McDonald's Management

The McDonald’s Project definitely helped to implement the idea of a management process. From the way the cashier took the order to receiving the order, there were many people and actions involved. Let’s briefly look at some of these steps.
When I first approached the young cashier, she performed the usual meet and greet. “Hi, can I help you?” I proceeded to tell her my order and, immediately, she called over her manager for assistance. I first ordered the hamburger with 4 pickles, so she definitely needed help punching it in the computer. Her boss came over and read my order back to me. Next, the receipt printed out and I waited for my meal.
The next person to be involved in my order was from the grill area. They obviously needed to make the hamburger. Meanwhile, the individual on fries was preparing my order of well done with no salt. I also noticed that the same boss physically went over to the lady at the fry station to tell her my order orally. The sandwich workers in the grill area just read my order from their computer screen.
In total, the order took about 4 minutes to complete. I think it is an acceptable time frame for a fast food place. On the contrary, if it was Dunkin Donuts, I would want quicker service. The notion of donuts and coffee especially early in the morning makes me think of extreme punctuality. I went to McDonald’s around 2 pm so the wait was definitely bearable. I do think that the time of day and the type of fast food are two important factors about the waiting period.
Finally, the same cashier handed me my bag of food and said, “Have a great day.” Also, during my waiting period, she came over to me and said that the food will be coming up shortly. I thought that this was a good approach for workers to keep acknowledging that their customers are waiting.
Overall, I think that the manufacturing process was great. The wait was acceptable, and the service was polite and upbeat. Perhaps the cashier could have punched in the order herself without calling her boss for help. This would have saved at least half a minute of time. On the other hand, one might argue that this communication was necessary in order to process my order satisfactorily. It wouldn’t help if she quickly took the order and it came out incorrect. The asking may have, in this case, been more beneficial and efficient for both the store and the customer.
In terms of effectiveness and efficiency, I felt that the staff ranked high for both aspects. They fully utilized their resources, and their goals were achieved. I walked out a happy customer, and they received my business. Their labor was put to work, as the manager, cashier, fry person, and griller all contributed to my special meal. If I were brought in as a consultant, the only bit of advice I could give in regards to this situation was if the cashier could handle an order like this without the help of her boss. It would have definitely accelerated the process, albeit half a minute or so. Otherwise, this specific store was firing on all cylinders.
It is nice to see the different management processes at different places. McDonald’s is a great place to observe the process due to its high volume of customers and emphasis on customer satisfaction. I believe that the nature of the business has a tremendous impact on the style of management. In conclusion, McDonald’s did a fine job in preparing my order to the point where I might stop by again.