McDonald's — Restaurant in Gardner

After having gone to this location for many years, working at a Mcdonalds over 4 years ago for 3 years and seeing it go from corporate to franchise, I feel more than qualified to give an honest opinion of this McDonalds restaurant location in particular.

First I shall go over the bad:

The employees are too busy talking about random things instead of maintaining a sanitary work environment. When they do clean its the bare minimum. Staff in the kitchen are equally as unsanitary. You'll find that like with most fast food locations its employees are just there to do the bare minimum and want to clock out as soon as possible. Most of the managers here are a joke and are just as bad at their work ethic as the rest of the staff. Wait times in the drive thru are horrendous, especially as of the past 6 months. Customers would receive their food cold or lukewarm. This was even more apparent at night and later.

The good:

There are times when the service shines, this is particularly during the first shift, but that's only when certain employees are on that shift. They are attentative, friendly and are very quick to correct any errors and may even compensate you with free cards for food and drink for the trouble.

This isn't the worst McDonalds I've been to, but there's a lot of things they're doing incorrectly. A change in operations and a good team of employees who respect themselves and their customers more could turn this restaurant...

I recently visited this McDonald's for lunch, hoping for a quick and satisfying meal, but unfortunately, my experience left much to be desired. The restaurant was incredibly busy, and despite what appeared to be a fully staffed crew, the food was coming out at a painfully slow pace. I waited over 30 minutes for my order, and by the time I finally received my meal, my appetite had been replaced with frustration.

The biggest disappointment was my Quarter Pounder. The buns were stale and hard, making each bite less than enjoyable. While the fries were fresh and my soda was fine, the overall meal felt lackluster—especially after such a long wait.

On a more positive note, the restaurant has been recently renovated, and the interior was impressively clean and modern. However, some of the changes weren’t for the better. They’ve removed the self-serve drink station, meaning refills are no longer an option, and basic condiments like salt, pepper, and ketchup aren’t readily available—you have to ask for them. When the staff is overwhelmed, getting their attention for something as simple as ketchup becomes a challenge.

Overall, while the cleanliness and renovation efforts are commendable, the slow service, subpar food quality, and lack of convenience made this visit disappointing. Hopefully, management can address these issues to improve the experience for...

We waited in line for at least 15 minutes and no one acknowledged the long line of people waiting to order at the front counter. When someone finally came over, I asked if she was the manager and she said yes. I told her we have been waiting in line for at least 15 minutes and no one acknowledged anyone in line. I said if someone said I'll be right with you instead of ignoring the line of people. Also, an employee walked twice past us from the dining room to behind the counter and said nothing. The manager responded with, not everyone speaks English. I was like any kind of acknowledgment would be good.

Also, there was no ice melt out at all. I almost fell twice in the parking lot. Then, we watched two people fall out in the parking lot. One was an elderly woman and an employee was out there and didn't even help her up. My boyfriend asked the manager to let him go out and salt because two people just fell. She did hand him a bucket to salt the exterior. Then on our way out, a lady was coming in saying she almost fell on the black ice.

Horrible service, food was cold, the dining room was freezing, and the safety of customers and employees were not a priority with the...