The Laughing Wolf

As Long As I Am Being Slightly Snarky

It is funny that this day is coming across that way, when in fact I am fairly cheerful and happy. However, I've been meaning to post this -- just like the MCI letter -- for some time now.

If you live in, or drive through, Madison, Alabama, be aware that I have just put three of the fast food joints on Highway 20/Madison Blvd. on six month suspension. If you use them, especially if you use the drive through, triple check your order and be on the lookout for some bad attitudes.

The Arby's in Madison earned my ire when I used one of their dollar off coupons for the hamburgers. Per their instructions at the window, and not at the order spot, the first thing I said to the person was that I had a coupon. They acknowledged, and I placed my order. They did not do the coupon, and I got a VERY nasty look at the window, and a lot of attitude and poor service from there on out. A demand for the receipt back and no receipt with the meal was the least of it. A call to complain to the manager went unaswered, but I did not expect much since it appeared that the manager was the one who took the order and was so rude. A shame as there are some really good people there that if I had their names I would cheerfully right a letter of commendation for them.

The Arby's also messed up an order and was unwilling to do much about it, other than to say they couldn't talk because a huge crowd was there. They must have come in after I had left, as they were deserted when I got what I did get of my order.

The Burger King messed up as well, and part of it was my fault in that I did not check everything at every step. I should not have to, but... The manager did make some effort, but I got the impression that it was grudging and token, and that it was all my fault and not theirs.

Just a quick thought to those in customer service. Don't have a policy of asking the customer what do they want you to do about it. It can come across very poorly, either as "Yeah, so what do you expect ME to do about it and why should I care" or "Well, what unreasonable thing do you expect to extort out of us for this?" It also leaves you open for unreasonable demands. What works best all around is to immediately tell the person that the next time that same order is free. Don't embelish it with add ons, just stick to the main menu items involved. A quick apology, the next time is free, and get info to identify who screwed up and how so you can fix what needs fixing. That works, it avoids a lot of problems, and it will keep people like me from letting the world know you screwed up. The right attitude makes all the difference in the world.

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