| 11.21.2018 – McDonald’s Buendia in Pasay City near the Gil Puyat LRT Station has a better location to getting customers than the other side with its competitor Jollibee. It’s the busiest branch even in the late mornings as people definitely stand in line event the breakfast to lunch turnover, which is supposed to be slow during these hours.
Having the most customers making a stop means this place never runs out of foot traffic since it opened. Usually, this is the first stop for those heading south before making a ride to their respective destination. With all that you should be wondering how the service works out for a branch that doesn’t run out of customers. That’s the experience that should be addressed here… |
There are McDonald’s branches across Metro Manila but depends its location it’s a win or lose scenario when it comes to strategic position when it competes with the country’s local rival. But even though some locations might appear to be a dead spot it’s also how the store has been managed that builds up a relationship thus you get repeat customers.
The busiest time for a McDonald’s store is lunch time and dinner, but never at 10 AM for late breakfast or what some would call “brunch” that some customers decides to have an early lunch, while also getting their breakie that they missed early in the day.
Thirty Minutes Later…
So there I was standing in line for a quick breakie in hoping to complete the Pokemon Asia set that has been available since 10th of November. It’s understandable that this branch is busy but never thought that it will eat up time standing there with the rest of the hungry customers for almost thirty minutes. They should’ve overhauled this ordering system similar to the McDonald’s Dian branch.
Waiting there for almost half an hour is like taking forever and if I was an Aussie I would lose my temper and called out a manager for this type of service. It’s like waiting for a monologue that is not happening. I’ve dined in this branch several times mostly lunch and towards dinner, but never in the late hours in morning. Surprisingly, I started to observe the crew and why it had long lines. It was indeed the location where most people drop off or about to head to their next destination that makes this place busy.
Noticing the crew waiting for the food to be made and available they huddled up like a school of fish or a group of pigeons waiting for their meal. It’s like seeing organized chaos happens and observed people in the like robots waiting for a recharge. Not much reaction just standing there as they’ve no choice on the situation like how it is in this perspective.
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| Rhea, Cold calculating staff of McDo Buendia. Must be the worse model for the TX-1000 series to serve you food. |
Stiff and Cold Service
What makes a good customer service? Honestly, if you ask that to them they will leave you in the air without a proper response. When I got to the cashier a staff named Rhea was there I explicitly and detail what I ordered: A pair of Happy Meal consist of two piece Hotcake with drink and no hash brown, while the other is the Eggdesal with Hash Brown and Drink. I also explained that instead of serving me two separate drinks she will give me a Large Pineapple is that clear?
What she forgot if it this for dine-in or for take away. She repeated what I need but never asked if this is a dine-in meal. I observed this staff not welcoming like the usual Filipino staff and they do it the job like they are inside a factory putting something together and then when they’re done they move to the next one. It was the usual observation when I see a Filipino staff working at McDonald’s, but comparing it to the Australians and Filipinos who work in their store you can see they’re are cheerful, Filipinos in their country? Obviously they just go about the routine not enjoying the work and too serious even lack of listening is the usual skill that you’ll see.
Dead Communication
Rhea proceeds to give the grim news, that they run out of hotcakes and I asked is there ANY other option? She said without even verbalizing and no courtesy of apology the option was zero. This is the reason why Happy Meal menu is limited and fixed in the Philippines that has no flexible option to order a different food, which is not part of the menu. This is really that bad unlike in Australia where you have that option to order other things outside the Happy Meal menu.
The staff preceded and prepared my food turns out she didn’t listen to what I said, which I repeated myself TWICE in what I need. She got all my food packed for takeout, the pineapple drinks where separated instead, and handed me with the wrong toys. I was starting to lose my patience and yet unapologetic as she was I haven’t even heard her apologize to calm my nerves.
This is the worse day for this branch to be put in the microscope with that kind of service. My hash brown was late that was handed to me five minutes later. I immediately observed the two Eggdesals I ordered since there they ran out of hotcakes. The first Eggdesal appears to be beat up in a rush for a late breakfast meal that was hammered in the process while the other was decent. Of course, the taste was different from the previous Eggdesal I had there’s no consistency in taste and both sandwich has less cheese that it doesn’t appear like they put one there. When I got the hash brown I cut it in half and put them in the Eggdesal instead of consuming it separately and I was done.
Need Improvements
Like all McDonald’s stores it does not support Debit Card or any type of cashless payments for a quickest option. This branch needs to overhaul their ordering system make a space for Take Out where they can wait for their number, while the dine-in customers need just have the extra staff serve the food as they wait from their table. Beside that there’s no self-service touchscreens for quick orders instead of standing there waiting for who knows when.
Happy Meal menu is VERY LIMITED to what the only menu dictates when the food runs out what now? There’s no flexible option for example: If I don’t want a Burger McDo and want a Cheeseburger instead they won’t allow me to get it even if I pay extra. In Australia the Cheeseburger is part of their choice for Happy Meal as includes also the McWrap (which is WAY HEALTHIER than Burger McDo). Same with the Breakfast option and this is the reason why McDonald’s can’t win against Jollibee with good strategy.
The staff needs to be re-trained not fired but re-educate what is Customer Service. I’ve work in the BPO Industry for almost ten years and lived in Australia to see how McDonald’s Australia is different. Even Filipinos there smiles and greets you here? Well they are frickin’ robots with no courtesy or even the balls to apologize and yet even though you’re upset already there’s not even a hint of empathy. Wow.
Even if I don’t want to recommend anyone to go this branch they don’t have any choice like I do traveling to another destination. You’re famished and trying to find rhythm from stressful commutes you still end up stressed because the staff are numb to just doing their jobs like a routine not a service seemed like anywhere in the Philippines is stressful.
So does McDo really listen? All I can say is they only ‘selectively listen’ to what they can do or what they won’t as they have to maintain the so called ‘Filipino flavour’ for their brand. That is not how you do it regardless how many times you re-rebrand the Burger McDo it will be the same crap as the way they did with the McSpaghetti. The Happy Meal menu is not even flexible to have a cheeseburger instead of a Burger McDo which you’re tied down to a very limited selection.
McDonald’s should be a place for comfort with its food even though the entire localized menu is crap with Burger McDo at the top of it. But unfortunately, it’s so terrible although I’m don’t completing the toys and will proceed to give this place the lowest survey.
For now McDo Buendia you’re done.
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