Very Rude From The Manager To All The Employees/To Charging For The Condiments

wow this sounds like the women that secret shoped me several years
ago. she couldn't find anything wrong with the place so she just made
up some stuff. first of all I must say this is pathetic so they
wouldn't let you have more than one jelly with out charging you you
don't need to take ten of them home anyways to use on your breakfast
toast. So the speacal was over be honest there was no sign. so
becouse you wanted your next breakfast to be free some poor sap lost
his/her job you make me sick you and peaple like you are the only
thing wrong with this country. also I would like to say a web site
that tells peaple how to better complain your all pathetic.

Are you gonna sue McDonalds next week if they don't respond?

I've been the General Manager at a Burger King for just over 10 years
now, and I agree with Phyllis 100%! They had from the end of
breakfast the previous day until the start of breakfast the day
Phyllis is referring to, to make sure the signs for the expired
special were down. I don't know their hours of operation, but most
likely at least two assistant managers worked the previous day after
breakfast, both failing to get the signs down. It comes to three
managers if you then count the opening manager who each morning should
take a walk around the inside and outside of their restaurant as part
of their opening routine. Precisely to look for problems like this
one. As a Manager, this is not just a minor problem, but a sign of a
major breakdown in communications between the management, and failure
to do a very basic part of their job - being aware of the environment
around them. The sign was still up, so the price should have been
honored with an apology for the confusion.

This failure to be observant of what's going on around them is also
evident by the condition of the dining area. It's amazing to see how
some people can get 'tunnel vision' when working in a fast paced
environment like fast food, and not be aware of a major problem
developing right beside them.

As far as hearing the employees talking about what all they could get
away with, it wouldn't surprise me. The restaurant that I am now a
General Manager at, I started working at two weeks after I turned 16!
I remember hanging around talking with my other friends that worked
there, exactly like Phyllis said. I am thankful that I have better
employees than I was then!

What is up with this nonsense about charging for jelly? What's next,
charging for ketchup, napkins... a rental fee for the use of the tray
they carry their food on? If it is a condiment that the customer
wants to put on the food that you are selling, that's simply part of
the cost of doing business. Treat your customers like they are a
valued guest, not an inconvenience - GIVE AWAY that pack of jelly that
costs 2 cents wholesale. Don't try to make 8 cents profit off of it.
It's not worth losing a customer - it costs a lot more than 8 cents to
get them back!

If you think that customers don't pay your wages - indirectly of
course. Then let a situation continue like this and see if the
customers don't fire everyone by not eating there anymore.

You didn't get a lawyer?!

"But we pay their wages"

hmmmm...

I was interviewed there one time..and I told them.. I would not work
for less than a: two breakfast egg,sausage.cheece sandwich extra
value meals and a happy meal per hour!! sheesh!

Phyllis, this letter actually has some valid complaint's. It's better
than you other unreasonable ones.(Though I do find making big fuss
over $.10 unreasonable, I am glad that you are not trying to sue
Mcdonalds for the dirty tables or mental anguish because they were
rude to you.

Can any one person have this many issues with so many different
companies? Even with the fact that this letter is better than all the
rest (At least she isn't suing them yet), this is still ridiculous.

The common thread in all of these instances is Phyllis. And therein
lies the problem.

Congratulations on a great Letter! I do hope they listen and clean up
their act---hate to see a store go downhill and close but it seems the
only way they can go from here is up! Let us know if and how they
respond!!!

Although far from perfect, your letter writing skills have improved.
Is someone now helping you? Did you finally get the hint that you
would receive less severe bashings if you improved? Huh? You must
have. And you didn't ask for anything ridiculous in return, like your
own franchise, or something along those lines. Bravo Phyllis. I
still think you need to get a regular day job. Other activities in
your life might be in order.

Phyllis wrote this? Phyllis D.? Wow color me impressed!

"But we pay their wages"
No, the owner of the store pays their wages. If you paid their wages
you would have to withhold the employer portion of the tax and submit
it for each and every place and person in that place, that you spend
money.
You do not pay their wages and you do not get to be their "boss". You
are only 1 of 100 billion served.

I don't care. It's Phyllis. That's all I need to see to know there
is more to the story, lots of stuff is being left out (including
anything that makes her less-than-fully-forthcoming self look bad),
and anything that can be exaggerated, in order to make her story look
better, will.

I am waiting for the day when someone slips her a mickey. And a smack
upside the head.

I don't think they should charge for jelly unless you ask for several
packets of it to go and then maybe they can make that exception. They
were charging $.10 for sweet and sour sauce packs but only after the
first two of them were given, however, they must have received many
complaints for this because they have since stopped it. It was
rediculous anyway, punishing the customer to prove a point. They
should just limit them and not give so many out and then when they run
out they shouldn't wind up charging the customer for it. I'm glad
they stopped it here.

Bravo Phyllis!!! For the most part your complaints seem valid.
Instead of picking your letter apart and being nit-picky about it, I
just want to say that this is a remarkable improvement!

I hope that they get back to you, but I also hope that you'll try to
get the same message to the franchise-holder, since that's probably
who is setting the policies and has the power to change the restaurant
for the better.

I agree with you that the specials should come off the board when
they're over, that the first container of jelly should be free with
muffins, and that the place should be clean. The problem on the
people smiling is that they're not paid well (and if they were, as is
obvious from the fact that if the customers all leave the wages will
all go, you would probably be getting charged a lot more for jelly)
and it's an unpleasant job.

