McDonald's — Restaurant in Newry, Mourne and Down District Council

⭐️Review updated 1 star - 3 Stars ⭐️

What Happened 20/01/24.

Disappointing Customer Service Experience at McDonald's Newry, Northern Ireland

I recently had a rather disheartening experience at the McDonald's drive-thru in Damolly Retail Park, Armagh Rd, Newry BT35 6PR, Northern Ireland, which compelled me to share my feedback.

Upon ordering a meal that included chicken selects, drinks, apple pies, and a latte, I encountered a series of issues that were exacerbated by the poor management skills demonstrated by the manager on duty. Firstly, despite the routine inquiry about sauce preferences for the chicken selects, it was overlooked during the order process.

The situation escalated when we were asked to park up, and upon checking the order, we discovered the latte was missing. The handling of this issue by the staff, particularly the manager, left much to be desired. Despite acknowledging the error and being willing to pay in cash on the spot for the missing latte, we were met with a rigid adherence to rules.

The manager insisted that we drive back around, re-order through the intercom, and pay again for the oversight. While a refund for the whole order was quickly processed at the window, so cash was able to be handed back to me yet It was perplexing why the manager refused to accept cash for the late, yet making it necessary for us to drive back around and endure further inconvenience. ( cold food and delay )

What struck me most was the lack of customer-first attitude displayed by the manager. Instead of attempting to find a quick and simple resolution, she adhered strictly to rules, disregarding the inconvenience caused to us, the customers.

This experience has left a sour taste, not only due to the initial oversight but primarily because of the poor management skills demonstrated by the manager. In a service-oriented industry, customer satisfaction should be paramount, and a more flexible and customer-centric approach is necessary.

I hope that McDonald's takes note of this incident and considers enhancing its training programs to ensure that managers are equipped with the skills to handle situations more effectively and prioritize customer satisfaction.

I will be reporting this to McDonald’s HQ and I hope Gavin Doran & John McCollum picks this issue up.

Updated 24/01/24

Update: McDonald's Resolution and Improved Customer Service

I am pleased to provide an update to my previous 1-star review after experiencing a disappointing customer service incident at McDonald's in Damolly Retail Park, Newry.

Following my initial review, McDonald's HQ promptly responded to my concerns. Gavin Doran, the General Manager, and John McCollum personally reached out to address the issues I faced during my visit. They were attentive to my feedback and took immediate steps to rectify the situation.

I received vouchers as a gesture of goodwill and appreciation for bringing the matter to their attention. This proactive approach and dedication to customer satisfaction have positively influenced my perception of McDonald's.

It is evident that McDonald's is committed to enhancing its customer service standards. I appreciate the swift response from the management team, and I am optimistic that this incident will contribute to further improvements in training programs for staff, ensuring a more customer-centric approach.

I look forward to my next visit, hoping for a smoother and more enjoyable experience, thanks to the commendable actions taken by McDonald's HQ and the local management...

This is the worst McDonald's location as well as its service, arguably in the entirety of Northern Ireland. I was coming home from the Gracie Abrams concert in Dublin on the 10th of March this year, and honestly, after what was a blast of a night, the experience here certainly did NOT continue the fun. No nearby location in the Republic of Ireland was open, so me and my friend were very happy to see that this branch was open until 1am, and decided to order our food through the app ready for collection when arriving past the border into Newry. Once we pulled up to the drive thru, I honestly knew from the start we were going to have an awful experience. We arrived at 12:55am on Tuesday 11th (5 minutes before closing time so we understood that we needed to rush on). My friend got her app order and the guy from the speaker barely communicated at all while we were trying to be nice and he just told us to collect our order. Then we get to that window, and my friend's dad was just thrown the apple juice into the car with no care for it and same with the other drinks, no cupholders. It was a long commute from Dublin with lots of traffic after the concert, so my friend's dad asked if he could use the toilet as he was desperate, and the woman serving us gave him a nasty look and said "no" in the most despicable, incompetent tone, and then told us to park at the bay to wait for our food as if they weren't even closing. I thought what she said to my friend's dad was horrific as she didn't seem to care at all. If your toilets were closed and you couldn't open them to the public, there should be at least an ounce of sympathy but all we got was a pathetic excuse of an "employee" being rude. Then we had to wait 20-30 minutes just to receive our food as if it we ordered the entire menu. My chips were freezing cold but my fish fingers were burning my tongue??? It is safe to say I will never ever be returning to this McDonald's ever again and will just resort to Dublin food places in the future. The staff in this branch need better training, or even yet, no job at all. Avoid at all costs. This location must be closed permanently. Unfortunately, I can only give this one star but stick a negative sign in front of it and that's how I really feel. It's no wonder how customers seem to not co-operate in fast food if they've come across the excuse of staff here. And not to mention, my friend works at McDonald's and the standards are absolutely horrific here compared to the one...

I received the worst service ever at this mcdonald’s. Went through the drive thru at 12:55am on the way home from Dublin and the staff were so astronomically rude. The guy at the speaker and window was also extremely stupid and impolite, he barely opened the window because we had an app order. After passing that window, we reached the food window and were basically thrown the drinks. No cupholder no straws, nothing. As it had been hours since we went to the bathroom, my dad asked if we could use the toilets and since they were closed, I expected them to at no since I also work at mcdonald’s but the woman was extremely rude, she said “no” in a rude tone and told us to park round the corner. No please, no manners, no respect whatsoever or customer service in this restaurant. I understand we went through right before closing but come on customer service should still exist, if you’re not closed, you’re still serving people. While parked out the front, it took over 20 minutes for our food to be brought to us. Shockingly it was warm and tasted normal but that doesn’t take away from the horrendous service we received. Additionally, I ordered two happy meals and the chips were ice cold but the rest of them were fresh. The quarter pounder burger looked like it had been chewed up and spat into the grill by about five different people and the box was COVERED in oil and grease. Whoever trained the staff in this mcdonald’s should not have a job anymore. This location should...