McDonald's — Restaurant in Ontario

First thing is that fast-food chains like McDonald’s tend to pay an inordinate time and effort at consistency. Within an area, they tend to be all either identical or very similar — you should have seen the uproar a few years ago when a particular McD’s restaurant failed to put ketchup (or put too much, I forget) in one kind of sandwich that people expected different.

So, if you can eat McDonald’s (or Burger King or Wendy’s or whatever), you can reasonably expect that going to one of them is going to be identical (or very close) to whichever you went to last time. Maybe that’s of no use to you, but to people who are sick and need to eat something safe that will not make them worse, that’s in fact priceless — I’ve heard from many people going through chemotherapy, for example, that at a certain point in the treatment they vomit nearly anything they eat, and the only thing they could stand (and ate for several days) was a McDonald’s Vanilla Milkshake and a banana.

Now, prices vary — there are countries (like in USA) where going to McD’s is relatively cheap and that’s why so many people who are on the low income side or just got someone to give them some money go there. Of course, there are countries (like Brazil) in which the reverse is true: McD’s is on the expensive side, and basically only rich entitled folks go there because, again, it’s clean and unlikely to make them sick.

Another reason to go to McD’s-like places is if you’re on a diet — I know people will laugh at me for this (particularly considering the documentary “Supersize Me!”), but if you are paying attention to the sizes you order, you can get a very balanced meal which has a good proportion of carbs, veggies and protein — I know a bunch of people with diabetes for example, who can go there and get a meal that will be nutritious and not break the rules; that is not true of everyone (people on insulin might differ), but it’s much better than a lot of serious restaurants that will serve you a meal with several times your daily allowance of salt, sugar and/or fat.

I’d like to touch on something that I don’t think other people mentioned in the other answers, either because they are way more polite than I am or because they may have not interpreted the question the same way I did.

I used to live in a household of half-a-dozen students or so, when we were of the age to go to University. One of my housemates was not necessarily rich in the way people tend to think of it, but on the upper-middle class, while the rest of us came from middle class or lower.

Well, wouldn’t you know it, at some point he started to rag on us about why we used to buy Stouffer’s Lasagna — according to him, “no Italian would ever eat such a rubbery foul-tasting thing!”… now, I took exception to that, and told him so: my entire family came from Italy at different times and from different places, in fact, some of my relatives were born in Rome, some in Bologna, some in Sicily, Milan, Florence, Turin, etc. And, while my own mother’s lasagna was the best of them (of course ;-) ), they were all edible, and at least a couple of my aunt’s lasagna were worse than Stouffer’s, so I figured Stouffer’s, just like any other industrialized food, were trying to appeal to the average consumer. I think it’s a bit too sweet, while someone in the Midwest might think it lacked a pinch of sugar… “Also,” I continued, “you might want to read the freaking directions on the package and try to follow them, because leaving the tray in the microwave on high for 10 minutes is sure to destroy nearly any dish, when we microwave the dish it’s quite edible!” — he never bothered us anymore.

Where am I going with all of this? I think you may not have eaten a lot of burgers if you are complaining that McDonald’s is not to your liking. I’ve eaten plenty of burgers that were much worse, particularly when people burn and/or overcook them on the charcoal grill and they are your boss so you need to eat it and like it. It’s fine, when you get older you’ll...

Terrible Experience – Poor Customer Service and Lack of Accountability All I wanted was a simple coffee for my morning commute — instead, I left McDonald’s more frustrated than I’ve been in a long time. I pulled into the drive-thru and waited for several minutes before anyone responded. When the employee, Tae, finally acknowledged me, she asked for my code. I provided it, but she went silent again. I repeated the code multiple times, thinking she hadn’t heard me. Eventually, I got a response — but instead of a basic “got it,” I was met with a snappy attitude: “Sir, you don’t need to repeat it 10 times. We’re very busy.” I apologized, explaining I thought she hadn’t heard me. Her response? “I heard you, but I’m also making coffee.” I asked her, politely, to just say “got it” so I’d know she heard me. She continued to defend her multitasking instead of simply acknowledging the order. When I reached the window, she immediately said: “Sir, I’m busy.” At this point, I asked to speak with the manager. Tae claimed she was the manager — her name tag clearly indicated otherwise. I insisted on speaking to the actual manager, and she called Suraj. When Suraj arrived, he didn’t greet me or even try to understand what had happened. Before he could say a full sentence, Tae interrupted him repeatedly, continuing to justify herself. He allowed her to dominate the conversation, and only after nearly 7 minutes did he finally say: “What can I get you, we’re really busy this morning.” I told him I had already placed my order and was just trying to pay. That’s when Tae informed me that she had deleted the order. At that point, I was speechless and decided to leave. This wasn’t just poor service — it was a complete breakdown in customer care, professionalism, and leadership. Tae was dismissive, rude, and wouldn’t even allow her manager to speak. Suraj failed to manage the situation, did not listen to my concerns, and allowed an employee to speak over him and the customer. I will be filing an official complaint against Suraj for his inability to handle the issue appropriately, and against Tae for her disrespectful behavior. It’s clear neither one of them is fit to represent the McDonald’s brand, especially during a busy shift where teamwork and communication are critical. Honestly, I just wanted a damn coffee. Instead, I got ignored, talked down to, and left without my order. I sincerely hope this store’s leadership takes responsibility and addresses this — both with proper training and...

Subject: Complaint Regarding Drive-Through Service and Beverage Quality

Dear McDonald’s Management,

I am writing to express my disappointment with the service and product quality I received at your location during my recent visit. Friday May 24th, I went through the drive-through at approximately 12:15 AM. Upon receiving my order, I noticed that my Coca-Cola tasted extremely unpleasant. Unfortunately, I cannot precisely describe the taste, but it was far from what I expected.

Hoping for a resolution, I went through the drive-through again and explained the issue. The staff instructed me to go to the second window, where I received another Coca-Cola. To my dismay, the second drink was just as unsatisfactory as the first. They then provided a third drink, which was equally unpleasant.

The manager, who I assume was overseeing the situation, approached and informed me that the beverage machine had just been changed. Despite my insistence that the taste remained unacceptable, she repeatedly claimed that the machine had been recently serviced. When I suggested she taste the drink herself, she asserted that she had already done so, which I find hard to believe given the consistent poor quality of the beverages I received.

Instead of addressing the root cause of the issue, the manager offered me an alternative drink. This approach seemed dismissive and did not address the problem at hand. I left the restaurant feeling frustrated and dissatisfied with the service and the quality of the product provided.

I urge you to investigate this matter and take appropriate measures to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future. Ensuring the quality of your products and providing excellent customer service should be top priorities. As a result if this issue, you have lost a regular customer. I will take my business...