Like others, I'm not happy with the "We pay your wages" thing, though
it's possible that that mostly has to do with students saying it to me
when they wanted As and had gotten a lot of answers wrong on tests.
On the other hand, you're not asking for freebies, so I figure you
break even on the final analysis.

Good luck on getting this complaint heard.

Phyllis,

Clearly, this was not a very good day for you at Micky-D's. Sounds
like things went completely awry when the sign for the special was
still hanging, and the manager obviously didn't know how to react.
But to charge a customer for a condiment is rediculous. As long as I
can recall all condiments at McD's are free. I've had jelly for my
English Muffins there, and never been charged. So, there's something
really weird going on here. Most likely, this is a franchised store
with a private owner. I'm not sure if McD's can tell them "Hey, you
can't charge for any condiments," but I bet if they still do, then the
worst they get is a slap on the wrist.

Unclean surroundings and lay-about employees with poor work ethics in
restaurants are cropping up like weeds all across the nation. There
seems to be this poor attitude of "I'm not getting paid enough to put
forth 100%" nearly everywhere you go. It's truly astounding. Then,
there are many that really make you feel great about coming to their
restaurant or places of business. Go figure. Still, suggesting that
you "pay their wages" is not a very worthy thing to say. Actually, you
pay McD's (or the franchisee for that matter) and THEY pay the wages.
Still, there's no support for employees who are poor workers in
general.

I'm interested to see what McDonald's says about this matter. Thanks
for writing!

~Seanzilla

I'm sorry - fell off my chair!

Don't do this to me, Phyllis! I don't know how to respond when you
post semi-logical letters!

I will say that the charging for condiments, while a crummy practice
is becoming more common. Our local McD's charges for any EXTRA
condiments like jelly, mayo, kethcup, dipping sauces, etc. It's
possible the chasier misunderstood and thought you meant you needed
additional condiments.

But they definitely shouldn't have charged for the first one. I guess
that's their way of controlling costs.

I really, really hate the "we pay your wages" line. I really, truly
do. Just because you spend five bucks there, you don't own a person.

Besides that, I do think it's a little much to charge for jelly, but
if it stops people from wasting them, then who couldn't afford the ten
cents? And I do hate it when a special is advertised but is over.

And, I must comment on the fact that Phyllis has writetn a literate
letter, and she did not mail it to McDonald's Investments.

Surely the world must be coming to an end: the infamous "Phyllis" has
posted a letter that makes sense, addresses a perfectly valid
complaint, and doesn't threaten to sue anyone or demand money! I'd
like to think that this is due to consideration of criticisms on
previous letters, but who knows: maybe the planets are in alignment
today or something.

In any case, I agree wholeheartedly. They shouldn't have kept a sign
up if the special was no longer valid, and they shouldn't charge for
jelly packets and other condiments. I wonder if it's really "policy"
to charge ten cents for jelly (in which case it's ridiculous) or
whether they were just giving you a hard time (in which case it's even
more ridiculous). Either way, a valid complaint and I really hope
they respond and shape up.

This letter is a vast improvement over those you have written in the
past; you're doing good! I agree, they shouldn't be charging for
those little things, within reason (for example, 2-3 free with your
meal, but if you want 10, you have to pay extra). IMO, many low wage
employees DON'T care, this is just a stop on the job train while they
wait for "something better."

I like the fact that all you ask for is something that will benefit
all customers, not just a freebie for yourself.
Nice Work!

Think of it this way though, it's usually the customer's fault when
companies start charging for "nickel & dime" items. I don't know how
many times I've seen people go into restaurants or convenience stores
and see them buy 1 or 2 coffees then go to the coffee island and take
whole heaping handfuls of sugar and cream, or one sandwich and a fry
and take half the container of ketchup. Just because they want to
refill their drawers at work or home for free, why should the company
burden that cost? I was always taught to take what you need for what
you have and that's it. I can afford the $1.49 for a bottle of
ketchup for my home.

I did find myself waiting for the inevitable legal threat. LOL - Or a
rant about having to pay a lawyer 500.00 to win back a .10 cent packet
of jelly. Or something. :)

Ok ok - kidding aside:

Perhaps someone in her family finally 'stepped up' and wrote it fo
her? Not trying to be mean, but it IS awfully cognant and not the
least bit unreasonable. The writing style is not much her own either.
But either way, it's a refreshing change. Hopefully someone is finally
helping her, or she's taking some advice from people who care about
her.

I'm confused by the last line in your letter - this McDonald's does
not give you a choice of breakfast sandwich? It's sausage, egg, and
cheese McMuffin or nothing??

Odd.......

But, I do think you should not have been charged for jelly. I have
never been to a McDonald's that has charged for that. I think they're
up to no good and it's good that you brought it to management's
attention.

Despite the fact that this is Phyllis, this is a fairly reasonable
letter. I may not agree with everything, but I think she's reasonable
in what she's saying.

However, I do like "They shouldn't charge for the jelly, or anything
else."

They shouldn't charge for anything else? Yay! Everything is free!

OK, I know what she meant. Still amused me, though.

Phyllis, this is a good letter with some very valid complaints. I
hope you hear back from them.