Upon entering McDonald's, I noticed that there weren’t many people in line. It wasn’t busy inside the restaurant. The drive thru was much busier than the front. Most of the employees were focused on the drive thru, rather than the registers up front. There were only two employees working the front registers, which was sufficient enough for the amount customers. I was then called up by the manager, who placed my order. I realized that the manager was not only giving orders but was also participating by working the register.
It can be related to Likert’s leadership system which involves participation. The fact that most of the employees were tending to the drive thru, allowed the manager to help out the front by taking orders. As I told her my order, she didn’t ask any questions as to why the order was so specific. I believe that was professional of her to respect my order. I was under the impression that it didn’t matter to her because satisfying the customers’ needs was important. I told her exactly what I needed and I also told her that the exact order had to be printed on the receipt and she did it no questions asked.
When I told her to make the fries well done with no salt, she went back and told one of her employees to make sure it was exactly how I had ordered them. The employee emptied a whole new batch of fries into the fryer and left it in there for a little longer than usual. She also made sure not to put salt on them afterwards. All the employees handling my order seemed focused on getting the order correct. In the back, I noticed that the employees working on my hamburger were working together. One of them would get the meat ready while the other added the ketchup and pickles.
I got my food very quick, I didn’t have to repeat myself, and I didn’t have to ask them to correct my order. I thought the team was efficient, because the manager had enough people to handle the busy drive thru and the front. She assigned them to their locations depending on the area that was busier. I believe that their accuracy was also excellent because my food was done exactly how I had ordered it. There was also good communication involved in the process, especially on the managers’ part.
In terms of organization, the team worked well together. They each were assigned a task. Some would make the food; others would put the food in the bag if it was to go or tray to stay. There was also someone taking the order and another collecting the cash. The only thing I would recommend is for them to be a little more enthusiastic but I can understand. My first job was at Burger King, so I can relate. It is a very exhausting job. Working in the drive thru, the employees have a timer to track how fast the orders are delivered to the customer. It also doesn’t help that you are always standing up.
