McDonald's — Restaurant in Salford

Would have given this no stars if I could have. I am really sad to have to write this as I usually have okay experiences at this McDonald's. But tonight was the final tip of the iceberg. I understand its 11pm on a Sunday but that isnt an excuse for any of the following: The two drivethru spaces were open so naturally I pull into the other one as the car in front was aiming for the other. I then proceed to wait for about 5 minutes with no response. Then someone from one of the back doors comes out ands puts two cones straight behind my car, speaks to the car behind me and then goes back inside without even letting me know what is happening! Bear in mind I spoke out the window and tried to ask what I should be doing. Assuming that someone was told I was there I waited for another 5 minutes for someone to speak, still nothing. I was a annoyed by this point because I had tried to ask the person who came out and assumed she was aware of my presence since the cones were right behind my car. But evidently not. So at this point I make the decision to move forward to the window because I clearly wasn't going to get served where I was. The person at the window is now having to deal with my order which he seems unbothered by even though I'm sure they can see us by cameras so also knew I was waiting back at the speaker. Now we have finally managed to order, we ask about the milkshakes (which yes I know is a machine that I think doesn't work at basically all Mcdonalds but that's another thing). The person let's us know that it is not working, okay we could have dealt with this, except the person in front of us at the next window was literally just handed a mcflurry 🤔 this is also not the only time this has occurred. Another time at this McDonald's we got told they didn't have them when ordering at the speakers and then proceeded to the payment window and the staff member was literally drinking a milkshake 😑 Now onto the meal, we had excepted the no milkshake but to then get passed a 2/3rds full diet coke that was flat and had no ice was just a bit of a pisstake, not only that but the chips were lukewarm at best. It wasn't a complicated order this should not be the case.

I am sad as this is one of our closer, favorite McDonald's to go to but after multiple bad experiences and then tonight I don't think I will...

Went to this McDonald's at roughly 8pm on 11/09/22, and it was chaos.

We ordered our food at the self service machine like normal and got our order number. The order screen was so full that our number didn't even appear for almost 10 minutes all the while delivery drivers were growing restless as they waited for their orders. One of them who seemed foreign was thrown out, with the manager shouting at them to "get out" and telling him "I don't understand you", obviously I had no context with the conversation but this seemed incredibly rude.

Furthermore the manager seemed to have no control over the restaurant or staff as food was being packed everywhere as they loudly asked "why has all this food been left here". I don't think I saw them pack or call out anything.

On top of this there was an elderly staff member infront of the counter who had been left to his own devices and looked like he had been given little to no training. His name was Ping and frankly he is the only reason this review gets 2 stars. Ping was incredibly kind as he handed out napkins to every customer as they collected their food. With all the chaos behind the counter he came up to me and my partner to ask what our order number was and apologize for our wait. He then went up to the staff behind the counter to ask how our order was doing only to be rebuffed and ignored. I saw him do this to almost every waiting customer. Once our order was finally ready and our number was called he jumped at the opportunity to help us collect it carefully handing us our drinks and food and giving us plenty of napkins. Once again apologising for the wait. He gave everyone a smile and made the experience almost enjoyable to what without him is frankly a disaster.

I know that working a busy night shift can be chaotic and challenging especially to people working late hours on pay that isn't enough for what they do. But I think that this McDonald's needs to be seriously reworked and the managerial staff better trained as I think that Ping could have run the restaurant better.

I am glad I don't have to visit this McDonald's again as it was a truly awful experience. But I would like to thank Ping for being an incredibly kind person and I wish him good luck, hopefully he can be trained properly and run that...

We visited McDonald’s Riverside Retail Park in Salford just after 8pm today. I’m aware one review won’t change the world, but it’s at least an attempt to encourage staff to reflect on their attitude towards customers and uphold the company’s service standards.

At the collection window, following receiving my order (which I’d paid for via Apple Pay) I asked for a tomato sauce and salt sachet. The staff member said they were already in the bag, which they weren’t. After asking again, I was met with the same reply “they’re already in the bag.” My partner confirmed from the passenger seat that we didn’t have tomato sauce or salt in the bag, and the response from staff was a noticeably rude and abrupt, “Fine, but you’ll have to pay 10p for each.” I agreed, presented my phone with Apple Pay, and was then told card payment is not possible for these items. This raises the question, is it really policy at McDonald’s to request payment and then refuse card transactions, or was this for personal gain? Either way, it seemed poor practice.

The issue wasn’t the charge, I was happy to pay, but the problems were the adamancy about the condiments being in the bag, when they weren’t, the rude tone and dismissive delivery, and the fact I offered payment which was then refused - which I can only assume meant we’d have to go back around the drive thru and queue again to order, and pay for, a tomato sauce and a salt via card at the first window. I felt this staff member attempted to make a huge deal over nothing, and I couldn’t help but think that somebody else might have been treated more courteously, or perhaps (dare I say) even let off the charge. We understand the pressure of the job, having worked in hospitality ourselves, but even one poor interaction can sour an entire visit and the branches reputation. Courtesy and professionalism should be consistent when you work in a customer facing role, fast...