KR
Kristen Russell
May 2, 2026
I recently had an unfortunate experience at a local McDonald’s that I feel is worth sharing—not to place blame, but in hopes of better customer service moving forward.
I placed a mobile order and, upon arriving at the store, the app glitched when I attempted to check in for curbside pickup. Assuming it was a minor issue, I pulled up my confirmation email, which included my name, order number, and items ordered. The only inconsistency was that the email listed a different address than the location I was at, which I initially assumed was just a system error.
When I went inside for assistance, the first team member I encountered seemed rushed and disengaged. She brought over another associate (possibly a team lead), who briefly looked at my email and told me I was at the wrong location, then walked away without offering to verify the order. I was not given an opportunity to fully explain or ask for help.
Wanting to confirm before leaving, I stepped away, connected to Wi-Fi, and reopened the app. At that point, it loaded correctly and confirmed I was indeed at the right location—the order number matched both the app and the email.
When I returned to explain this, I was met with the same initial team member, who made a comment within earshot of others suggesting I had “an attitude,” which was both surprising and discouraging. When the second associate returned, I again tried to calmly explain the situation—that the app and email had conflicting address information, but the order number clearly matched. Unfortunately, I was repeatedly interrupted and told I was at the wrong location, without any effort made to look up the order using the information I had.
During this exchange, the tone became increasingly dismissive, and I struggled to be heard. I understand that situations like this can be frustrating on both sides, but I was simply trying to resolve what appeared to be a known system issue (as one associate mentioned this had been happening).
Thankfully, when I asked to speak with a manager, the situation was handled quickly and professionally. The manager was able to locate and complete my order without issue, and I truly appreciated her help.
I’m sharing this because while I understand technical issues happen, the response from the two associates involved felt unnecessarily dismissive and lacked basic customer service effort—particularly when a simple order lookup could have resolved the situation much sooner.
I don’t wish to single anyone out, but I do believe additional training around communication, de-escalation, and problem-solving would go a long way in improving the customer experience.