SCHOOL RELATED POST #5 - Extra credit, extra fun!

Starting this assignment was exciting. I have purposely been a jackass on numerous occasions before, but I can’t recall the last time I was a jackass on purpose to food service employees. This is mainly because I’ve worked in food service for many years myself, so I know how it feels. Regardless, I was going to try to make the best out of this humorous situation.
















So, after my last class ended at 8:50 PM, I took a walk with my good friend J to the local McDonald’s at Union Square. I felt this was the perfect time because it was late enough so that not many people would be there so I would not hold up any lines with my extra special order. So I go in, and there is practically no line. I go up to a nice young lady named Justine and quickly state my position. I say hi with a big smile on my face. “I want a small order but it’s a very special order…”
This was me, ordering politely.

This was her reaction.
Her warm welcoming smile immediately disappeared. I first told her about my need for a hamburger with four pickles, exactly four pickles, no more, no less. Her face practically turned to stone. There was an awkward silence for a few seconds. I think she was ready to reject me. Kwok may get rejected a lot, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to get rejected at McDonald’s. Justine had to call somebody named Fabry over to help her. He was more receiving, and quickly moved to give the burger artists my special order. “Four pickles!” I heard him say. I thought I saw one of the burger assemblers/organizers looking a little confused. I think I may have also saw a smirk form, as a burger with exactly four pickles does seem like a ridiculous order.

Poor Justine thought I was done, but I quickly ruined her happiness by requesting another special item: a small order of fries with no salt, NO salt. Fabry came over once again. This seemed like it was going to be tough. I could practically hear them say “this is gonna be a looonnng night.” I didn’t think they made fries with no salt, but luckily for me, it didn’t seem to be that much of a problem as Fabry left once again to relay my message. I felt so bad for that poor cashier as I gave her the final dagger. “Can I get a receipt that says everything? You know, like the four pickles…”

Fabry came over once again. Justine told me that I could get a receipt that just lists the hamburger and fries. No, that wouldn’t be good enough; I reiterated my point. “Can’t you make it say like… extra pickles or something?” Fabry saved the day. He told me they could do it, as they started working the machine. He mentioned he had to go somewhere else to get the receipt, and he did just that as he walked a short distance to get that very important piece of paper, which I guess was printed at a different machine. I looked at the receipt, satisfied. They told me the fries would take two minutes. I thanked Justine and stood to the side, wondering if they would get my order right.

As J and I waited, we observed the kitchen intently. As a new batch of fries came out, we saw Fabry RUSH over like a racehorse with rabies and say “WAIT WAIT, KEEP THOSE SEPARATE, DON’T MIX THOSE IN WITH THE OTHERS!” I was pretty sure that new batch of fries was saltless, made especially for me. It made me happy that he took extra special care in making sure my order was perfect. We watched quite observantly as he scooped a small portion of that batch into a small bag. I felt a little bad that they made so many saltless fries just for my small order. He smiled as he put the fries in a bag and handed it to me. I thanked him, but realized that the burger was not in the bag. I asked him where my burger was and he seemed a little confused. I reminded him about the four pickles, and he quickly regained his senses. I wondered though, had my burger not been special, would he have remembered? No time for silly thoughts. I got my burger, and we sat down to eat.

Fries with no salt? Check. Burger with exactly four pickles? Check. I kind of expected the pickles to be placed one in each corner, forming a square made of four circles. I was quite taken aback though, as the formation of the pickles was nothing like I imagined it. They put two horizontally first, then two vertically on top of them, forming some kind of cross. This small meal cost $2.90 and I thoroughly enjoyed it, though I had to get some ketchup for the fries.

I had thought that the McDonald's employees would adhere strictly to their one pickle burger and all-and-only-salt fries policy,


but they did good.


The approximate time from the moment I first talked to Justine to when I got my full order took maybe around five minutes. They mentioned the fries would take two minutes. I understand that having special requests probably isn’t all too common. I would imagine that the burgers are pre-made. If they are not, then the person who prepares them is probably so used to making the burgers the same exact way each time that a request for exactly four pickles on a burger would throw him or her off of his or her burger making equilibrium. Asking for fries with no salt also posed a problem, as it seemed they had to make a new batch just to accommodate my preference. Requesting a receipt that denotes the extra pickles and no salt fries also seemed like a hassle, as Justine really didn’t seem to want to go through the trouble of taking the extra step in making a more detailed receipt. All in all, around three to four people got involved: Justine, Fabry, and maybe one or two people in the kitchen. I felt I was treated a little awkwardly during the process of ordering, but after that, it was smooth sailing. I was practically dancing to the McDonald radio music while waiting. Aside from the mix-up regarding the four pickle burger when I they gave me my bag, everything was superb. The order was completed correctly and to the highest standards of Mr. Mickey D.

The staff’s manufacturing and order preparation was above satisfactory. Though I have no other similar experience to compare and contrast it to, overall I was happy with the process and outcome. When requesting something special at a fast food joint, it should be expected that I would get a few weird looks, and I was prepared for it. What mattered was that my food came out right, and it did. The staff communicated well, as whenever Justine had a problem, Fabry was over in an instant. Fabry also communicated my order to the kitchen staff in fantastic fashion. He truly rose to the occasion. Coordination was not perfect, as they did forget my burger. The customer service process was excellent though, as Fabry did everything humanely possible to keep the customer happy.

The manner in which McDonald’s currently handles special orders is stupendous. However, if I was brought in as a consultant to McDonald’s, I would recommend forming a SOU: Special Orders Unit. This unit would take care of all the crazies who come into McDonald’s expecting everything to be tailored to their liking. I would make sure this SOU would be advertised to the maximum, to take full advantage of this unit. This group of hardened food service veteran employees would have to go through a rigorous training program regimen, consisting of taking outrageous orders and preparing them as fast as physically, mentally, and emotionally possible. Only then would they have the privilege to serve on McDonald’s: S.O.U. Having a specially designated area in the kitchen, the SOU would ensure the highest efficiency in unusual food request preparation, thus leading to a much smoother management process.

Until next time,

Your friend,

Kwok