Special Order at McDonald’s

I ordered my hamburger with 4 pickles and the well done french-fries without salt, at a McDonald in Port Byron, NY, driving towards Vermont. I am assuming that the experience I had was quite different from ordering it in NY City or any of the 5 borrows. It was Monday the 20th, late night, 20:47 to be exact. I must say that the cashier was very polite and patient with me. I placed my order and I specifically asked for four pickles only, and for well done fries without salt. I also asked the cashier to make sure that the receipt shows 4 pickles and well done fries, no salt. She got kind of nervous, and was wondering why would I ask that. I made sure I showed no signs of laughing or kidding. She paused for some minutes and than replied that she got it. The receipt shows Pickles 4 times, but no well done fries without salt. The cashier replied that it was impossible to have that remark on the receipt, but she promised that my order was going to go through just the way I wanted it. The manager was working right behind the cashier, but she was not getting evolved, even though I realized that she was paying attention to what was going on. Since it was very late the place was not very busy. There were a few other travelers that had stopped for a break. All of a sudden, while I was placing the order, I noticed that another employee got involved. He was going back and forth from the cash register to the back to make sure that my special order would go through just the way I wanted it. And that is when all got confused. As he was going back and forth taking my order to the kitchen, a third employee was asking the manager what was going on. The manager replied that she had no clue. The forth employee who was packing up my burger was asking from the back one more time to make sure that the order went correctly to her. At that moment I hear the fifth employee in the back saying as joking: “call the caps”. I couldn’t help but laugh. The order came. It was not exactly as I wanted it. There were 8 pickles and the fries came latter. They were not exactly well done, but they surely were without salt. I politely thanked the cashier and I asked her if it was possible to talk to the manager. The manager appeared and I explained to her that I had asked for 4 pickles only, and for well done fries. She apologized, took the hamburger back took out the extra pickles and repacked it. She also explained to me that it was impossible to get the fries well done. She said that the frying machine was already set up for a certain time and the process was constant for all the fries that went in the oil, not one second more or less. She also said that if she would put my fries in the oil again, she would have to wait for the timer to end, she could not stop the process, and that would mean that my fries would have burned, instead of coming well done. I accepted the fries the way they were and I left. The whole process took about 15-20 min, because I had to wait for the fries.

The personnel were very polite. They were definitely shocked by my specific order, but they were very helpful and patient. I did not receive any attitudes, rolling eyes or wired looks. The service was very good. I was actually surprised with the number of employees that got involved to make sure that my order went through correctly, considering that the whole cost of the order was only $2. Considering the standardized process that takes place at McDonald’s, the cashier did not turn back my order and did her best to make sure I got all I wanted. She could have very easily said I can’t do it, but instead she said; “I got it.”

If I was a consultant at McDonald’s I would definitely emphasize the importance of having a more flexible computer system. The employees are willing to accomplish special orders but the computer system is already built in a way that doesn’t give them space to deviate from the usual standard menu. Special orders should be taken into consideration, though.

I surely had fun, and I think the personnel had fun too. It was a bit of excitement for them in that late hour. They definitely made jokes, and told their friends about me and my special order.