(And their teenage employees know why)
I like McDonald’s food! I like their cheeseburgers, Quarter Pounders, Big Macs, fries, and their fountain Diet Coke. It’s not an everyday thing but, when I go there, I like their food. Despite that, they are losing my business because they have become so slow. And their teenage employees know why.
On a recent Saturday morning before 7 AM I was at my local McDonald’s for one item – a Diet Coke. It took me 10 minutes in the drive-through to get one and if I had gone inside, it would have been no faster (I’ve tried that move).
On this morning, I was not in the mood. So, I decided to do my own investigation and see if I could start a movement from within. At the first window, a teenager took my credit card.
“I’m conducting some research,” I said. “May I ask you a question?”
“Sure,” he replied.
“Have you noticed how slow it has become to get an order filled here?” I asked.
“Yes,” he replied. “It’s very slow.”
“Why do you think that is?” I asked.
“Because we are understaffed,” he replied.
“Why do you think you are understaffed?” I asked.
“Because the pay is too low to get enough good people to want to do it,” he replied.
“Exactly,” I replied. “May I ask how old you are?”
“I’m sixteen,” he replied. “By the way, there is a new person who just started here who does the exact same job I do and makes twenty-five cents more. That’s why people don’t like working here.”
At the next window, quite a while later, I started over with the next teenage employee. Same basic conversation. Same answers. Both teenage employees knew. Yet McDonald’s leadership doesn’t know or knows and won’t act on it.
If you want an employee to enthusiastically come staff a drive-thru window at 6:00 AM on a Saturday, you will need to pay a shift differential for that. I have often said, by way of example, that whoever is going to clean the bathroom and be great at that should get paid MORE than others, not less. The day and time of the week an employee is asked to work matters. The repetitive nature of the job matters.
My key point however is that McDonald’s has become comically slow, and it costs them lots of business and their teenage employees know why. Employees always know why. They live in the value stream. Listening to all employees (even teenagers) provides management with what I describe as “the answers to the test.” They will tell you exactly where (and usually how) to improve both the customer and employee experience. All business leaders have to do is ask. And then act on what they hear. And then start asking again. Even if the employees are teenagers.
How do I know all this about McDonald’s? Because I asked.
Love, light, and blessings to you!
—Kevin
