Fast Food customer training

[esun41]

Ok, I have been a fast food manager for many years. Started out as a chicken cook for the Colonel back in the 70's. I worked as a manager during college and just stuck with it. It has provided me a decent living and has raised three children to adulthood (gave my ex a good settlement at our divorce)

 

Anyway, I consider myself pretty versed in etiquette at a fast food place of business and some people just don't get it. This thread is intended to make sense of the common fast food worker and help show compasion for that common person(s)

 

The biggest burnout for these workers is being stationed at the drive thru where you would not believe some of the idiots we deal with. From cellphone conversations while ordering to having small children (4 to 5 years old) ordering for their non-english speaking parents.

 

Here are some bullets of things we deal with every day!

 

- Show some courtesy and get off that damn cell when paying for your food.

- We do not take checks and I know very few places that do anymore, so don't try.

- The driveway is not a trash can so please toss your cups, straws wraps, cigarette butts,

etc... in the correct receptacle.

- When eating inside, clean up after yourself. Would you leave your home looking like that? If

so, you're a slob!

- The dark colored soda is usually the (Coke, diet, Dr. Pepper) you ordered. The clear drink is

the Sprite!!! (It happens more than you think... don't laugh)

- Don't order from the passenger side. We can't hear you!

- We don't really want to hear your thump stereo and it makes it difficult to get your order

correct so please turn it off when ordering.

 

There is so many other things to mention but I want to open it up for others to chime in. I just want those to know that my staff works very hard to please their guests. Restaurant work is tiresome and sometimes a thankless job. Big corporations tighten the screws pretty hard on costs and such which increases the pressure on these kids and young adults.

 

Oh yeah... you know those receipts with the surveys on them... those are very important nowadays and give upper management a view of what is happening from a guests point of view. HOWEVER... people call in and give low scores or just push the one (1) button. People lose their jobs over these surveys so I ask... Have a heart!!!

[SheLikesME?]

OK I travel a lot. Here are some things to throw out there for you managers of anything with a drive thru.

 

Try to have an idea of what everyone wants when you go to a drive through. Some of us are in a hurry. If you really have to read a menu, go inside.

 

If you have a diesel, please turn it off for your own order as well as those behind you.

 

 

OK now for you resturaunt owners, HHAA HAHAAAAAAAAA:

 

Get a roof over the ordering area. We have to roll down our window in the rain to order. It gets very wet sometimes.

 

Fix the speaker or adjust the volume up or down so we can hear or understand you.

 

If you have the items on a screen as we order it sure makes it nice. I don't need an advertisement, just accuracy.

 

Hamburgers: Do you only put mayonaze or mustard on one slice of bread when you make a sandwitch at home? I didn't think so. Guess what? Neither do the rest of us. Put the frigen condement on both sides of the bun and enough so we can taste it please. I don't like your dry sandwitches. I suppose asking for the buns be buttered & toasted the way they used to be is asking too much now days too. Oh Whataburger has wheat buns, imagine that.

 

If your working at an Arby's and a customer asks you to please put the Arby sauce on for you in the drive thru, please do it. We are in a car and about to drive off. How do you drive and tear open a little bag and press it on the bun in the car? Oh Arby's!!!!!

 

Jack in the Box: Best dang food for eating in the car there is. Taco's are the best, because little to no spilage. Oh and again if we ask for extra sauce in those tacos please accomodate us.

 

Burger King: Same as Jack in the Box on the taco, but you closed so many resturaunts in your bankruptcy.

 

Get a bigger roof where we pick up the order and pay. In the rain most are too small for Texas side ways rain.

 

Always have a trash can available in the driveway for our trash. Please keep it emptied. Especially you Sonic Drive in. We really need that can so we don't have to get out of the car.

 

AND THE BIGGEST COMPLAINT: Dr Pepper and Diet Dr Pepper. We need it. If you have a resturaunt in TX your an idiot without both. Mexicans in every Mexican food resturaunt just really don't understand this. GEEEZ. No culture or loyaly to Texas from you guys for sure!

 

Mr Pibb gives us a headache. We want the real thing. And you east Coast people: Not telling me that you have Pib instead of pepper just is down right inconsiderate. But I consider the source and throw the thing out.

 

If I think of something else I will return. No ofense intended.

[esun41]

No offense taken and I will reply with your valid and some not so valid points. You're the kind of customer I want to hear from.

