I was on my morning 50 mile commute in to work and I was really hungry. I wanted to get in to a Jack in the Box and get something for breakfast but I didn’t know where any of those were between Novato and Tiburon, so I settled for a McDonald’s in Terra Linda that I can see from the freeway. So I move my way over into the right lane and get off the freeway with great anticipation of something hot and hunger quenching — my stomach actually started to growl at this point. I pulled into the drive up at the Terra Linda McDonald’s and when I get up to the ordering spot I can’t see the entire menu. It is very poorly designed and much too close to a car that drives up for a driver who is more than 4′ 8″ tall to see much of it. Since I’m not intimately familiar with the offerings at McDonald’s, I need to ask a few questions. I want to know if they carry a McMuffin with sausage but no egg and I’d like to know how much it is.
Speaker Box: “Can I help you?”
Me: “Yes, I’d like to know if you have a McMuffin with sausage but NO egg?”
Speaker Box: “Would you like anything else?”
Me: “No, I’m not ordering, I’m asking a question. Do you have a McMuffin with sausage but NO egg?”
Speaker Box: “Would you like anything else?”
Me: “I’m not placing an order! I want to know if you have McMuffin sandwiches with sausage but NO egg! This is a question that needs a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer and if you do have them, I’d like to know how much they cost.”
Speaker Box: <Long pause> “Yes. Would you like anything else?”
Let me add that the electronic message board that is used to verify one’s order was not functioning correctly because it did not display what she had apparently put down as “my order.”
At first I thought I was living in “Dude, Where’s My Car?” when they were placing the order for Chinese food at the drive-up where the speaker box says “And then?….” after each thing that is ordered, but then I started to get disgusted. The person taking my order was obviously a non-English speaker and was trained to speak a few phrases, but as far as engagement in an actual conversation — something that actually went beyond the scripted order/response, it was hopeless. So, I left without ordering.
Don’t get me wrong! I don’t have a problem with non-English speakers who are trying to learn the language, but when it comes to placing those people in positions where they actually have to interact with the public is not only stupid, it’s insulting. What could a manager who would place a non-English speaker into a position requiring that they be able to converse with the English speaking public be thinking? Maybe that’s the clue right there; they’re not thinking. It obviously isn’t good for business. And with today’s unemployment rate, I can’t see how someone who speaks English and who is hungry for a job who maybe just recently lost their unemployment benefits wouldn’t be readily available to earn some money.
Get smart, Corporate America. If you want my business at the drive up window, you’ll hire people who can speak English and carry on at least a rudimentary conversation with me! To do otherwise is insulting and will drive me away like it has done with McDonalds in Mill Valley and Terra Linda, CA.