Special Order

The role of management in business is an important factor in determining the success or failure of that business. It is responsible for the growth of several large companies, especially Wal-Mart, which is unmatched in its supply-chain management. Wal-Mart’s top of the line supply-chain management allows them to maintain well stocked inventories across all of its locations. It ensures that the goods are always in the right place at the right time, whether it’s one of its supercenters, discount stores, or warehouses. So how do other companies compare when it comes to management? Well, I’ve taken the liberty to examine the management process of a well known franchise known as McDonald’s. Based on my experience, I would rate the management at the particular location as an 8 based on a scale from 1 through 10.
It began with me entering McDonald’s after returning home from class on a Monday night, which was at about 8:30 p.m. The restaurant wasn’t as crowded as it usually is. This particular location was a McDonald’s Express, so the location was smaller than an average McDonald’s resulting in less employees. There were four employees working that night, including the manager. As I walked up to the counter to place my order, I was fortunate enough to have it taken by the manager herself. This saved me the trouble of having to request to speak with her if my order wasn’t prepared properly. As she greeted me and asked how she could help me, I recited the special order to her. “Could I please have a hamburger with exactly 4 pickles, and a small order of fries, well done with no salt?” I then told her that I needed the receipt to reflect the exact order stated. Without any hesitation or asking questions, she input my order, and told the person responsible for handling the burgers to put 4 pickles into it. I assume (I couldn’t understand what she said to the fry employee because she spoke Spanish to both the employees involved. I was able to catch the part about 4 pickles due to the little Spanish I’ve learned) she also told the employee handling the fries to refry the batch he had just pulled out since he dropped it back into the fryer.
As she handed me the receipt, I checked to see if it reflected the order correctly. I noticed that it stated, “1 EXTRA$ PICKLE” and asked if she could correct that to exactly 4 pickles. She apologized and explained that she wasn’t sure of how to do that, and that it was the best she could do. I figured since she was the manager, I would have to accept it, since there was probably no one else available that I could speak with to solve this problem. After 5 or 6 minutes, my special order was complete and was exactly what I asked for.
Overall, I rated their management process as an 8 on a scale from 1 through 10 because they were able to complete the special order within a reasonable time frame. Their communication seemed to work well, although I didn’t understand most of what they were saying to each other, but the employees didn’t seem to have a problem producing the order. The customer service was great. They didn’t react differently to my special order and treated me like any other customer. I can see why the organization has become such a successful franchise.
If I were brought in as a consultant, my only suggestions would be to have the employees speak English to one another (at least in the U.S. locations). If the employees are speaking to each other in another language after the customer places a special order, the customer could be discouraged to return if they think the employees are speaking ill of them. Another suggestion I would make it to ensure all employees know how to input special orders, and understand them correctly in case the restaurant is extremely busy and there is no time for the manager to tell each person exactly what to do.