New Hartford, NY McDonald's Disappoints

"Disappointed" is the word that comes to The McChronicles' mind after a visit to the New Hartford, NY McDonald's today.

Store #: 825
Time: 1:51PM
Date: 02 October 2006
Order: 1 Big & Tasty, 1 medium Coke
Customers: 1 other person in order area, waiting for order
(McShuffled)
Online Time: 90 seconds
Order Wait: 60 seconds
Quality: overdose of mayonnaise and ketchup, squirting out of
sandwich
Service: no acknowledgement of customer for full 90 seconds while crew
milled about behind counter (seemed like 5 minutes)
Cleanliness: poor, sloppy, no effort

We've seen so many McDonald's operating on "excellent" mode that, when we see such sub-par performance, it really disappoints.

With NO ONE in the store except us and one other customer (waiting), well after the lunch rush, why can't anyone tidy up the condiment area? Why do we need to clean the debris off our table? Why do we have to eat while looking at litter beneath the tables?

The odd thing is that both of these images occurred in plain view of the crew. We didn't have to look in obscure places to uncover it. The garbage/condiment area is directly opposite the counter. The crew stares directly at it while working.

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

Images: The McChronicles.

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Veggie McDonald's

The McChronicles knows that McDonald's knows way more than we do about satisfying their vegetarian constituency. After all, McDonald's does quite well in places like India and Malaysia that have large vegetarian populations.

The McChronicles is ignorant when it comes to the needs of vegetarians, and we don't know much about McDonald's global vegetarian position, so we were interested when a veggie friend (lives on the west coast of the USA) wrote us recently and said:

"... but I still won't go until they have a veggie burger or really decent salad option. Or take the beef fat out of their fries. They could be really stupendous if they came up with some healthy options that were still tasty (i.e. not sliced apples in a cup). I've always said someone will make a lot of money if they come up with a whole, organic, healthy fast food option. How come no one listens?"

We wonder:

• What, from a vegetarian's perspective, is not to like about the existing McDonald's salads?
• Wasn't the beef fat removed already? Or is the issue here the fact that people are not SURE the beef is removed?
• Aren't apples "tasty"? What else could be offered that would be "tasty"?
• Doesn't McDonald's actively promote their vegetarian option to vegetarians?
• What is McDonald's position on offering vegetarian options?

Here we have someone saying that McDonald's could "be really stupendous" to a certain demographic by making a few changes. We guess these changes are a lot harder than they look, and we are sure that McDonald's has been down this road a million miles. So, what's up with this?

• from a customer perspective?
• from the corporate McDonald's perspective?

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

Image: The McChronicles

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McDonald's "McGold Card"

The McChronicles just encountered something cool. Something we have never heard of before. Something, it seems, we should have encountered. We discovered the McDonald's "McGold Card". "What the heck is a McGold Card?" we asked ourselves.

OK - first off, we found the McGold Card on Flickr, in paradigm4's collection (thanks paradigm4). Not having ever heard of such a card before, we Googled the thing. Clues were found in the LiveJournal mcdonalds_talk community. It seems that some McDonald's employees have them while others have never heard of the thing. Maybe only Canadians have them???

Finally, we discovered McDGoldCard.com. This site is apparently for employees only as we quickly encountered this notation: "Only McDonald's employees are authorized to use this site". Ads flashed that told us you can "save" using the card, and that you can find "new and interesting" things on this site. A little more investgation revealed that the McGold Card provides McDonald's employees with discounts at various merchants.

Seems like a great employee benefit. But many employees don't seem to be aware of it. Can anyone offer a definitive explanation?

The McChronicles: a blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.
Image: paradigm4's Flickr account.

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The McChronicles Manhattan McDonald's Tour: Stop #4

While in Manhattan, The McChronicles was stoked to see BODIES ... The Exhibition, so we scurried down to Manhattan's South Street Seaport.

While we were there we walked a short distance to a McDonald's. This store, at the corner of Fulton St & Cliff St., feels like a converted mom & pop corner candy store. It is small and unimpressive. It's OK to be small, but this store doesn't have to be boring. It has a great location - and a shot at a cool theme. Sad part is - it almost makes it, only to fall short.

The theme is "ships at sea", and the management has done a fair job at decorating the place. It didn't seem especially clean (though not dirty), especially cool (though not boring), or especially funky (though it wasn't cookie-cutter in design). It is a good McDonald's that has a ton of potential.

NOTE #1: This McDonald's, like many others in the world, is near a high tourist-traffic area (with all the pluses and minuses that that implies). We dropped in merely to observe (not to eat). The minute we reached, then passed, the counter, a manager bellowed that this restaurant was for customers only. He informed us that, if we didn't buy anything, we would have to leave. It was rudely done. It is understandable that tons of tourists would take advantage of a restaurant's bathroom or place to rest (all at a cost to the store) if allowed - and that's not fair. Understood. But rudeness is NOT required.

NOTE #2: After studying the lessons learned in BODIES ... The Exhibition, The McChronicles made a note to elevate our eating habits a bit. This exhibit depicts the workings of the human body like no other exhibit on Earth. Highly recommended.

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

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The McChronicles Manhattan McDonald's Tour: Stop #3

As soon as The McChronicles tells you the address (Lafayette St & Canal St) you know we were in Chinatown. When we tell you we were there yesterday (September 30th) you know we were there for the annual Chinese Autumn Lunar (Moon Cake) festival.

This store is cool because it reflects the local Chinese style - a culture within a culture. We didn't eat here but we did check things out. The store has a TINY order counter area. They make up for the cramped You get a workout climbing to open seating when the store is crowded (like during the Moon Cake Festival).

The cool thing here is that this store offers free delivery to the local area (just like many of the McDonald's we encounter throughout China and Asia). And speaking of delivery, The McChronicles wants to take this opportunity to remind you (again) that french fries do NOT arrive alive - so skip them if you are having your food delivered.

The McChronicles: a blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.
Image: The McChronicles. ground-level space by boasting "3 floors of seating".

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The McChronicles Manhattan McDonald's Tour: Stop #2

Next stop for The McChronicles whirlwind tour of Manhattan was the restaurant at 45th & Broadway.

Tight and small, this store offers up a confusing, mixed decor. The theme combines elements from Greek history, modern intermational, and Americana. What a design mess! And what a contrast with other McDonald's in the area that have coherent and interesting themes.

The crew had no problem keeping up with the crowd and did a good job.

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

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The McChronicles Manhattan McDonald's Tour: Stop #1

You know you love McDonald's when you blow off a lunch with a friend at one McDonald's so you can go to another McDonald's! But let's not get into that right now. Let's just say that The McChronicles took advantage of an opportunity to romp about in Manhattan over the weekend, and seized the moment.

Stop #1 was at W33rd and 7th Avenue. This is the McDonald's that greets you as you emerge from Penn Station or Madison Square Garden. Like many big city McDonald's, it is small, tight, and busy.

This store offers nothing special, nothing more than convenience and the expected food & service. Still, we were glad to take advantage of the opportunity.

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

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