 

Hoo-rah on the diesel. (Has anyone heard what that sounds like in a headset)

 

 

OK I travel a lot. Here are some things to throw out there for you managers of anything with a drive thru.

 

Try to have an idea of what everyone wants when you go to a drive through. Some of us are in a hurry. If you really have to read a menu, go inside.

 

If you have a diesel, please turn it off for your own order as well as those behind you.

 

 

OK now for you resturaunt owners, HHAA HAHAAAAAAAAA:

 

Get a roof over the ordering area. We have to roll down our window in the rain to order. It gets very wet sometimes.

 

Fix the speaker or adjust the volume up or down so we can hear or understand you.

 

If you have the items on a screen as we order it sure makes it nice. I don't need an advertisement, just accuracy.

 

Hamburgers: Do you only put mayonaze or mustard on one slice of bread when you make a sandwitch at home? I didn't think so. Guess what? Neither do the rest of us. Put the frigen condement on both sides of the bun and enough so we can taste it please. I don't like your dry sandwitches. I suppose asking for the buns be buttered & toasted the way they used to be is asking too much now days too. Oh Whataburger has wheat buns, imagine that.

 

If your working at an Arby's and a customer asks you to please put the Arby sauce on for you in the drive thru, please do it. We are in a car and about to drive off. How do you drive and tear open a little bag and press it on the bun in the car? Oh Arby's!!!!!

 

Jack in the Box: Best dang food for eating in the car there is. Taco's are the best, because little to no spilage. Oh and again if we ask for extra sauce in those tacos please accomodate us.

 

Burger King: Same as Jack in the Box on the taco, but you closed so many resturaunts in your bankruptcy.

 

Get a bigger roof where we pick up the order and pay. In the rain most are too small for Texas side ways rain.

 

Always have a trash can available in the driveway for our trash. Please keep it emptied. Especially you Sonic Drive in. We really need that can so we don't have to get out of the car.

 

AND THE BIGGEST COMPLAINT: Dr Pepper and Diet Dr Pepper. We need it. If you have a resturaunt in TX your an idiot without both. Mexicans in every Mexican food resturaunt just really don't understand this. GEEEZ. No culture or loyaly to Texas from you guys for sure!

 

Mr Pibb gives us a headache. We want the real thing. And you east Coast people: Not telling me that you have Pib instead of pepper just is down right inconsiderate. But I consider the source and throw the thing out.

 

If I think of something else I will return. No ofense intended.

[C4Racer]

No offense taken and I will reply with your valid and some not so valid points. You're the kind of customer I want to hear from.

 

Just a thought, the not so valid points are still very valid. Remember, they are coming from a customer's perception. PERCEPTION IS REALITY!! This is what the saying, "The customer is always right", means. It has nothing to do with what will stand up in a court of law or what your reality was. You can be right and provide excellent service, if the customer's perception is the service sucks, you lose in the long run. They will go somewhere else. So valid or not, it is important for you the management to make the customer believe all their concerns are valid, even if you do nothing about it and do not change your service.

 

Oh, BTW. I am in the customer service business as well. Now, I provide networking services for my office products company. Before, I serviced computers and fax machines. This side of the business we always see customers at their worst. Their machine doesn't work and they are very unhappy. We have to be very aware of customer perception from the start of the service call. Much more than many customer service related businesses.

 

just a thought and my 2 cents worth...

Edited October 27, 2006 by C4Racer (see edit history)

[SinoTexas]

I think I'll stick with Taco Cabana, Whataburger or the DQ. Good customer service for the most part.

 

As aye,

 

Jim

[vibes1313]

Last year I went to a KFC alone in Shenzhen. I wanted two breast. Usually the counter help would provide a menu so I could point to what I wanted. This particular girl didn't so I tried to translate by patting on my chest with both hands. I'm pretty sure she thought I was crazy as hell by then. I settled for a combo meal.

Probably a good thing I didn't want wings......

Edited October 27, 2006 by vibes1313 (see edit history)

[LeeFisher3]

Why is it when I go to KFC and buy a bucket of chicken and the sides I am forced to ask for napkins because they don't have them out? Then when they give me 2 I have to ask them to provide enough so that I have one for each piece of Chicken.

 

Ask for ketchup when getting the Super Sized fries and you get 1 packet. Well my wife can usually get by with one packet for this number of fries, but as an American 1 packet usually will only take care of 10 fries at best.

