McGanbang = SUCCESS!!

The extra credit assignment for MGT 3120 consisted of going to a McDonald’s restaurant and ordering the following: 1 McGangbang and a small fries with no salt. I waited to the last possible day to go, however I successfully ordered and received my McGangbang and small fries with no salt on the first try! I was unaware of the McDonald’s secret menu prior to this extra credit assignment, but I was willing to try it.

I chose to go to McDonald’s in the early afternoon, around 3:00, because I figured it wouldn’t be too busy and I would be able to order my food relatively easily. I was right. Before walking into the McDonald’s restaurant I practiced what I was going to say and honestly I was a little nervous because I didn’t know how the cashier and manager would react. More then anything, I didn’t want to burst out laughing when ordering because then the McDonald’s crew wouldn’t take me seriously. I walked up to the counter and said my order, my intention was to say it rather quickly and hopefully the cashier would take it as a legitimate order, but I was wrong. I said the word “McGangbang” and the cashier started laughing at me. This also made me laugh, which completely went against my earlier thought process of saying it as serious as possible. The cashier said “we don’t sell that here,” I then asked to speak to a manager. The manager was also unaware of the McGangbang. I hit the first problem with my order. I then proceeded to explain what was on it and pulled up a picture of a McGangbang on my phone. The cashier suddenly had a revelation and remembered seeing this on the internet. The manager was overseeing the whole situation, but she didn’t know how to enter it into the register. I suggested manually entering it into the register, but apparently this wasn’t an option. The manager asked if it would be okay if the cashier entered it as two separate menu items. I didn’t see a problem with this, however after the receipt was printed the McChicken came up as “plain” on the receipt. I didn’t see this as an issue for the assignment, but just to be sure, I made sure the manager was aware that it had to be the regular McChicken with the normal toppings. The manager went into the back to tell the crew to make sure the McChicken was normal and not “plain.” The small fries with no salt was not a problem. The cashier warned me that it would take a few extra minutes because they would have to make a new batch for me. Shortly after my order I received my food and took a picture of my McGangbang!

The communication between the employees was effective. There was only one cashier at the time because it was relatively slow. The cashier personally put the order of fries into the fryer herself because they had no salt. In this case, there wasn’t too much communication between the crew. Since McDonald’s has a closed kitchen, it was hard to observe what was going on in the back of the kitchen. There was effective communication between the manager and the cashier. They were conversing on how to enter the McGangbang into the register because it wasn’t an option to enter it into the register as one item. The manager took control and suggested entering the McGangbang into the register as two separate items. The communication between the cashier and the customer was rather ineffective. I don’t remember the cashier ever asking me, the customer, if I wanted the McChicken plain. However, the receipt listed the McChicken as plain. I then had to confirm with the manager that the McChicken had the normal toppings. As for suggestions, I would advise the cashier review the order with the customer. I know this was a relatively small order, however it can’t hurt. If the cashier would have reviewed the order and mentioned the word “plain” I would have corrected her before the order was put through the system.

The organization at the McDonald’s restaurant was lacking. When I was ordering my food, the manager seem rather flustered, along with the cashier, because no one had ever ordered the McGangbang. At first, they weren’t sure if they could make the McGangbang the way I wanted it. I wasn’t willing to take no for an answer. I was leaving with my McGangbang and small fries with no salt. They didn’t have a special option on the register so they had to enter it as two separate items. I understand that this wasn’t your typical order, but the manager could have handled the situation a little better. I would change the organizational structure by simply adding a special button on the register. At my old job, there was an “ask me” option where the crew would ask the cashier about the item. This was only used for special item orders, but it actually made the food preparation much more efficient. McDonald’s could also use an option to manually enter information in the register. In this case, the cashier would be able to enter my “McGangbang” on the receipt.

The manager of the McDonald’s displayed leadership. Once the cashier got confused with my order, the manager came over and asked me to clarify what exactly is a “McGangbang.” The manager also helped solved the predicament surrounding the issue of entering the McGangbang into the register. She was in charge of overseeing the order and making sure that it was prepared correctly. However, I don’t know if I can truly call this leadership. According to Kotter’s management grid, I think the manager displays more of the management role instead of leadership. The manager is in charge of producing results, not necessarily producing change. Next time, I would suggest the manager be more aware of the “secret menu.” It did not make the manager look good when you have your customer explain something to you at your own restaurant. Even if this may or may not ever happen again, it’s important for the manager to be prepared and handle the situation calmly and efficiently.