So is it really hard to get an order right from a fast food joint?!?!?

Question

I just went to McDonalds and ordered a 4 piece mcnugget and came home with a double cheese burger loaded with everything...I try to keep an open mind, I've never worked at a fast food place but is it really that hard?

Answer 1

Yes it usually is extremely hard to get a order right from a fast food restaurant but let me tell you about one fast food restaurant that blew my mind away. I am not from Arkansas but I had to spend a week in Cabot Arkansas for a week to do some work. In Cabot there is a Wendy's right in front of their Wal-Mart close to the interstate. To begin with this place was extremely clean, even the restrooms were spotless. The flooring was red carpet and the tables were nice. After I put my order in I was asked to take a seat. My food and drink, along with ketchup and salad dressing was brought to me at the table where I sit. During my meal I was approached by a worker to ask if everything was alright and if she could get me any thing else. I was with about 9 other coworkers and they were treated the same as me and every other customer. One of my coworkers had ordered a potato and the cheese was not that good, so she was not eating it. The manager cam around to ask everybody if their meal was alright. He was very friendly. When the coworker told him honestly that the cheese did not taste right, he was very accommodating. He ended up offering her a salad and brought it to her free along with a free meal voucher for the next time she goes to Wendy's. I was amazed. This is Wendy's we are talking about here. I wish all of them were just like this one! If I ever go back to Cabot I will be sure to dine there. They took fast food to a entirely different level. We would have it made if all fast food restaurants went to that length to satisfy us. Sorry so long but I thought you might enjoy knowing some fast food restaurants still do take the fact that most ppl looking for fast food are hard working ppl, moms and average ppl just needing a break

Answer 2

Just a bad experience, I hope.  But I did order a 6 piece mcnugget and get 7 pieces one day so i was pleasantly surprised.  During peak hours, it can be hard to keep up because there are so many people grabbing at you not to mention that these are crabby hungry people.  It can also result from employees who just don't care.  After all, they are not being paid too much.  It's very hard to find an employee who faithful and honestly dedicated to their job.  The only thing i can suggest is just check your bag next time, although I wouldn't mind getting a cheeseburger loaded for the price of a 4 piece.

Answer 3

Would you work hard for 4 bucks an hour? Sorry I feel so bad for fast food workers........Advice~ check your order before you go home.... we are lucky people even work there.

Answer 4

Yeah, it can be. Sometimes the mistakes are because of careless employees, but not always. The likely story in your case is that the cars got our of order, or the screen messed up an order (they do that a lot, suprisingly), and you were probably given someone elses order. You should ALWAYS check your order before you drive away. Also, fast food places are often uderstaffed and the staff are being pushed to be faster. If service is slow, then customer and managers get mad.

In an ideal world (one where teenagers actually had a work ethic!!!!), then fast food places would be fast and orders would always be correct. Unfortunately, and ideal world doesn't exist. What does exist, is people who don't care about their job, customers who spend five minutes counting out change when there's a huge line behind them, imperfect employees who don't double check orders, and customers who don't double check orders.

Answer 5

its not hard at all, it just requires a LITTLE brain power which most fast food employees dont have.  but you just have to be careful to check your order before driving away b/c they s***w things up all the time..  but they will gladly fix it when you bring it to the attention of the employee.

Answer 6

It depends on the time of day. If they are really busy then I would say yes it is hard.  

Maybe you should have saved your 6 dollars and went to the grocery store.  It's cheaper, healthier and no added spit of buggers.  

I never eat at fast food places, just a bunch of teens ready to spit and laugh. Germs GErms GERms GERMs GERMS!!!

Answer 7

It is really hard sometimes.

At peak hours it's hard, and late at night when no one is around.  Despite what Mexican Blackman is saying, I have believe I am a smart person (scored well above average on SATs, etc, good grades), and I had troubles sometimes.  Also, it wasn't my first job, and I worked there for over a year.

Even managers make mistakes because it is a big team and things can go wrong everywhere.

Also, late at night sometimes you have to work all by yourself.  (i.e. take the order, make the order, bag the order, hand out the order, all while trying to keep it 90 seconds and under!)

I don't think employees should get offended if you check your order at the window.

Answer 8

is it really hard to peek into the bag and make sure you have the correct order before you drive home? they have half a bajillion orders to sort through, and you've got ONE to check. so i don't know if it's hard for them per se but it's harder for them than it is for you.

Answer 9

Kids mainly work there and are goofing off so,Mistakes happenend when you have stupid kids working there and paying them $5 hr..

I worked at resteraunt and I will say..I messsssssssed up alot and never got fired and I did it on purpose to get fired LOL.

and I still work there..Where I work does not matter as long ppl don't call the 800 number and complain or the location..We are cool.