 

One of the all time greats happened this past weekend at the drive thru, the guy told me the amount and when I got to the window the price went up 4 cents, well being in a hurry I had the exact change ready and had to dig in my pocket and told him the numbers were different. His response was "You forgot about the tax!" I'm still trying to figure out how that works, there must have been a sale tax change between the order menu and driving to the window.

 

Another thing, Who in the hell decided that handing a person sitting in a car their change by giving them the bills first and then stacking the change on top of it was in the least bit intelligent. It takes a contortionist to not dump the change on the ground especially when they try to put your drink and bag in the same hand.

 

Then my all time favorite, pay for my food with a $20 and get change for a $10. Of course they are not wrong even after telling them I just came from the ATM which only gave me 20 dollar bills. The sad part is they had already put the money in the drawer before getting my change out. But to be honest it was fun to sit at the window and eat my lunch while I insisted the manager balance the drawer during the lunch rush. For some reason it was my fault and it really pissed off the manager, but I offered to call the police to help settle the matter of them stealing $10.

[esun41]

To reply to certain concerns already posted...

 

Having a cover over the drive thru in Sun Belt states has it's drawbacks. Mostly due to building code and need. Most of my experience is in Sun Belt states, California and Arizona mostly and a rain cover just doesn't make fiscal sense. So.California averages over 270 "sunny" days per year. Rain cover is not a concern to many owners. They would rather spend the money on cosmetics or better equipment. One restaurant I opened in Arizona was built with a "weather cover" and it was destroyed within a year by the elements. Keep in mind that many restaurants are leased and those owners won't reach into their bank accounts to supply said covers. They could care less as long as they get their rent money.

 

Speaker volume is determined, again, by local city codes. Especially in residental areas. People don't want the noise echo in their back yards. I agree that some restaurant chains just need to upgrade their systems and maintain their equipment better. Culture in the workplace also plays a part as you should not place a meekly voiced person on the drive thru. Also note that most speakers are designed for passenger cars, not pick up trucks with 3 inch lifts! lol

 

Dr. Pepper is the drink of Texas!!! I sell 4 Dr Peppers to 1 other beverages at my units. We also sell sweet tea (which I think is a drink preferred in the southern states) Dr. Pepper has it's hold in Texas and is the #3 drink in other areas of my experience. I would offer my opinion for Diet Dr. Pepper in that it has not tested well in customer surveys. People just don't buy it and if you ever have had a fountain drink Diet Dr. Pepper and then out of a bottle Diet Dr. Pepper. The flavor is really different and that, in my opinion, affects the integrity of the product.

 

Dept. of public health agencies, at least the ones I have dealt with, prohibit having a trash can outside the drive thru window. It had something to do with pest control and sanitation requirements. The trash recepticles at my units away from the drive thru have bees and other insects buzzing around. Not something you'd want flying into your car as you drive off. Sonic does need trash cans!!! This bugs me as well when I leave there and have no place to dispose of my trash. I love Sonic though, they have a good thing going with their slush and smoothie menu.

 

I have my own opinions on Big Corp. chains. Most of those people who make the decisions, have never strapped on a apron and flung fries into a bag. I also know that there are many poorly run units by poorly trained individuals. Downsizing has occurred and costs are cut, mostly in the area of labor costs. It's like pouring 5 gallons of water into a 1 gallon bottle. Sometimes you just make due with what is available. I've been fortunate to have been mentored by some pretty incredible men and women who've had a vision. One of those men was Dave Thomas of Wendy's. His perception of guest service was that nothing mattered unless it mattered to his customers. This industry needs more people like him!

 

Thanks to all that have posted, I appreciate your input!

Edited October 28, 2006 by esun41 (see edit history)

[SheLikesME?]

Hi Eric,

Lets keep smiling. This subject strikes a nerve.

 

OK this is a HUGE topic for me as I have lived on the road for so many years and am a fast food freak. So I must respond.

 

1) The owners or what ever need to insist on the rain covers that are affective. For me, I will sometimes go where there is cover if not in the mood for the water.

