McStakes

How to make 6 mcstakes with 3 items...

2008-08-03T08:50:00.000-07:00

I did not think it was possible, but I believe I have set some new record for bad customer service.

While on my visit back to my home stomping grounds, I decided to visit the local Popeye's chicken. Just running in for a simple 2 Large Diet Cokes and a small Cajun rice with some gravy on it. Yes, I know, it does not come that way, but it adds some extra spice to the rice.

So I order 2 large diet cokes and a small cajun rice. The clerk shouts back to the filler to put gravy on it.

so I wait... and wait.... and wait.... Finally the filler arrives with a small bag with a LARGE Cajun rice in it. ok... kinda strange....

So

mcstake 1... wrong size.

mcstake 2... charged me for a large.

mcstake 3... forgot the gravy.

so I get the the gravy and figure I will eat a large anyway...not a huge deal....

So I then have to remind him I had drinks, to which he responds no you didn't... I show him the receipt...

mcstake 4... forgot the drinks

mcstake 5... hands me the wrong size cups (is it actually 2 mcstakes since there were 2 drinks?)

so I am almost ready to leave, when I look at the receipt one last time

mcstake 6... There is a charge for a 25 cent refill?

What the heck did I get refilled?

If I didn't actually find it all funny think to myself...cool something to write about, I might not be a return customer.

Tis the season...Already?

2008-07-29T19:13:00.000-07:00

UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I walked into the Palatine Hobby Lobby today and they had isles of CHRISTMAS SUPPLIES.

It is July 29th... So the Chirstmas shopping season is now beginning 5 months early? WHEN WILL IT END!

Good customer service is simple, with just one change...

2008-07-22T19:14:00.000-07:00

It is very simple. With just one change, you could see significant improvement in your customer service. It is so simple, it may seem dumb...and amazing how it could be screwed up.

I was in a local discount store the other day and had a cart load of food and stuff. They had some "pink ribbon" campbell's chicken soup on discount for 60 cents a can, plus I had a 20% off coupon. GREAT DEAL, so I bought a bunch. I am sure the folks behind me were not quite as happy about my cart load...

Well, this should not really be a big problem, as the cashier next to me was open. It would be hard to see for people standing behind me, but I could clearly see that they were open with no customers. Just standing at the register, staring at the ceiling....looking around....humming to himself....This is just SAD. Eventually someone at the back of the line noticed they were open.

If you want to improve your customer service with just one small change... Train them to seek out the next customer to help.

Watch those card readers!

2008-07-20T06:37:00.000-07:00

One of the nice things about sonic is that there is a card reader at each drive up stall. When you place your order, you have the option to pay by credit card/debit card without having to give your card to the carhop. The total appears, you swipe your card, and after a few seconds...presto it displays a message about the approval of the charge.

Here is the important part

WATCH FOR THE APPROVAL MESSAGE!

I go there everyday, like clockwork to get a 1/2 price happy hour diet coke and at least once a week the carhop walks up and asks for my money...despite having swiped my card and seeing an approval message.

what makes it sad is that I tell them I swiped the card and I get one of three responses.

OK... and they walk away
Let me check.... and they type something into the pad and it tells them it was authorized
Sorry it did not go through

Now response 1 and 2 I can understand.... but number 3, when I saw the little box tell me it was approved is just a lie.

When I get a number 3, I ask them to check, and sure enough every time so far, I was right. It did go through.

It makes me wonder...How many times have a carhop been successful in obtaining a double payment through the lazyness of assuming that "it did not go through"?

What are the keys to good customer service?

2008-07-13T06:49:00.001-07:00

Communication, communication, communication.

So riddle me this... Why would a drive in/up only establishment let their speaker/mike system go to hell and remain that way? Find out in a moment.

So I went to my daily diet coke dealer (half price in the afternoon). It is a fairly respectable establishment that just went under a renovation that I am sure must have cost $100,000 easy. This place...fine sonic....is drive up/drive in only. You have speakers/mike combo at every stall to place your order. The last couple times I was there is didn't work worth a nickel. You could barely hear the person and the last time I had to press the call button twice before guessing that the clicking sound was them asking me for my order.

