How to deal with the Fast Food Customers?

[BSAGuy]

 

[oc_in_fw]

You must frequent the same places that I do.

I hate it when a waitress comes over and asks how everything is when it's obvious you have your mouth full.

I used to think that way, then realized something- if I am eating, the chances that a waiter will catch me with food in my mouth is high. The waiter isn't purposely waiting for me to have food in my mouth.

 

[ouch]

Agreed! Come over and top off our drinks, but you don't need to engage us in conversation while we're stuffing our gullets. We'll tell you if we need anything or if the food isn't great.

The worst is when you order the steak and they say "can you go ahead and cut into it so that we can make sure it's cooked right?"
1) Given that it's piping hot, I guarantee that you didn't rest the meat, so I don't want to cut into it until it has reabsorbed the juices.
2) Given that it's piping hot, well cooked, and I ordered medium rare, I guarantee it's going to be at least medium after resting for 5 minutes on the insanely hot plate you just served me. (That's why I order medium rare, so that at worst I get medium well)
3) If your kitchen staff can't confidently serve a steak in the right temperature band, they don't need to be serving steak.

Your new Delta Tau Chi username is redfalcons1.

 

[TreadwayJohnA]

In the end...just give them the pickle.

We had a mandatory training conference on "Give them the pickle!" It was actually a really good seminar, I enjoyed it.

 

[Kazeryu]

Agreed! Come over and top off our drinks, but you don't need to engage us in conversation while we're stuffing our gullets. We'll tell you if we need anything or if the food isn't great.

The worst is when you order the steak and they say "can you go ahead and cut into it so that we can make sure it's cooked right?"
1) Given that it's piping hot, I guarantee that you didn't rest the meat, so I don't want to cut into it until it has reabsorbed the juices.
2) Given that it's piping hot, well cooked, and I ordered medium rare, I guarantee it's going to be at least medium after resting for 5 minutes on the insanely hot plate you just served me. (That's why I order medium rare, so that at worst I get medium well)
3) If your kitchen staff can't confidently serve a steak in the right temperature band, they don't need to be serving steak.

There are many customers who think they know what "medium rare" (etc.) means, but don't. That's why the servers do this, particularly in cheaper places.

 

[Rhody]

There are many customers who think they know what "medium rare" (etc.) means, but don't. That's why the servers do this, particularly in cheaper places.

Annoyingly they do it in expensive steak houses now too.

I can't get over the number of kitchens that can't get a well done hamburger right. Its the only safe way to consume ground meat and for health reasons the way we must order a burger for a family member.

 

[Jack19]

If you're serious about knowing OP; How to Conduct a SWOT Analysis for Your Small Business

That said, in the FF industry, there's, frequently, little you can do about the personalities.

 

[Tannhauser]

Annoyingly they do it in expensive steak houses now too.

I can't get over the number of kitchens that can't get a well done hamburger right. Its the only safe way to consume ground meat and for health reasons the way we must order a burger for a family member.

Yeah, I'm one of those weird ones that likes my steak to be pink all the way through with a hint of red in the middle, but my burgers have to be charred. I love my burgers well done, and they'll still come to me with pink inside.

 

[August West]

"We don't serve fast food, we serve good food as fast as we can."

 

[DoctorShavegood]

I used to think that way, then realized something- if I am eating, the chances that a waiter will catch me with food in my mouth is high. The waiter isn't purposely waiting for me to have food in my mouth.

I've been to Mexican border restaurants with Texas many times. Two of my favorites have totally different ways of treating their patrons. The Cadillac Bar & Grill in Nuevo Laredo was most interesting. You must stand up and yell "waiter" at the top of your lungs to get service. The food was amazing. By contrast I've also been to Ma Crosby's (mentioned in a George Strait song) in Ciudad Acuna across from Del Rio, Texas. This place was beyond incredible. The waiters needed only a cursory glance and read your mind as to what you wanted. Their coffee was amazing. The town was clean.

 

[Graybeard57]

Courtesy and respect, which begets courtesy and respect, IME. Food service is a tough business, that's for sure.

 

[ouch]

"We don't serve fast food, we serve good food as fast as we can."

"We don't serve fast food, but that sounds a lot nicer than what we really do sell."

 

[Alexis Davis]

Just give them what they want. When people are hungry they can be 10x bigger jerks than when they are not hungry. Empathize with them. Apologize. "how can we resolve this?". "what can I do to make you happy?". Identify what your top complaints are. Let's say your top 3 complaints. Then work with your team to find solutions to the problem.

In the end...just give them the pickle.

I know what you mean. Yes, that is the word. MEAN. People can get really mean when they are hungry ... but they get kinda cross-eyed and single-minded too. They say they ordered something that they NEVER mentioned.

 

[Komboloi]

I'm working in a Fast food chain and I noticed numerous complaints. I want to hear about how can we lessen the increasing number of complains we have to deal each day? What strategy do you practice to investigate or resolute clients complaints?

In my view, all this managerial mumbo jumbo, strategizing and seminarizing and focusing on process and dispute resolution totally misses the point.

In any business, the key to dealing with customer complaints is not to give customers any reason to complain.

So it's a two-step process:

1. What are they complaining about?
2. Stop doing that.

No one is going to be able to charge your company for a short seminar like that, so you'll pay for a much longer one. And the money will be wasted, because it's not about your process; it's substance that matters. In any business.

 

[John Rose]

Alex Borstein ["Miss Swan"] at her finest.

This too: Fast Food Archives - Funny & True Stories - Not Always Right

 

[Doc4]

 

[Alexis Davis]

Just give them what they want. When people are hungry they can be 10x bigger jerks than when they are not hungry. Empathize with them. Apologize. "how can we resolve this?". "what can I do to make you happy?". Identify what your top complaints are. Let's say your top 3 complaints. Then work with your team to find solutions to the problem.

In the end...just give them the pickle.

You are right about that! You will be surprised at how fast a hungry persons' fuse would explode. I had one before who kept saying turkey sandwich and when I repeated her order, she went ballistic and she wanted roast beef. Unbelievable!

 

[Alexis Davis]

What are they complaining about?
The service (wait) or the food.
Just curious.

Different things, actually. The service takes too long or that there is not enough mayo or that the order is wrong. One time, the tea is too sweat or the soda has lost its taste. Don't get me wrong, though, it is not as often as it seems. Its just that when one complaint comes, they just all seem to come all at the same time. What I would love is to have a sort of complaint handling software that we could study and we'd know what to do when it happens again or at least try to prevent it. I don't know. Something like that.

 

[Alexis Davis]

Whenever I deal with a dissatisfied customer I usually wind up saying one word that ends the argument.

Spoiler

Next!

LOL! I'll get fired if I do this.

 

[emwolf]

don't spout company policy or tell people what you can't do. come up with something you can do for them. that said, i've noticed people have started getting way out of line at fast food. you get what you pay for. If i'm paying $5 for my meal my expectations should be fairly low for the amount of choice I have in the matter. I was at 4 Seasons in Chicago one time and our waiter switched the plates he set down in front of my wife and myself. I told him she had what I ordered. At that point the head waiter stepped up and relieved the waiter of our table for the evening and served us himself...because there you shouldn't have any errors.