On the way to work, I stopped by McDonald's for a cup of coffee. I've written about coffee at McDonald's before.
As I made my order in the drive thru, they asked if I wanted cream and sugar. I told them one cream and two sugars. They offered to mix it for me. I told them that it would be great if they could. Sure enough, they handed me a cup of coffee ready to drink.
In the past, you get a cup of coffee and a bag with creme and sugar in it and have to mix it together yourself in your car as you drive away. Now, McDonald's has given people a good reason to stop there for coffee, customer service.
This a straightforward and simple change, but for some reason no one seems to have thought about it before.
As I drove away, I wondered, why doesn't Starbucks offer this service? That little crowd smush up at the coffee condiments bar could be avoided by most people leaving it to the wack-jobs that put cinnamon in their coffee. I predict Starbucks will offer this service within 3 months.
I'm not sure I'd trust a McDonald's employee to mix in the right proportions in my coffee. Not that it's difficult when all I usually want is 2 sugars or 1 sweet-n-low, but then again, I have enough problems with the drive-through-staff understanding what I'm ordering that even that could be a pain.
Since I usually have my own travel mug that I want filled, it's not a problem for me to hit the drive through, pull into a parking space (or double park if I'm feeling evil), toss in my sugar into the mug, pour in the coffee, and toss the empty McDonald's cup in the trash bag in my car. Or if I'm not feeling quite so lazy, I'll go inside and just fill my mug from the coffee tap, "saving the environment" from an extra cup's worth of waste. :-)
Posted by: Ross [http://typeset.vox.com] on May 9, 2007 9:15 AMHold on a second. You drink "berrylicious" "coffee" at 7-11, but you diss on people who put cinnamon in it?
Pot, meet kettle...
Posted by: Brad [http://www.flyingw.org] on May 9, 2007 9:26 AMI LOVE cinnamon in my coffee... doesn't make me a wack-job...
And as Brad mentioned, 7-11 mixtures vs. Americano & Cinnamon? WTFBBQ?
Come on, the Energy "Coffee" with Ginger and other weird things? That is weird stuff!
Dude, this is an East Coast thing. Dunkin' Donuts does this. I find it kinda freaky. I want to doctor my own coffee, thank-you-very-much.
Posted by: sk [http://embiggen.blogspot.com] on May 9, 2007 11:12 AMI hope they don't ad extra "stuff"...
Posted by: Eduardo [] on May 9, 2007 2:47 PMWe have Dunkin Donuts out here in the east. They have always put cream and sugar in your coffee for you. My problem is they always add too much sugar. So I usually ask for it black and add my own. Customer service is great as long as you get exactly what you want.
Posted by: Bribo [] on May 11, 2007 5:08 AMBecause they have an automated machine. At least they do at the ones in my town. There's a machine that does coffee and they just press buttons and it's done for them.
The soda machine is automated here, too, at some of the locations. When the order-taker inputs the order, it updates the machine. The machine selects the cup and traffics it through to the drink, which is dispensed automatically based on the size ordered.
Posted by: thriftstoredesk [http://thriftstoredesk.livejournal.com] on May 11, 2007 6:05 PMIn Manhattan you ask for a regular coffee, you get cream and sugar.
And the sugar quantity is ALWAYS exactly right. ALWAYS.
It's a Manhattan thing.
Don't get me started on the amount of meat in any NY deli sandwich.
Posted by: BillB [http://squidly.com] on May 21, 2007 9:39 AMi was at your mcdonalds in chatham,va. tonight and got very poor service. i sat at the drive thru for 7 minutes and noone offered to take my order so i figured the speaker was broken and pulled up to the window and the cashier was on the phone, she asked if she had taken my order and i told her no and the reason i pulled on up, she said she was on the phone cause her aunt was figuring out who was gonna pick her up cause she was getting off work, she took my order and i pulled up and waited about 4 minutes and a girl brought me a mcflurry and i told her that wasn't my order she rolled her eyes and another lady came up and asked what i had ordered, i told her 2 kids meal a 10 piece meal 2 dbl cheese burgers and a fry, she called the girl up that had taken my order and asked her and she confirmed my order and it took us another 5 or 6 minutes to get our food.
we go to this mcdonalds at least 3 or 4 times a week and every weekend, this is the only place my grandkids want to eat and we only live 5 or 6 minutes from it. i think this was very poor service and someone should know about it.
sincerely, mona walker
299 rainbow lane
dry fork, va. 24549