Yesterday, again, I went to the store and again could hear nothing but a clicking sound from the box. Guessing they were taking my order I spoke out my 2 route 44 diet cokes. It clicked again and I told them that was all I wanted. Presto in a minute my 2 diet cokes appeared.

I asked the car hop what was up with the speakers... I told her that I could not hear a single thing but a click and just guessed that I should speak my order. Her response was that the management was being cheap and did not want to fix the issue.

For a business that is 100% dependent on being able to communicate the order via the speakers/mike, how the hell do they expect to be able to provide good customer service when the customer is has no clue what the order taker is saying...or if the order taker is even talking to them?

If what the car hop spoke was true, the owner should fire the management before they start losing customers.

2008-07-07T10:14:00.000-07:00

What is the point of those screen?

Don't you love those screens they put in the drive through so that you can see the order as it is entered into the computer? Don't you love how they are broken half the time? What is the point???

I go through today and of course it is broken again (or maybe just turned off...whatever...). I say my order and the talking box starts asking me questions about my order. Was that without pickle, was that one plain, etc... So I repeat the whole order, since I cannot follow which sandwich she is asking about.

As it was when I get to the window, she tries to give me 6 drinks, though I only ordered 5 meals. Then she proceeds to tell me that she did not over charge for the drink.... Carefully looking at the receipt though shows total wierdness in the order. They forgot the apple dippers, barbecue sauce, put pickle on a sandwich (dispite telling them twice not to), and one oversized drink order.

Now if that screen was working, maybe this wouldn't have happened. Maybe if they read the order back to me it would not have happened. Maybe if they worried more about quality, there would be more happy customers.

Did I mention there was no freaking ICE in any of the drinks?

2008-07-06T21:16:00.001-07:00

Not all McStakes are bad...

I frequent a certain McRestaurant way to often. I think sometimes that they must be pre cooking my order when they see my van come through enter the parking lot. Sometimes if I ask for a burger and don't mention "no Pickle" they ask if I want "no Pickle".

Well, I went through yesterday and got my family a meal, and I was having a bit of indigestion so I only asked for the regular meal instead of the large meal. Lo and behold, I got a Large meal anyway, but at the regular meal price.

Small and pathetic I know, but for all the times I lost money, it is nice to occasionally make some back :)

2008-05-25T19:34:00.000-07:00

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

I go to sonic with my wife and get two DCs. Really easy order. Two DCs. They deliver them and mine tastes kinda funny. I let my wife try it and sure enough it tastes like there is something else mixed in.

I ring the buzzer and tell them that one tastes bad. A carhop arrives a minute later with a fresh DC. She tells us that one of the drink syrup lines got mixed up earlier and that is why it probably tasted bad.

Guess what, it still tastes bad... They couldn't think to use the same drink station that they used to make my wifes DC??? The one without the screwed up syrup?

What is sad though, is that tomorrow, I will be back for Happy Hour again...

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

2008-05-10T14:29:00.000-07:00

Popeye's Chicken has come to town!

Just opened in the last 2 weeks! There isn't another Popeye's within 40 miles.

I used to manage a bunch of these restaurants when I was younger and LOVE their chicken and Cajun rice! So, my first trip there I get my favorite, 2 piece all white with Cajun rice, and 2 extra biscuits. My wife gets a 2 piece all white with mash.

I get my bag with the two dinners in it and ask where the extra biscuits are? The server says they are in the boxes.... I check.... They are not. So I say to the person that I had ordered 2 extra biscuits. She asks to see the receipt! Wait a second, didn't she just tell me a minute ago that the extra biscuits were in the boxes? Why does she need to see the receipt? But I don't argue the point, I give her the receipt and sure enough it says 2 biscuits on the bottom, an extra 59 cents each. Of course I get my biscuits.

Did she say sorry for their error??? NO

GREAT FIRST IMPRESSION!!!!

also no honey for the biscuits... no Cajun sparkle for the chicken.... no napkins....

