More queuing than Jimmy White! (McDonald's)

Member Name: cpf1993

Product:	McDonald's
Date:	09/11/00 (32 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Reasonably cheap, reasonably quality food. Some nice, unique products.

Disadvantages: The length of time it takes you to get served!

Not so long ago a member of my other half's family made a very good point about fast food in the UK. He said, "There is one good thing about fast food. That is that you get it quickly, and over here they can't even get that right!"

To my mind this is very true, and is exactly the problem with McDonalds. At the branches I normally visit the length of time I spend queuing is ridiculous, and often causes me to leave the restaurant as otherwise I will be late back from a lunch break, or miss a train. The one exception to this is an out of town location, which is normally reasonably quiet. Even worse than this is the drive-thro service, where I have far too often sat in a queue for twenty minutes. As a result I do not use them any more, defeating the purpose of having them there in the first place.

I remember when I first visited a McDonalds. I was young and it was exciting. The food was bearable, and to my mind still is (persistent use of gherkins aside - does anyone actually like them?). However it is less of a thrill these days, mixed in with the hassle of waiting for service and dealing with staff who are either harassed or have an attitude problem. On top of that the quality of food is lessened by the fact it is often merely warm instead of hot when it is placed on your tray.

There are still plenty of reasons for me to go to McDonalds. I love their banana milkshakes (providing the milkshake machines are working - too often in my experience they are not), and their pancake breakfasts (which are unique, this side of the Atlantic, anyway). They frequently have nice products which are only served for a brief period, such as potato wedges or curly fries (a particular favourite of mine). Furthermore the Happy Meals, designed for children, tend to be the ideal size for women with a small appetite (plenty of ladies where I work do this at lunchtime).

Furthermore you know what you will get with McDonalds on an internation
al basis. Great if you are going somewhere like France and know you are picky with food, not so good somewhere like American where burger bars are commonplace and McDonalds is bottom of the heap. Do not limit yourself with food when you travel is my advice, but if you are picky McDonalds (if you like them) are always a safe bet.

In some ways McDonalds have become a victim of their own success, but in my opinion they need to make some big strides in customer service if they want that success to continue on to the next generation.

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