Answer 10

5 years ago a fellow business school student and I stood outside of a Wendy's drive-through (with the manager's permission) and surveyed 250 cars asking the drivers to check over their orders and give us a report on its accuracy. An amazing 37% had SOMETHING wrong with their order. Use your imagination as to the types of things that were wrong with the order and you are most likely right on.

Answer 11

I work as a manager at McDonald's and I admit mistakes are made.  Sometimes the mistake is mine or a coworkers and sometimes its your fault believe it or not.  

Tips to making sure you get what you want. Notice I said what you want not what you order.

1.)Make sure you speak clearly (if the order taker can not understand what you are ordering you may get rung up wrong.)

2.)If ordering in a group make sure to take turns and make it clear to the order taker what is an order and what is just discussing what you want. Better yet do all discussing before placing your order.  This can be very confussing for the order taker expecially if you change your mind mid order.

3.)Listen carefully to the order taker.  He/she might be asking you something that is actually important.  Just saying yes or no might lead to getting something you don't want then again it might lead to not getting something you want.  For example I want a double cheeseburger with Mac sauce might be followed by Is that only mac sauce?  Saying yes means only mac sauce saying no means ketchup, mustard, pickle, onions, and mac sauce.  If you don't lsten you might get the wrong one depending on your answer.  If you listen but don't understand say what don't just say yes or no.  To make this even easier try not to use the word with try to use words like add, only, without, extra, plain, and, light.  This can delete some if not all the questions.

4.) Speak slowly the bigger or more complicated the order the slower you need to speak.  Saying I want a number 1 without lettuce, with a coke to drink, to double cheeseburgers one only ketchup the other add mayo, a cheeseburger happymeal for a girl the cheeseburger plain with a Sprite. all together can confuse the order taker and cause things to be left out.  If you want a sandwich grilled that causes extra buttons to be pushed.  This takes time and while I'm grilling that number 1 your saying the rest of the order I might not catch it all or if I do I might give you without ketchup instead of only on that double cheeseburger.  Pay attention to your order takers body language.  Is she making a fustrated face like she can't find something on the screen or is she patiently waiting for the next sandwhich to be ordered.  

5.)Don't be afraid to slow down.  Yes our goal is fast service but we want it to be accurate so if it takes a minute more to insure that so be it.  

6.) If you have a large order feel free to ask to have it repeated.

7.)If using the drive thru used the order screen if availible to insure order accuracy.  And please remember that the order taker is most likely doing more than just taking your order (collecting cash, making happy meal boxes, etc.)

8.)Make sure you say what you mean.  If you say you want an egg muffin without egg.  Guess what your not going to get that egg muffin without cheese that you want.

9.)Double check your order.  We are human, we make mistakes, we are not perfect.  

10.)If you think or know we messed up before you pay make sure it is right before paying.  This aviods the wrong sandwich from being made(food wasted) as well as the time it takes to do a refund or to make the new sandwich which can cause your already made food to get cold.

11.)Try not to get upset.  Just like when you were a kid and you seemed to not do so good after you were yelled at the order taker will be the same way.  Be kind, and you won't upset anyone and your kindness is more likely to be repaid with better service than with shakey hands and additude.

12.)Realize that your oder is being assembled by more than one person and the mistake might be made by someone other than the person you are talking to.  When I first started working at the store I am working at I was crew.  One day I was in the presenting window which meant I was handing out the food in drive thru.  The order taker was a manager as was the runner(person assebling the order and giving it to me) the grill team had 2 managers.  The oder placed was a Bacon Ranch Salad with grilled chicken, no tomatoes.  I heard the order taker holler the question does the bacon ranch salad have tomatoes?  I hollered yes...but the grill team and manager hollered no so the grill was not rung up and the salad presented to me had tomatoes on it.  Now I look at my reciept and its not grilled so I hand it out and in return get screamed out by the customer because we gave her tomatoes on her salad.  It wasn't my fault the managers wouldn't listen to me, yet I'm the one who got yelled at.  It happens all the time.

While these will not guarentee perfect orders these tips might help.

Answer 12

it actually can be that hard. if the person putting the orders together skipped your order, or the person in front of you, then yes, it's hard. next time check your order before you leave!

Answer 13

i work in a fine dining restaurant but dealing with customers in any food place is hard. not everyone is perfect. there are a number of reasons you could have gotten the wrong order. plus, some people who are working their butts off for minimum wage tend to not care sometimes, especially if they are having a bad day. do their job for one hour, and you would figure out that yes, it is hard.

Answer 14

If you don't want something on your sandwich, it helps to say it a few times.  Specify things very carefully to people who would much rather be somewhere else.

Answer 15

It can be.  If you went through the drive thru, many things could occur. The orders could be placed wrong for the person who gives you the order by the expediter;  a car in line could have left due to long wait and orders now out of order.  However, usually they repeat your order, there is a receipt on the bag and most people check what is in bag prior to leaving the drive up window or the counter.