Fast food customer service...ideas?

Hello everyone! 
A few friends and myself decided to start a new project and video series over this summer. It is called the "Customer Service Critics" we are basically interested in evaluating customer service and the quality of responding to different requests at a variety of fast food restaurants.

Here is our first video: 

We are in need of suggestions/comments/feedback! If you have any ideas for us at all, we want to hear them! 

-Thanks!

Right click the URL, then highlight and left click copy.
 
Go to the draft of your post, right click the cursor, then highlight and left click paste.
 
In any case, welcome to Roadfood.

You have to post  at least 30 times before you can post links or photos.

Debaun7771


Hello everyone! 
A few friends and myself decided to start a new project and video series over this summer. It is called the "Customer Service Critics" we are basically interested in evaluating customer service and the quality of responding to different requests at a variety of fast food restaurants.

Here is our first video: 

We are in need of suggestions/comments/feedback! If you have any ideas for us at all, we want to hear them! 

-Thanks!

Customer service at many FF restaurants is an Oxymoron

Except for Chipotle, which tends to have excellent customer service, most FF places service tends to be a reflection of the soci-economic area in whihc the restaurant resides.
 
there are exceptions, of course, but as a rule - the crappier the enighborhood, the crappier the FF joint.
 
One exception was a McDonalds I went to in Howard County, MD. Afluent neighborhood, terrible service. I think the "assistant manager" was a child. He didn't know his own menu. I asked for Hot Picante sauce - he said, "what?" "uh, we don't have that." I said, "you serve breakfast burritos, right?" he said, "yes." I said, "it's the sauce you give out every day with that order."  "Oh, I didn't know what that was." ......Assistant Manager. The girl at the window didn't know what it was either. I left, but when I found they had given my Root Beer instead of Diet Coke (after a huge wait in the drive thru - car piling up behind me because it was so slow - and they kept taking bags back and then giving new bags, it was clear they were screwing up orders). I went in for an exchange because I can't drink sugared soda. The manager said, "sorry." So I figured, ok, I'll ask about the hot picante sauce. Oh boy!
 
In my view, it was being run by teenagers - hence the issues of ignorance and inability to solve problems.
 
But, regardless, I stand by my statement that the worse off the neighborhood, the worse the FF service. I've seen it all too clear here in my own area - which has an incredible gape between wealthy and priveleged, and the poor and disadvantaged. 
 
I think Chipoltle avoids that pitfall because it's not a franchise, so there's no locally owned and operated variance happening between franchises. But, Chipoltle, as a corporation is also less apt to open in places it thinks will be trouble or have high liability. In some places, they even avoid college areas to avoid the late night drunk rush and the garbage that ensues. Rather, will open several blocks away, to get the collegiate business but not so easy for a drunken stupor. 

Several FF and casual food places are currently being secret shopped with the emphases this go around being special requests such adding something to the sandwich that normally doesn't come with it or leaving something off that does.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! Our 2nd video is now posted! I would link it...but I don't believe I have access to do so yet. Feel free to search Customer Service Critics on youtube and check out our videos: "No Bun Please" and "Fast Food Time Trials"

I made it through 35 seconds before I couldn't take any more and had to shut if off.

Customer service in a fast food restaurant is a Welcome, a smile, and a Thank you...........People go for fast food for a reason........Get the order right is all we ask, and If I do bitch, don't spit on my food...........pnwc

What I hate is when they are surly and get your order wrong.  I order basic things via the drive-thru because I'm usually in a hurry when I go to fast food places and I don't modify what I order and they still screw it up.  This seems to be increasing.  Even if the screen at the drive-thru shows what you ordered, they still mess it up.  Go figure. 

One major issue of fast food service is simply that they pay the least amount of money, and so, tends to attracts young, inexperienced and often less than educated people. Fast food is tiring work, very fast paced, stressful, hot, and dirty. I am sure there is an element of workers who actively resent to having to work fast food when they are qualified for something better, but cannot advance due to the economy. Most of these places have constant turnover of staff, because people cannot take the environment, or they found something, anything that pays better than Micky D's.
 
In fast food (as in a lot of businesses) there is one way of doing something, and the workers get used to doing it one way over and over and over again. When someone wants something different, it throws a monkey wrench into their system.
 
Having a good manager who cares about his work and his employees is also a good thing. To managers, if the employees hate you, they are going to do as little as possible and undermine you at every turn. Showing concern for the staff's well being and just being friendly goes a long ways. If you have the staff's respect, they will work harder and not call in "sick" so much.