Counsel for the Customers

So much for writing pretty frequently, eh?

I have an explanation for such a huge gap between then and now. My life since then has been a roller coaster of ups, downs, and fast food, interspersed by a plane right and the occasional good night’s sleep.

McDonald’s, the place of my employment, began scheduling me for shifts that began at 5 am, 6 am, and 7 am. I would work 7-9 hours every day and come home too exhausted to be of any use whatsoever. At that point, I would simply sleep and hope that it was enough hours for the next day when it would all begin again. My creative levels have been at an absolute minimum.

But I’m back! And this time, I’ve decided that it might be helpful for me to share my insights with others, for the good of the fast food world. There are many things that I don’t think the customers realize when they come through the drive-thru, and without further introduction, I would like to present to you today’s topic.

HOW TO GET THROUGH THE MCDONALD’S DRIVE-THRU WITH THE LEAST AMOUNT OF STRESS.

1. Speak up.

More often than not, the speakers in the drive-thru do not transfer every single syllable with absolute clarity. What makes it more difficult is that the person listening to your order has more to listen to than just you. Behind them, the kitchen is banging, people are calling to each other as they deal with the lunch rush, and machines are whirring.

So when a customer comes through and mumbles their order, it’s somewhat frustrating. It’s even more frustrating when we say, “I’m sorry, sir/ma’am, but I can’t hear you, could you speak up a little bit, please?” and they continue at the same volume. Or a higher volume, but still too low to be of any use.

To prevent misunderstandings and frustrations between the worker and the customer, the best way to help is to speak loudly and clearly, outlining exactly what you want with precision.


There is a flip side of this, however:



2. Quiet down.


The speakers in the drive-thru that you’re currently yelling into go directly to the head-sets that the order-taker is wearing right over their ear. It is, quite literally, /painful/ when a customer decides that they absolutely have to be heard everything else and scream their lungs out into the speaker.

What’s even worse is when they do it to be funny. When the recorded voice asks them if they would like to try a new fruit smoothie and they scream, “NO!” to make their friends laugh, it’s frustrating for the worker who has had this happen to them repeatedly in the last hour. Frustrations rise, impatience stirs, and the order-taker’s new goal is to get the person out as fast as possible in order to save their eardrums from damage, leading to a misperception of being rude.

The summary of these first two steps is: please be loud and clear, but for the love of all that is good, please help us to keep from needing hearing aids before we’re 40.



3. Understand that we are simply the messengers.

The order-taker is only that: an order-taker. We take orders. We have no influence over anything else in the store.

Pretend that you just showed up in the drive-thru and asked for chicken nuggets. Or a smoothie. Or anything else that your whims could possibly desire. And I am taking your order. The manager has just told me that we don’t have chicken nuggets. Or that the smoothie machine is having maintenance done on it. Or the ice cream machine is broken.

So I must break the news to you. “I’m sorry,” I say, because I genuinely am sorry, “but we don’t have any chicken nuggets at the moment. I can take your order, but you’ll have to wait a few minutes, is that okay?”

Of course, you’re not happy. You’re sitting in the car and you had your /heart/ set on those chicken nuggets and you are appalled that the kitchen didn’t get them ready in time for you.

I understand that you are frustrated. We, in the store, understand that you are frustrated.
But I am only the messenger. I have absolutely nothing to do with the kitchen. I don’t decide when they prepare and cook the meat, or when they refill anything, or how to time things. I am simply telling you what my manager has told me to say. So when you’re taking your anger out on me, it’s frustrating for me because I did nothing to deserve your rage.

“That’s STUPID,” one customer once told me. “Thanks for NOTHING!” She drove off in a rage and I sat there wondering what I had done to deserve getting yelled at. I know she was upset because she couldn’t get a cheeseburger right then, but it was still breakfast time, and I wasn’t in charge of cooking the meat for lunch. I had only delivered the message that the cooks hadn’t prepared regular meat yet.

I know you’re frustrated, I really do. But please remember that the order-takers are humans with feelings and that they have to put up with a lot of people who decide to shoot the messenger. And for sensitive people like me, it leads to very bad work days when I want to go in the back room and cry.


4. Make life simple for us, and we’ll do the same for you.

The simpler that you make the whole experience for us, the faster and more efficiently we’ll get everything done for you.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t order a complicated sandwich, or ask for sauce at the window, or pay entirely in change. Please, feel free. We’re here to serve you.

But our times are ticking, we’re expected to get you in and out as fast as we can. So when you order your complicated sandwich, it’s helpful if you mention it right away and make it clear for us. That way, the cooks don’t make it first and find out later that it was supposed to be special, and they understand what is wanted. When you ask for sauce at the window, ask for it all at once. We’ll gladly get you barbeque, sweet and sour, /and/ ranch, but it will frustrate us when you make us go back three different times. Pay all in change, but have it sorted beforehand, or at least know what you have, so that you’re not digging for it and looking around while the line behind you piles up.

We want to make this a pleasant experience for you, we really do. But pretend you’re digging for that last elusive quarter and you’ve been at our window for more than a minute. You don’t know that we have our manager asking what’s taking so long and that our times are going up, and that’s why we’re antsy. We know that everyone behind you is also getting frustrated, and that we’ll have to deal with them in a minute.

The easier life is for us, the easier and faster and better it is for you. If you like it that way, then give us a bit of help, we’d really appreciate it!


5. Have a little patience.

It’s so much easier to deal with a cheerful, helpful customer than one who snaps back and responds with impatience. It makes us want to help you better and faster, and it will keep everyone’s stress levels low so that they can function faster.

We’re people, too. We may work at McDonald’s, but that does not mean that we are lesser than anyone else on this planet. We have feelings, bad days, good days, and a conscience.

Have patience with us, and we’ll do our best to treat you right, because we know that you’re human, too.



As a worker, I want to please people. I want them to leave the restaurant with a correct order and a smile. I love it when customers smile back at me and wish me a good day. We really are doing our best to be a people-friendly service.




That’s all for today!
I’ll probably write again soon to make up for the big gap, but until then, enjoy my little tidbits of advice, from me to you.


Sadie