McDonald's — Restaurant in Barrie

I've honestly never felt the need to review a Mcdonald's restaurant because they're all usually pretty standard.. and I actually feel bad giving this establishment a negative review because I feel like the owner is a good-hearted person who allows at-risk people to loiter freely. (I've never had an issue with any of these people for the record). However, I have had multiple issues with the service and quality of food.

I just moved to Barrie a few months ago and this is the closest Mcdonald's to me. My usual complaint is that the service is deathly slow during nighttime weekends. There's typically only 1 or 2 people working, so 3-4 cars ahead of you somehow turns into a 30-45min wait.. and you're trapped in the lineup!! The last time I went there on a Saturday around 2am there were 5 cars ahead of me.. we waited 40min (no exaggeration), only to realize that our order was completely wrong as we're driving away. The doors were locked and there was no way we were lining up for another 40 min. My girlfriend didn't even end up eating and we paid 30$ with multiple missing items. Almost felt like theft. On top of that, the woman working there (who appeared to be a manger), tried to purposely short-change us.. she owed us $2.10 and gave us a loonie? .. when we questioned her about it she was argumentative and told us she gave us the right amount because she's still looking at the transaction. I reached into the bag, double-checked the receipt. Showed her that we had proof.. and she just said "oh sorry, I thought I gave you a toonie".. even though when she was being argumentative she was trying to say that she only owed us a dollar. She obviously does that quite often in hopes people wont notice. Nice way to get an extra buck, but very much illegal.

I wish that were the end of my rant.. but that's not even the worst part!! The worst part is that 80% of the time we go there, our food isn't fresh. Our fries are cold, our english muffin buns are hard, our hashbrowns are cold. Literally bellow room temperature cold. At first I didn't think much of it. We would just drive back through the drive-thru and politely explain that our food was cold.. they would make us fresh food no questions asked.. but the problem is that it happens every. single. time. I'm not exaggerating. The last 10 times I've gone, it's been like that 7-8 times. So it almost feels like the employees are either not doing their jobs, or that they're being told by management to leave food out longer than they should be and hoping that no one complains. After that stunt where I almost got short-changed.. I'm assuming the latter.

Unfortunately, givin' the long wait times, the low quality of food, and that potential theft encounter, I no longer go to this establishment. I get on the highway and drive to bayfield. Haven't had any of these issues once.

If I receive a promise from management/owner that these issues will be addressed.. I will consider trying this establishment again as it saves me 15min of driving to bayfield and back. I'm still out $30.00 from that one Saturday...

Going to this location is like experiencing trial and error. Some days the employees are extremely helpful and efficient and some days the service is just absolutely poor. Seats are limited with a limited time frame that is implied when choosing to dine in and the seats are rarely ever available due to the odd attraction of street people. Loiterers smoking up the main entrance and local gossips who take up all the seating booths. Went in today to buy a tea and 2 cookies, when I arrived to the till the cashier completely took off.. what kind of customer service is this? You do not turn your back on the customers to go and make an EMPLOYEES meal. The professional thing to do is to complete ALL the orders on the till before turning away to start making and packing them, a third person is a strong recommendation so that you have 2 cashiers and someone to start working on the orders until a cashier is available to help. I know this because I have worked for the fast food industry for 3 1/2 years and having 2 cashiers when the line builds up, is very strategic. Not to mention how many teenagers work here but aren't working.. there is way too many people on drive thru and kitchen and not enough in the front line, in fact as I was lined up waiting too long for my order to be taken; a young blonde girl was just in the midst of all her workers, mopping. The appearance of the restaurant ESPECIALLY out of view of the guests should not be tended to until all customers have been served and there are no more tasks to do. This young girl could've easily dropped the mop and taken the order but rather than that she just continued on with her thing, granted this is not her fault but rather the managements fault, there is no initiative or that sense of going above and beyond for the guests.. all the workers just stood there with thumbs in their mouths saying "sorry". Not impressed and as a former fast food worker for Harvey's I can say that waiting for a flame broiled burger takes less time than it did just for my order to be taken at this McDonalds. Please improve your services....

Every time I come here they forget something in the order rude customer service. I always have to check my order or ask at the window when I get my order if everything is in there including the sauces and they say yes, when I get home or pull up and check it if not checked at the window and there is always something missing. This is very annoying I don't want to go back after I get home to get the thing that's missing in my order. This location either needs to train their staff for a longer period of time for proper training or do something with their customer service because this is rediculus. It's not just once or twice... it is every single frigging time. As I have read some of the other reviews on here its clear I'm not the only one fed up with this location and their inability of actually getting the proper order out. Something needs to be done I have worked in customer service for over the last 15 years and if there was mistakes like this made on an every order basis usually there is termination or further training provided. This also doesn't look good for the management of the the establishment. The staff is a reflection of management!!! It really isn't hard to get an order right maybe stop hiring such young children who are just there for a paycheque and actually have common sence and the ability to put things together properly. I'd rather wait there through the 20 minutes line up at anytime of the day knowing that everyone in that line up is actually getting what they ordered instead of waiting there for 20 minutes knowing everyone in that line up is missing something from every order... if i am paying for something i expect it to be there especially if im paying for sauces that I never used to be charged for, put it in the damn bag. If I have to double check my order then what the hell are you paying ur employees...