2008-04-12T07:07:00.001-07:00

Is it just me, or do those new large plastic cups at McDs not work right. In the week since they switched from the paper/wax cup to the plastic, I have had TWO tips/dumps....

I get a loaded tray of 3 child sized and 2 Large through the drive through window. I place it on the seat...which is not perfectly flat. Diet coke seeps through the lid tip and soaks the stupid fiberish drink carrier. Fiber gets mushy...try of drinks falls apart when I go to lift it off the seat to take into the house for lunch.

I believe the source is a couple of design problems, but since I do not have an old cup to compare it to I cannot be 100% sure....

1. The cup base is smaller. It simple will not snugly fit into those paper fiber holders. It wiggles and slips around.

2. The cup lid is not firmly sealing. Twice the lid has popped off, and upon replacing the lid, it is apparent that it simple is not snug. with almost no effort the lid will pop off. Tip the cup some and it drips my Diet coke through the rim of the lid.

2008-03-01T07:42:00.001-08:00

It's been quite a while, but they have really started annoying me again, so it was time to start writing again...

This morning, I'm getting some McD for the family, it's my wife B-day and she love the giant DC in the morning to get things going. So I go there, and it is quite busy. After patiently waiting my turn in the drive through, it is finally my turn. I ask simple for 2 Delux breakfasts, 1 hotcakes, and two large Diet Cokes. THREE MEALS....TWO DRINKS.....

Now of course, McD seems to think they know better what I was trying to order. [ McD KNOWS BEST!!! THREE MEALS....THREE DRINKS....THERE MUST BE AN ERROR! STUPID SHOPPER...] On the screen I see one of my delux breakfasts disappear. I say to her that I needed 2 of the delux, not one. Then the screen changes to show my 2 delux, but she erases the hotcakes... Again she knows that there is no way I could want three meals and only 2 drinks..... [ McD KNOWS BEST!!! THREE MEALS....THREE DRINKS....THERE MUST BE AN ERROR! STUPID SHOPPER...] She quickly reads the total and says please pull forward.

I don't

I say back to her, I want 2 Delux breakfasts, 1 hotcakes. Finally I must have hit the override system her brain and she finally gets it.... [ STUPID SHOPPER...McD KNOWS BEST!!! STUPID SHOPPER...McD KNOWS BEST!!! THREE MEALS....TWO DRINKS....THERE MUST BE AN ERROR! OVERRIDE...OVERRIDE...OVERRIDE...OVERRIDE... ALLOW STUPID SHOPPER TO BREAK THE SEMETRY OF MEALS TO DRINKS]

of course it does not end there.

the bag with the condoments was a total mess. The butte melted and leaked everywhere, they only had TWO sets of silverware. Only ONE syrup. And tons of unwanted picante sause.

and no napkins....

I'M HATING IT

2006-12-31T14:29:00.000-08:00

McDonalds is so funny! They handed me a Happy Meal and told me that my two McRibs we in it!!! They then proceeded to give me a your a dumb shit look when I asked if they are sure...then the employee behind her taps her on the shoulder and hands her another bag with my 2 McRibs. Gee a newbie.....

2006-11-22T20:52:00.000-08:00

There really is no winning...

Three happy meals, 2 burgers and 1 nuggets all with apple dippers. All three came with the dippers, and they were NOT expired this time.... but of course I would not be writing if something was not amis. They gave us three bugers and no nuggets. As usual the receipt was correct, I am not sure how they were able to pull this one off...

2006-11-19T10:59:00.000-08:00

Oops they did it again. Expired Apple Dippers.

Now since it is sunday, that meant that we went to the McD closer to the church. In this case a 5.6 mile round trip to correct the McStake. Gas is still over $2 a gallon coming in at $2.05 this morning. My order was $21.57... you don't want to know the effective cost if I include the cost of my time.

