Sucky Workers too

[yendorII]

@RentalRacer and Arachne: Ok I just have to clarify, I do not think the McD's Manager was stupid because she had trouble with the english language, that would be an ignorant belief. I think the McD's Manager was stupid for allowing herself to take on the responsability of running the drive through when she should have known that her language skills would cause such a problem. Also you are entitled to your opinions that I may have handled it wrong just as much as I am entitled to my opinion.

@ Rahmote: No, the screen was not working, it just displayed the McD's logo.
You're correct that the speaker probably didnt help but as for them not deserving it, I did repeat my order 3 times because of the communication issue and the lack of a verification system.

@ Arachne: Let me preface this by saying I understand where you are coming from but I dont think you are quite understanding my point of view. Maybe they were short staffed? I dont know the situation? Your absolutly right I dont know the situation, but the truth is that I just dont care and it shouldnt be something a customer has to deal with. Contingency plans are part of managment too. Just because someone flaked out on their shift does NOT mean the customer should pay for it. The reason management exists is to streamline an operation and to make sure the best service possible is provided with as little hassle as possible. I would never allow myself to work a drive through position in China, I wouldnt have the basic grasp of the language and therefore I couldnt communicate. That doesnt mean that I cant work the grill, or some other job in the store. People must know their limitations and work around them.

I can promise you that the fast food server and all of her co-workers were very aware that her lack of mastery of English was a problem. But you know what? Learning another language is really hard...

I can understand your point of view here but if they knew it was a problem to begin with wouldnt that mean they should have taken the necessary steps to avoid a situation like this? The employee in the OP had a better grasp of the language and a considerably better accent, I had no trouble communicating with her. Yet she checked my order, after I had repeated it to her, and still gave me a bag full of food I didnt order. As Myswtghst said " It should be common sense not to cannot speak English very well on the drive-thru" This is the essence of my frustration, I dont mind that she has trouble with the language, I mind being the forced subject of her learning process because she wasnt smart enough to anticipate the problem.

@Myswtghst: I hate the coke=>diet coke thing, several people in my family have diabetes and you would think they would pay careful attention to that with 21 million Americans having diabetes.

@Blas87: I think that is the process that I will have to adopt from now on, it seems to happen all to often.

[Spiffy McMoron]

yendorII, is the McDonald's menu different in each state by any chance? I'm just wondering because I sometimes go to McDonald's and get a #10 which is a fish sandwich where I'm from.

And around my neck of the woods, most McDonald's don't go up to a #10. I believe that most end at #8. (I could be wrong, though-I don't go to McDonald's that often)

[Parts_Drone]

spanish

Get used to speaking spanish my friend, the times they are a changing . In a perfect world everyone you ever came into contact with would speak your language, but unfortunately this world is far from perfect. Everyone at my local mcdonalds is pretty much anglo to the core, but that doesn't stop them from scrambling your order frequently and perplexingly.

[Arachne]

I understand you perfectly. The problem is that we disagree.

You feel that because you were inconvenienced, the rules of etiquette no longer applied to you due to your frustration, and you were thusly justified and excused from saying something that was, whatever your intention, rude and hurtful, same as if someone were to stop my hypothetical fat friend on the street to educate her on the dangers of obesity. My opinion is that no amount of inconvenience or frustration frees you from responsibility to behave politely to other people, even if they are the retail/food service workers and you are the customer.

Which doesn't mean that people don't lose their cool sometimes -- nobody is perfect -- but the key is whether you feel justified for stepping out of the bounds of politeness, or whether you regret having done so.

[protege]

Which doesn't mean that people don't lose their cool sometimes -- nobody is perfect -- but the key is whether you feel justified for stepping out of the bounds of politeness, or whether you regret having done so.

Exactly. We all make mistakes. However, if I'm trying to place an order, and the person taking it isn't listening (or being a dumbass) no matter how many times I try to tell them...and they screw it up, I don't really have any sympathy for them. They chose to be an idiot, thus deserving of the consequences. I don't take being ignored kindly, and I will complain about it.

Innocent mistakes are another story. Simply because, well, "shit happens." For those, I'm a bit more forgiving, since it can happen to anyone.

[Arachne]

Yeah, I can get a little bit snippy too, if I feel like someone is messing things up because they can't be bothered to pay attention. But I can be pretty darn patient if I end up with, for example, someone at the register who's clearly new to the job, a little dense, a lot overwhelmed, and doesn't know what the heck they're doing. I figure that as annoyed as I am, of the two of us, they're having by far the worse day. For some reason, it always makes me feel better when I realize that the person who's ticking me off is way more miserable than I am.

The thing is, I don't like the idea of letting someone take away my civility by being a self-absorbed jerk who can't be bothered to do their job. Bad enough that they should give me such cruddy service, but to actually debase me as well by me letting myself sink down to their level is more power over me than I want to give them. That's why I don't buy this "it's their fault because they made me frustrated" thing -- you ALWAYS have a choice in how you behave, and to just turn over that choice to someone who clearly doesn't give a crap about you doesn't seem like the wisest thing in the world. So even when someone roundly deserves my getting snippy with them, I frequently regret having done so, later.

