McDonald's — Restaurant in Goleta

I have grown up eating here and have even worked here before. So I understand both sides to this. In short it’s a good McDonald’s and if there is something wrong politely ask about it, mistakes happen. Although they close early, consistently.

Pro tip, if you’re nice to people they’ll generally be nice to you too. Hope this helps have a good one.

If you care to know more then here’s the long story, it’s a McDonald’s that has high standards for itself as it is part of a chain. People get stressed and the work is very fast paced and doesn’t help when customers lash out in anger or frustration, I’ve had a customer throw food at me because the modifications were not to his liking. Mistakes are bound to happen with this sort of environment. There have been mistakes that occurred to even my own orders. It’s not that big of a deal. Just politely ask and make sure to keep your receipt. If it’s really busy in the drive through don’t expect to be out in like 5 minutes even if you go inside. Human error occurs but also customers who don’t know what they want will take longer than those who come often. There is a big menu and it can be intimidating as well as time consuming to make everything ready in 2-10 minutes depending on how big the order is and how many customers there are. Sometimes staff can be rude, people get stressed and it doesn’t help when customers lash out because of a stressful day they’ve had. If staff are rude point it out and ask them to rephrase it in a nicer tone. There are some who tend to focus on the speed of the orders and lack customer service because of that. Teamwork is important but some don’t work well in a team, and can easily make the work harder for everybody else, even some managers can have off days. But the people try and most workers I’ve had the opportunity to talk to do they’re best in the moment, they don’t want to make you upset or angry and they are human like y’all. If you have played or worked with a team you’ll know that if you have a weak link they can offset everybody’s hard work. The cleaning of things is a big thing and bathrooms are cleaned on a regular basis. If it’s nasty in there then it’s probably a fellow customer who made that mess. Let the people working know that there is some cleaning needed and somebody will be sent shortly to do so, unless it’s busy, then it’ll take a bit longer.

As a customer it is a good place. Food is fine and customer service depends on the person. Some are exceptional and others are meh just like any other person. The people hired are people like you and I and you don’t need any special certification besides a food handlers certificate. It’s a varied selection of people and sometimes you’ll come across a gem in the making who works hard, sometimes it’ll be somebody who isn’t motivated and is trying to finish the hours. The times I’ve had my order wrong, I simply come back and let them know politely and they fixed it right away. Be sure to keep your receipt because if there is something missing then call and let them know and they should be able to give you credit for the item on your next visit. Just remember the name of the manager, depending on who’s working they may just ask for your name and sometimes ask for a managers name. This has happened to me before I worked and I couldn’t get a sandwich for a happy meal because of me forgetting the receipt and the name of the manager. The workers are supposed to review your order with you, if they don’t ask them to. The potential for a mistake grows if it’s a big order, it’s common for families to come and get their food so just be sure you know what everybody wants so that way it’s easier to keep track of it and you are able to get in and get out as fast as possible. Just be polite and if you see a lot of orders then it’s going to take a while. Especially late at night when the number of workers is at its smallest.

Just remember to be polite and treat them like you would any other person. They have nothing to gain by swindling you out of a few dollars, so they’ll try to get you the stuff...

Addons like lettuce or other things that cost a miniscule amount to the store are free unlike most of the other locations where they are like 50 cents. They do charge for like extra cheese or meat, but thats mostly reasonable in my oppinion.

The food has always been good, ive never gotten it still half frozen or with ridiculous amounts of or lack of anything that I ordered. This is exactly what mcdonalds should be, not gourmet, but food that is the same every goddamn time you order, be it at 4 am, 4pm or any time in between that is expedient and convenient. Thats the point of fast food and I dont understand how 95% of fast food restaurants cant get that through their heads. But this one does great and i applaud them for it.

Bathrooms have been clean too. One of the janitorial/groundskeeping workers has been a prick but they do their job aswell. Every once in a while if its very late, the people working the drive through slip and take forever to realize someone is there, but in goleta at like 3am, what can you expect, between 2 and 5 they cant get more than like 5 orders most nights.

From ?6am? To almost noon they only serve breakfast which sucks if you dont want those items. Thats the only true complaint ive got and that might be a policy of the chain...

Continuing the saga: What a disappointment! We ordered a cheese burger meal with a large soda and large fries, with 1 quarter pounder. What we were handed was another person's meal. Then, the person said, "What did I order?" I handed them the receipt. Got a refund. Then as we were traveling north, hungry, my wife took one bite of the cheese burger - she said it was gross, the worst burger she has ever tasted. So, apprehensive, I dug into the quarter pounder, I was dismayed? What happened to the well seasoned juicy hamburger? What happened to the cheese burger, juicy and well seasoned? What happened to the fries? No salt and not crispy. What is going on, McDonalds? Did you change your beef to a lesser quality? Saving costs to meet demand? I see you're closing several stores. Maybe you should close Goleta, CA, as well. Never going back!.....

The McRib was dry. Last year the buns were soft with lots of bbq sauce. Cinnamon Roll was also lacking frosting dry on the outside edges. If your hungry it will fill you up, but they lost my interest due to quality. I ended up tossing...