 

2) Diet Dr Pepper not testing well? Some exec needs to be fired, and somebody in Yum's needs an education in Texas history and tastes. Then he needs to make a training video for Texas stores. I need to be polite at this point and not show my anger at what they did to Taco Bell. I was raised in TX. I consider myself a conosour of Dr Pepper, even though I cannot spell. I get fountain Diet Dr Pepper all the time from Whataburger and now guess who has it in every resturaunt? McDonalds!!!! They woke up. I used to get regular Dr Pepper in any state that had a Taco Bell when Pepsi owned it. Now some Southern Coca Cola warped nimrod in Yum's is clueless about Texas. If I were you, I would get 2Lt bottles and sell them out the wondow. I know of a Schlotskies that keeps DP and DDP in the refrigerater and sells it by the bottle because corporate won't put it in the fountain. Let us customers decide if we like the taste. In fact the best taste is half and half Dp and DDP. Sorry if I seem a little raw about this. There is no excuse for not having DP or DDP in your store in TX. We talk about being careful with the CHinese culture in CFL. Your management needs to think about the cultural violation they are making to their locals. Pib? Hahahaha. I can tell you for certain that Yum and or every franchise that dropped DP & DDP from their resturants are being boycotted here in TX. I know exactly which Taco Bells Have it. But because of their slap in the face to me, I seldom go to any TB, KFC, or PH. The only exception is Sonic which has DDP & DP, and I only go infrequently. We did get a brand new one in Cresson last month. Bad thing about Dave is he does not have Dr Pepper at all Wendy's. Maybe when alive. I avoid those Wendy's that have no DP. I spoke to a group of managers about this. They don't seem to get it. Good ol Whataburger. Native son, so they simply understand. Man it used to be no matter where I went coast to coast 7-11 and Taco Bell never let me down. Now it is 7-11 and McDs. By the way I spoke to the DFW Board of Directors once about the pouring rights at the airport. Seems they hired a man from Denver who had no clue about TX. VPs from DP were there. They had nothing more to say after I spoke to the board. I got a DP watch and some toys in the mail after that. Your store really is pissing some people off whether you know it or not.

 

3) Trash cans. Didn't mean to have them at the window. I meant somewhere along the drive so you can use it from the car window. A few Sonics have them on the way out. Whataburger and now McDs have them at every store. Whataburger overall is about the best customer service in TX by the way.

[SheLikesME?]

Best French Fries: McDonalds because fo taste, but they have too many short small ones.

 

Best ketchup: Whataburger. And what a GREAT CONTAINER & way to use ketchup in a car. Does anyone in management ever do urgonomic studies of eating food while driving?

 

 

PS when I said boycott of resturaunts that pulled DP. I know several families and teens who broke their habit of frequenting those resturaunts. Please take note. This is a violation of Texas culture. It is not a debatable issue. MsD sure put some numbers to it to justify the expense of adding it. And if you do not make as much money on DP as say Pibb? CHARGE MORE FOR THE DP. We will pay it.

 

 

Keep smiling.

[jim_julian]

Diet Dr P??? .... my fridge in my SoCal office is full of it. I must drink 3-4 per day.

 

Wattaburger ... man do they still exist?? I remember my days in Navy flight training in P'cola Fla ... Wattaburger was my fav ... and that was back when I could eat a burger ant not get fat.

 

I haven't had a burger in about two years now ... don't miss 'em.

[SheLikesME?]

Yep Jim they exist. Started in Corpus Christie actually. Driving to the coast there is one or more at every exit. Up in Dallas area they are 24 hour. Down there they have so many only a few stay open.

 

I like them because you can get a wheat bun and have it built anyway you want. But yes I am fat.

[SheLikesME?]

http://i14.tinypic.com/2a64ejb.jpg

http://i13.tinypic.com/2pr62dv.jpg

[esun41]

To: SheLikesMe

 

Dude... I like your passion towards fast food. I am actually printing your posts and mailing them to my Corp. This is the kind of stuff that wakes people up.

 

Let me jump trains for a minute...

 

I work for Jack in the Box. We have this new Ciabatta Steak sandwich which is doing well in product roll out. Marketing is dropping a direct mail coupon buy one get one on Monday. Marketing sent out a email memo yesterday (Friday) Food shipment order deadline was Thursday which means not enough product will be on hand to handle the demand for Mon-Tues. Here's the kicker... Region V.P. calls an all operations management meeting for Monday... the day of the coupon roll out so all Corp. managers will be out of their restaurants to attend this brown nose meeting. This means chaos.

 

See what I'm dealing with???

 

P.S. McDonalds gives me the runs, no matter what location. Not that their food is bad it just goes thru me.

 

Whataburger is mostly franchised now. That Good ole boy network has worked for them and you're right... they know what Texans want... too bad they can't get it going elsewhere.

[Yuanyang]

Eric, did someone mention employees that speak and understand ENGLISH?????