- McDonald's -

Don't worry about it, Mike, it's cool.

In Reply to: I guess I jumped the gun on this one. posted by Mike Bacon on September 10, 1997 at 11:27:08:

Oh, I agree 100% that comments about customers or fellow employees should never be made within earshot of a customer. It's just good business. But it happens. I can recall one instance when a real ass-hole came through drive and took ten minutes ordering, everything was a grill-back and he was pissed at us because he kept changing the order. Well, the runner proclaimed what a complete ignoramus this ass-hole was using his head-set. Problem was, he didn't use the page button which allows only employees to hear, he used the talk button which allows the customer at the intercom to listen in. As you can imagine, we had a very long manager's meeting that week. And it was not long after that, that we adopted a "no customer bashing" policy on the head-sets. Point is that employees should be careful what they say and where they say it, because it's the manager who will catch hell when the complaints come flying in. So of course it is the manager's responsibility to make sure that this doesn't happen.

In this woman's case, I can't blame the manager for not babysitting, and I can't blame the crew because they probably didn't know what harm they were causing. The girl can't be blamed, because as you said, Mike, she is only thirteen. The mother, of course, is not to blame, but perhaps she carried it a bit to far, by calling the manager and crew racist and all. But we are still lacking details. Untill we get more details we will not know who is to blame or even if there is a blame to place.

Of course I know that person with a complaint isn't neccesarily a jerk. In fact, most of the time, they are very nice people, just a little pissed off. I've had my share of irate customers screaming in my face about the onions that were not supposed to have been placed on their child's burger. But they also must understand that the manager/crew person/ owner/supervisor is not directly at fault for the situation encountered by the customer. We are people, too. We screw up, and usually we're sorry. It's the times when we don't care about the customer when they have the right to slap us around a bit. Food for thought.

As always,
Joey

P.S. The Arch Deluxe is my favorite sandwitch. The tangy zip of the dijon/mayo sause and the sophisticated flavor of the peppered bacon are what makes the Arch so good. The "McWhopper" or Quarter LT doesn't even come close. To the divine goodness of the Arch was also made in part by the potato roll (God rest it's soul) which was replaced by a large quarter bun with a split in the middle. I tell you, it's not what it used to be. But, point is, the Quarter LT (which is McD's answer to BK's "Big King") to my knowlege, is a limited time sandwitch, much like the Tripple Cheese. I know that I and a few other die-hard Arch lovers will miss it if it is taken off the menu.

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