "Lovin' It" Lately

Lately, I have become very disappointed by the service at McDonald's.  I wish I could say it was just one particular store.  I wish I could say it was always at rush hour.  I cannot.

Just returning from vacation, I again had another bad experience.  For awhile, I thought it was just one particular store.  We would go in and every time we would go - orders were misplaced, orders were not filled, in the midst of rush hour employees ignored customers, and on and on.  We stopped going there.

To my alarm other McD's are getting failing grades in service.  I have tried to order cheeseburgers for my kids in various cities across Georgia.  Only one gave us a burger with cheese and ketchup (as we ordered).  Was there a miscommunication?  Nope.  Each burger had pickles and onions which my kids refuse to eat but they were tagged with "Ketchup Only" printed on a receipt.  Seriously!

We started to leave a McDs drive-thru the other day, and they had not even completed our order (we check before leaving).

What happened to "You Deserve a Break Today" or "Nobody can do it like McDonald's" or "Put a smile on your Face"!

Slogans mean a lot but when employees do not buy into the business, what needs to be done?

I am not sure what the problem with McDonald's is.  They may have a few bad managers.  They may have grown too large to realistically handle their customers with care.  Fast food is too fast in my opinion.  30 seconds from order to driving away is just unrealistic.

McDonald's is not to blame alone.  I think the people blessed with jobs at McD's are to blame also.  This may seem harsh, but many of the people working there, and at other fast food restaurants, do not show pride in their work.  They act like they are God's gift to the business and refuse to put forth the effort necessary to earn the trust of customers.  Yes - trust.  Notice I say many.  There are a lot of employees who do put pride in their work!  Unfortunately, the lack of loyalty by the bad apples spoils the experience.

When I come  into your business, I am trusting you to offer me your best.  I am not expecting you to be perfect (some people may).  I am expecting you to know your business (I am forgiving of those new to the job - just be honest when you are not sure).  I am expecting you to own up to a mistake (an apology is suffice - unless you poisoned my food).  Just give me your best because I know when you do not - I can see it in your eyes.  I can see when you do not care and would rather be somewhere else.

For you managers battling a lack of loyalty, here are a few suggestions from Alan Nelson and Stan Toler in their book The 5 Secrets to Becoming a Leader:

• Deal with conflict when it arises: use excellent communication to avoid conflict; welcome the messenger of conflict; never allow conflict to smolder; and respond to conflict appropriately. 
• Effective leaders think of themselves as servants more than as leaders.  Don't expect more than you give.  Those you supervise will only care as much as you care.  Your lack of concern for them will be translated into how they care for customers.
• Help people find places where they can succeed: ABC - analyze the assets of the organization; become people focused; and connect talent with obvious needs in the organization.
• Make goal achievement enjoyable.
• Take good care of your team!  Nothing says more to employees than what you do to show them that you care for them as people!

I really do like McD's - I am just disappointed in my recent experiences.

McDonald's, I hope you recover.  Take my advice and implement these steps.  Maybe then I can put "a smile on my face".