Richfield Springs, NY McDonald's: The McChronicles Has A Bad Experience

The McChronicles drove across Upstate New York to visit "the birthplace of baseball", Cooperstown, NY. On the way we dropped into the McDonald's at the intersection of NYS Rts 20 & 28 in Richfield Springs, NY.

This store is the kind that is tacked onto a convenience store/gas station. The McChronicles has posted about this set-up before (we feel it is a bit "below-brand", yet we'd rather have the opportunity to eat at McDonald's vs. forego it). Overall we give the concept a thumbs-up. We dropped in all excited to have the luxury of a McDonald's way out in the middle of nowhere - and then it hit us. This place was really batting below average.

First were the flies. WAAAAY too many (coming in from the back door, the main entrance, and the convenience store). Flies NEVER make customers happy. Minimizing flies in a restaurant should be a top priority for EVERY restaurant.

Then we encountered the always-impressive condiment/straw/Sunday paper insert "heap" on the counter. People hate putting things in their mouths that have been pawed over by strangers and that are displayed in obviously careless disarray. Additionally, the first impression should be a nice one. It is set up to be a nice one. It's actually kind of hard to mess this up. But they did.

Finally, we were less than inspired by the semi-swept-up debris, broom-in the-food scenario in the food prep area.

The management of this store needs to get some "religion". Customers may have to accept this low-level treatment when the nearest diner is a country mile away and they're hankerin' for a quick cup of Joe at Flossies Diner, but no one should experience this at a McDonald's. Especially after so much money has been spent to provide us all with a pleasing experience.

Store Manager Dean Colby (so proudly displayed on the store's door), where's the pride? The hygiene? The respect for the McDonald's brand? The respect for the customer? The McChronicles is betting that your crew just had a bad day. We know that you're one small step from delighting the customer in every way. Please take that step, make this little diamond in the rough something to be proud of. We'll be back and we're sure we'll be impressed next time.

The McChronicles: a blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.
Images: The McChronicles.