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How to deal with the Fast Food Customers?

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?

Your advice, ideas and suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
 

Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
Staff member
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.
 
Listen to what they have to say and address it to the best of your ability. Some people are born to be pains in the neck and complain about everything. However, most customer complaints are valid to at least some extent and they provide free feedback (some companies pay a LOT of money to get customer feedback) in real time about where problems, or at least perceived problems, are in your restaurant.
 

Rhody

I'm a Lumberjack.
What are they complaining about?
The service (wait) or the food.
Just curious.
 
The customer has to believe you care about their problem and that you want to resolve it. If you come across to the customer as someone who is just there to listen to them and get rid of them they wont be satisfied.
 

kelbro

Alfred Spatchcock
My advice, for what it's worth, is to find another industry to work in. From my observation, it seems like many people feel entitled to disrespect and berate food service workers and in many cases treat them as servants.

There just ain't enough money in this world for me to put up with that crap...
 
You will never be able to satisfy every customer. A vast majority of the time there is nothing wrong with the product, service or cleanliness of the establishment. The customer him/her-self is the issue!!! 18+ years attempting to please customers and this works as well as anything.

1. Listen to them. God graced you with two ears and one mouth for a reason.
2. Don't defend your product. Agree that the item they are complaining about needs more tweaking to get it "just right".
3. "If" possible, never give a refund. Give store credit. Once it is known that you give refunds to every whining customer they will show up in droves to get free food!!!
4. Thank them for brining the issue forward. Act concerned that their input actually means something.
5. Return to business as normal.
 

DoctorShavegood

"A Boy Named Sue"

cleanshaved

I’m stumped
You will never be able to satisfy every customer. A vast majority of the time there is nothing wrong with the product, service or cleanliness of the establishment. The customer him/her-self is the issue!!! 18+ years attempting to please customers and this works as well as anything.

1. Listen to them. God graced you with two ears and one mouth for a reason.
2. Don't defend your product. Agree that the item they are complaining about needs more tweaking to get it "just right".
3. "If" possible, never give a refund. Give store credit. Once it is known that you give refunds to every whining customer they will show up in droves to get free food!!!
4. Thank them for brining the issue forward. Act concerned that their input actually means something.
5. Return to business as normal.

So placate and pat them on the head then?
 
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.

Yeah, I agree. 10x bigger jerk! LOL
 

simon1

Self Ignored by Vista

I hadn't seen that one before, Aaron. If I was in the hospitality industry it would be very, very hard for me not to take a...started to say a nightstick but I won't...to the customer.

"Mam...I'm sorry but the manager has asked that you please leave."

That was polite, wasn't it? Wife is a manager in the hospitality industry. You should see what she does when she gets home after dealing with customers. It's a wonder she doesn't drink.

I'm sure people have seen this...it's went viral.

Video captures fight at McDonald’s over McChicken Sandwich

I'm used to greasy spoon places...I understand what the waitresses go through. They are my friends. Good thing they are my friends...no telling what they could do to your food and smile when they hand it to you.

Just be nice to the customers...until it's time not to be nice.

 
Last edited:

Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
Staff member
She wasn't mad about a chicken sandwich. She had some other issues going on in her life and was just looking to take it out on someone. I hope that manager pressed charges.
 
I want to hear about how can we lessen the increasing number of complains we have to deal each day?

In my experience, most memorably poor experiences I've had in fast food are when they're understaffed. The staff is usually pissed off, the wait is atrocious, and the food is being improperly slapped together. However, the absolute worst experiences I've had were when it's one or two people working during an off-hour. They have an attitude because I interrupted their smoke break, the food is improperly made and/or stale because they don't give a crap, and it takes them forever because they weren't expecting to have a customer.

Just like poor service can torpedo a customer's experience, good service can smooth over some mistakes and inconveniences. For example, I've never had a bad experience at Chick-fil-a. They've screwed up my order before. They've made me wait before. However, they've never been anything but overly nice and apologetic when a mistake happens.
 

ouch

Stjynnkii membörd dummpsjterd
Whenever I deal with a dissatisfied customer I usually wind up saying one word that ends the argument.
Next!
 
For fast food, get the order right and serve it at the temp it should be, hot for hot food, fairly quick and not melting for ice-cream or frozen drinks.

In restaurants what gets me upset the most is when i have a bite of food and they come over and ask how everything is. Hello im eating and then they do it 3-4 time during the meal, the tips gets less every time they interfere.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

simon1

Self Ignored by Vista
For fast food, get the order right and serve it at the temp it should be, hot for hot food, fairly quick and not melting for ice-cream or frozen drinks.

In restaurants what gets me upset the most is when i have a bite of food and they come over and ask how everything is. Hello im eating and then they do it 3-4 time during the meal, the tips gets less every time they interfere.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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.
 
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.
 
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.

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol: That's last year's line here at AAFES
 
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