2006-11-18T06:41:00.000-08:00

Shrunkin Bagels

well, the order is fully correct today! But I did notice something odd. The Bagel on the BEC Bagel is noticeably smaller in diameter and seems chewier. I am guessing that either they made one of those great down sizing to gen more money.... or the local McD run out of their usual bagels and ran to the Dillions across the street for some. I will have to check the web site to see if they changed their portion size and nutritional information

2006-11-15T20:37:00.000-08:00

expired..... apple dippers. The devil is in the detail.

2006-11-12T14:51:00.000-08:00

almost 1 week....

They had been doing so well this week, and of course they had to mess it up on their last day.

Today our family went to McD's with a friend after church. My wife got a mightly kids meal with apple dippers. They got the apple dippers right this sunday, but they did not make the burder catsup only.

they had a chance to do one week without a mcstake.... and failed.

2006-11-05T10:34:00.000-08:00

Well, in keeping with tradition, we are having the after church mcmeal. And in McD's tradition, they forgot the apple dippers. It was on the screen and the receipt, but not in the bag.

What I love though, is that they had us pass the bag back through the window, then they extracted all the misappropriated fries, which then disappear(reappropriated?). They then place in the missing dippers and hand it back to us. No sorry or anything.

I would think that if they make a mcstake, they should at least say their sorry. And as a bonus for catching their mcstake your reward would be the extra item, which they throw away anyway.

But at some stores they are not very nice. (aka, topeka blvd) My wife a week ago went through and they had a perfect order delivered with horrible customer service. She paid at window 1 with her credit card and they drove up to window 2 where she was accused of not paying and yelled at by the clerk. The Clerk then announced to the staff very loudly "SHE DIDN'T PAY!!! SHE DIDN'T PAY!!!" until another staff member came and sorted it out.

2006-11-04T07:45:00.000-08:00

Everyone once in a while you get surprised.

I went to McD this morning fully expecting to have the usual breakfast problems that seem to occur every Saturday morning. After ordering, when I got to the window, there was a manager at the window. She informed me that my Deluxe breakfast was free this morning since she knows that they have screwed up my order multiple times lately.

Thank You.

2006-11-02T09:34:00.000-08:00

Two happy meals...
one mighty kids meal...
one 10pc nugget meal ...
ZERO nappkins (Drive through orders are supposed to include napkins)
ZERO DRINKS - till I gave the guy a dirty look and he did one of those OH, really I didn't forget drinks
ZERO Babrie toys. I asked for Barbie, they said OK, then they put in Polly pockets....

2006-10-29T10:46:00.000-08:00

I really do love that McDonalds has Apple Dippers to offer instead of Fries, the issues is that though I asked for it, and it is on the receipt, I don't seem to have it in my bag. I learned long ago though to always check the bag before leaving when ordering apple dippers. So fortunately I did catch them before leaving today with the McStake. 1 CBH/AD MTY KID TOY....

2006-10-28T07:43:00.000-07:00

3 saturdays in a row.

Two Meals (egg mc muffin and a delux) plus an extra hash brown and 2 diet cokes.

The result only two hash browns instead of three.

It is rather fun to pose the order back to them as a pop quiz...How many hash browns would I get with the two meals and one extra. It is amazing how they get the right answer. Again that wonderful "sorry". I think I should at least get the free gallon of gas out of the extra trips I am making several times a week to correct their McStakes.

2006-10-23T18:24:00.000-07:00

Two Diet cokes, one double cheese no pickle....

the error

Got a double cheese with no pickle AND MUSTARD

the little slip attached had the correct items listed.

The Beginning

2006-10-23T15:10:00.000-07:00

It seems that everyone has a blog, and I decided to create one as well. In thinking about what the hell I would have to blog about on a regular basis...it hit me like a rock. I must admit that I am a McDonalds addict....my family and me eat there several times a week. Sometimes it is just a simple order such as 2 diet cokes, sometimes it is the full blown 5 happy meals. But no matter how simple the order they manage to mess it up with such regularity that I should be able to keep this blog full and fresh with content. Perhaps some day, it could be evidence is a class action lawsuit regarding their customer service....because after all who could screw up an order for 2 diet cokes unless it was on purpose. I got 1 diet and 1 dr pepper, the receipt even said 2 diet cokes. What is their defect?????