(The really abusive SCs who get the brunt of my hostility are another matter. I'm not about to turn the other cheek while some jerk treats me like their indentured servant or abuses my co-workers.)

[BookstoreEscapee]

I too order my food all picky-like (apple dippers instead of fries/hash browns, cheeseburgers plain/no pickles-depending on my mood )

No pickles?! Depending on your MOOD? What kind of mood is THAT?! There are ALWAYS pickles! (assuming we're still talking McDonald's) Now there's a subject to take to Fratching!!!

:walks away, bewildered, shaking head: no pickles.....

[Becks]

I'm allergic to milk, and at some fast food places I've been to, you'd think that a hamburger with no cheese is like the sky turning purple with green polka dots -- absolutely unthinkable.

Arachne, just wondering...do you go to places that offer both hamburgers AND cheeseburgers?

A hamburger with no cheese-- a hamburger
A hamburger WITH cheese-- a cheeseburger (at least where I'm from)

[MadMike]

Arachne, just wondering...do you go to places that offer both hamburgers AND cheeseburgers?

If she's talking about McDonald's, they do offer both. But the Quarter Pounder comes with it unless you ask for it without, which they can't seem to get right half the time. There were even a few times where I had to send it back twice before they got it right!

It's kind of funny, it's listed on the menu as "Quarter Pounder with Cheese." So what I'm really ordering is a "Quarter Pounder with Cheese without cheese."

[yendorII]

@ Arachne: Now I see the issue you are refering to, I didnt quite understand before what you were trying to say. I understand your objection to my behavior, even if I dont understand your analysis of it. I hardly gave my choice to someone else, I made the choice to say what I said in the hope that anyone coming through the drive through after me would not have to deal with it. As for your "fat friend", her being fat and walking down a sidewalk is no business of anyone else's, this friend of yours is hurting no one. However, if this friend were to attempt to cross a bridge that couldnt hold her weight, I may want to say something, regardless of how it may hurt, so that those who come after can have a chance to use the bridge. This is a rather extreme example but it is the only way I can think to make your example relevant to my situation. A Mexican-American walking down the sidewalk wouldnt bother me at all, it is none of my business whether or not he/she can communicate with me. However when they put themselves in a position where their English comprehension is important then I have a responsibility to those who come after to say something in an attempt to fix the situation. I can understand that you wouldnt want to deal with it that way, but I did. As I said in the OP you have every right to judge me an ass if you wish, I have professed as much to many people, but that doesnt mean that I must adopt your philosophy of right and wrong. I am a relativist, I believe that we all define right and wrong for ourselves, as far as I am concerned I did nothing wrong and have no regrets. You are quite welcome to disagree, but to say that I am cruel or to imply that my wife was embarrassed of me does not seem right to me. I only posted this to give some of you the other side of the equation, sometimes people dont realize that customers aren't the only ones with problems.

[RentalRacer]

I am a relativist, I believe that we all define right and wrong for ourselves

Interesting....I had to look that up....for anyone else who may be wondering here is the brief excerpt from Wikipedia....

"In philosophy, moral relativism is the position that moral or ethical propositions do not reflect absolute and universal moral truths, but instead make claims relative to social, cultural, historical or personal circumstances. Moral relativists hold that no universal standard exists by which to assess an ethical proposition's truth. Relativistic positions often see moral values as applicable only within certain cultural boundaries or in the context of individual preferences. An extreme relativist position might suggest that judging the moral or ethical judgments or acts of another person or group has no meaning, though most relativists propound a more limited version of the theory."

Besides that, I agree to disagree with the OP. This thread could go on forever and ever....

[Sofar]

I'd just like to say that as a burger-flipper, I screw up no more than one in every two hundred orders, (I keep track of these things.) I'm very diligent about the presence and absence of cheese, and I see to it that the plain-burger-people get their plain burgers.

[blas]

Sofar, I didn't mean to make fast food workers feel inadequate, I'm sure you take your job a bit more seriously than others do. It's tougher than it looks and it's easy to make a mistake.

We are trying not to generalize all fast food workers as stupid. We're talking about the ignorant ones who blantantly refuse to take orders and listen. While some may consider "plain" burgers or diet soda or no pickles as unfeasable and "stupid", it's what you are paid to do.....make it the way the customer wants it. There is nothing SCish about wanting a plain cheeseburger or a diet pop or a burger with no pickles.

[MadMike]

We are trying not to generalize all fast food workers as stupid. We're talking about the ignorant ones who blantantly refuse to take orders and listen.

Exactly.

I think most of us here accept that fast food workers, like everyone else, are only human and will make a mistake from time to time.

However, when it consistently happens at the same place, or multiple times in a row, then something is seriously wrong.

[Rahmota]

Yendor: I'll just say that those speaker systems are not the best and you could scream til doomsday and still not be understood and have dame judith or some other classically trained english thespian and not understand the, Bad electronics doth not make for good communication.

And IMO you where out of line. You disagree so there it is. Thats all I'll say about that.

As for fast food wokers in general. NO they are not stupid. Trapped in many ways in a living hell but not stupid.

I must be one of the least picky eaters at fast food joints. I have a set favorite that I order at each store and take the stock installation. Though I too peel the pickle off my burgers. But thats ok my wife likes my pickle.