I write to you as a customer left extremely disappointed by a visit to your Petone store on November 18. Having spent much of my life in Dunedin, I recognise your name from my visits – both drunk and sober! – to the Dunedin stores and know through mutual friends that you run a pretty tight ship and will take this feedback as a chance for positive action.
On the night in question, I stopped in at the store about 6.15pm to grab a quick meal before heading to a quiz night. I noticed lines that were four-to-five people deep, but as I was visiting during dinner time, I have no issue with that whatsoever.
However, as I waited, I watched as your front counter staff – both of whom appeared to be new to the job - got order after order wrong, having to give previous customers corrected meals while serving the next bunch and I thought - with my remarkably simple order of a Deli Choice Chicken Caesar Roll Large Combo - that things would go relatively smoothly.
Unfortunately, I was wrong. I couldn't hear him particularly well, but I would put that down to nerves on his part due to being new in the job. But as he attempted to key in my order, he:
a) couldn't find the Chicken Caesar Roll on the keypad
b) didn't know how to make it a combo
c) proceeded to go through a process not dissimilar to the below, after locating the Chicken Caesar Roll key:
- Large chips
- Void
-Large drink
- Void
Large Chips
- Void
- Void
- Chicken Caesar Roll
- Large Chips
- Large drink
After two minutes or so, the young staff member presented me with the chips and the drink and told me he'd bring the roll out. Again, I have no issues with this as I appreciate the freshness of the Deli Choice rolls and have no qualms waiting for them.
So I sit and munch away at the chips. After 6-7 minutes, I get a sinking feeling in my stomach as I realise he's made a complete meal (excuse the pun) of this too. I hear one of the supervisors ask her staff who is waiting on the Chicken Caesar roll, but it appears your staff member had forgotten about me.
Eventually after 10 minutes, I give up the wait and stand by the counter brooding - the duty manager notices and asks if he can help.
"I'm still waiting on my Chicken Caesar Roll," I mutter. Noticing my frustration, he sorts it for me and hands it to me. All the while, I still saw customers returning to the counter to correct their orders.
Just to clarify, I have no problem with people learning their job, but in a situation where two relative novices are manning the front counter, could there at least be some form of supervision from duty managers? I know McDonald's franchise tend to adopt the "sink or swim" approach to training up young staff, but when it's to the detriment of the customers, perhaps this should be reviewed.
I must add that on my three or four visits to your drive-through, I've encountered no such problems, but after the visit to your front counter, I find it difficult to see how I could justify returning to your store to spend money.
Again, I add that I have respect for your own personal efforts, working your way up from your Dunedin days to owning several stores in Wellington, but in these times of increasing competition for the fast food dollar, each company needs to be right on their game and you will hopefully take this feedback on board.