Six Minutes Forty Three Seconds

The average service time for a McDonald’s order is 60 seconds. This is of course under the assumption that the order isn’t too big and it is not out of the ordinary. As simple as the order we tried to place sound, it required the employees to scurry around and directly communicate with those who make the order. McDonalds makes food items that they think most people will appreciate. McDonalds isn’t known to customize orders besides the whole “supersized” deal. So when I asked for a hamburger with exactly 4 pickles and fries with no salt, I thought I could bring entire franchise down to its knees (not really). I timed the order at it took exactly 6 minutes and 43 seconds to get my order (and I didn’t even order a drink!). About 5 people ordered after me and those people had larger orders. Huge value meals were flying out in less than 30 seconds but to get a burger with 4 pickles and fries with no salt took a lot longer. The interaction is as follows:

McDonald’s Employee: Welcome to McDonald’s, may I take your order?

Me: Hi, I would like a hamburger with 4 pickles and…

McDE: Extra pickles?

Me: No, 4 pickles…exactly 4 pickles

McDE: Yea, extra pickles

Me: No, no, no, I need there to exactly 4 pickles…

McDE: Why?

Me: Because four is my lucky number…

McDE: Why can’t you take a pickle out if there is too many?

Me: Because then it wouldn’t be lucky...and I would like a small fries with no salt

McDe: Ok…that would be $2.49…

Then the cashier went to the woman who was making the burgers and said put 4 pickles in the burger. Then she proceeded to the fryer and put a new batch of fries even though there were already some made (but with salt), and put the fries into the fryer. I felt bad because the line kept getting bigger but I really wanted those 7 points. I noticed the cashier taking charge and finishing the order herself. She just had to indicate to one other person that I wanted 4 picked in the burger.

People came and went but I continued to wait and I tried to smile and make eye contact but I am sure they weren’t too fond of me. Then finally after the fries were done, she put that and the burger in the bag without offering ketchup!! I checked to see if the order was correct and then I proceeded to give it to the homeless guy eating in the restaurant and told him I hope you like pickles…

It was a very interesting experience even thought it was such a simple exercise. This exercise really spoke volumes about the type of restaurant McDonald’s is. It is not equipped to handle customize orders. Asking for 4 pickles, I was retorted by “extra pickles?”, a generic answer built into their robotic minds. It was almost like a “do not compute” sign started flashing in their brains when I said EXACTLY four pickles. This is through no fault of their own. It is how the management process has been constructed and has worked quite successfully and therefore it is the biggest selling restaurant in the world.

The management process is good but not perfect. We can try to perfect the McDonald’s management process so it can handle an order like the one I placed. In order to fix the order preparation, we might need the help of an IT guy. In addition to the regular things on cash register and their screen, we need to save a space for a “special consideration” part on the register and on the screen, which the food preparers follow. This would allow special orders to be processed without the need of a person going directly to the place where the food is prepared. But since this was a unique order, I thought the communication was satisfactory.

McDonald’s isn’t known for the best customer service because the employees are paid minimum wage and most of the time it seems like they don’t want to be there. I got the cold shoulder, but I didn’t expect any preferential treatment. I was at McDonalds’s buying fast food and spending a huge sum of $2.49. But to improve customer service, you need to increase pay. We see this with the airline industries where the passengers are unhappy because the flight crew is unhappy. The more you take care of an employee (as long as he/she is not a freeloader), the more positive output you will get in their work and in your business.

McDonald’s, probably not from top management’s choosing, has become a place where you expect fast food and fast service but not great service. It is a reflection of the American culture where the value of time is far greater in let’s say Saudi Arabia or Pakistan. In fact, in Pakistan there are waiters who take the customer’s order at a table! They come to you rather than you go up to them. This is a reflection of how their culture perceives McDonalds. To Pakistanis, I assume that going to McDonald’s is a big deal and therefore it works more like a restaurant. In the United States, we perceive McDonald’s as a quick “fill me up” and go.

I feel other than the small technological improvement in their system, they are quite successful in dealing with the American consumer. It is going to McDonald’s decision whether they want to change the way Americans think about McDonalds and the take appropriate action. Whether it is to increase pay so service is better or start taking orders on a table. Technology exists where you can interactively place an order on your table using touch screen and that is a path I would tell McDonald’s to consider.

By the way, they charged me $.11 cents for extra pickles. I mean come on; I know we are in a recession slowdown, but charging for extra pickles?