Getty Images/Getty Images - SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MARCH 12: A sin is posted in front of a McDonald's restaurant on March 12, 2013 in San Francisco, California. McDonald's has retained its number one ranking
McDonald's Corp. (MCD), battling back from recent earnings disappointments, is putting unusual emphasis on a longtime challenge: getting its far-flung workforce to provide service with a smile.
The fast-food giant, whose restaurant sales in the U.S. began to slip last year, is pushing franchisees to improve staffing and service amid mounting complaints about rude employees.
In a webcast McDonald's executives held with franchise owners last month, the company said 1 in 5 customer complaints are related to friendliness issues "and it's increasing," according to a slide from the presentation reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The webcast identified the top complaint as "rude or unprofessional employees."
One slide said that complaints about speed of service "have increased significantly over the past six months." Another mentioned that customers find service "chaotic."
"Service is broken," said a slide from part of the webcast delivered by Steve Levigne, vice president of business research for McDonald's USA.
"The new leadership has decided to focus on customer satisfaction as a real driver for us to build the brand and build sales," this franchisee said, adding that the company had been gaining market share for years. "So for us to maximize the potential that's out there, we've got to be the leader in guest satisfaction," the franchisee said.
Some analysts say McDonald's is continuing to lose customers.
During its webcast, McDonald's told franchisees that customers rate good service almost as highly as dollar value, pointing to a National Restaurant Association survey.
The reason behind the rise in customer complaints is unclear, but some franchisees say it could be partly because customers now have more ways to supply feedback. In recent years, the company has added an email address to its food packaging where customers can direct complaints, and restaurants in some regions of the country have recently started asking customers to fill out an online survey, using information on their receipts.
High employee turnover also could be a contributor. While McDonald's declined to comment on its turnover, fast-food restaurants have an average annual turnover rate of 60%, according to a 2010 report from the National Restaurant Association.
Under a new "dual point" ordering system that is being rolled out nationwide, the customer places an order at one end of the counter and is given a receipt with a number. When the order number appears on a screen, the customer picks up his food at the other end of the counter. The new position of "runner" has been created to do things like hand out cups and sauce packets, and fetch juice boxes for Happy Meals, freeing up the order taker to focus on the customer. The employee who delivers the food at the other end of the counter is supposed to thank customers and ask them to come again, according to franchisees.
"Dual point provides personalized one-on-one service which directly improves order accuracy," according to a memo the company has sent to some franchisees, and which was reviewed by the Journal. "To the customer, we appear friendlier and better organized."
McDonald's also began using new software recently that helps restaurant owners decide the optimal number of employees to have on hand at a given time. And a new management structure, in which each manager is held accountable for a specific area of the operation, such as the kitchen or service, is expected to improve the customer experience, according to franchisees.
So my opinion on all of this? Less jobs. Make a complaint and 9 out of 10 you get that employee fired for not willing to give you that extra sauce and it gives you a chance to get back at them. Yep gogo chaotic world!
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