Today’s dining review is going to be a little bit different. No, I will not do a food review on Wendy’s itself because everyone has probably had it by now, and that’s beside the point. Today, this review will be more about customer service or lack thereof. However, we will get to that situation later.
Right now, I want to talk about customer service in general.
Where Did We Go Wrong In Our Customer Service Industry?
Companies pride themselves on their wonderful customer service. They say our customers are our number one priority. We treat our customers with integrity. Without our customers, we are nothing.
Now, from someone who has been a customer service agent AND a consumer for some big-name companies, that’s honestly not the case. You are taught to get the customer off the phone quickly. Customer service calls should not last more than 3 minutes long. Not to mention, you will need to follow a script, and if you go off script, be careful QA is coming after your ass!
There is no real empathy anymore. There are no real manners. It’s all about metrics. Who cares if the customer is unhappy because the customer is always right and doesn’t exist anymore?
This all ties into this review of Wendy’s. No, I am not going to single out this particular store (you probably could find my review on them if you truly wanted) in this post. However, this is a prime example of crappy customer service.
The New Wave of Ordering Fast Food, Mobile Ordering
Mobile ordering fast food and going through the drive-thru is the new craze. You can order and pay for it and just hit up your local fast food joint and tell them your order number, they give you the food, and you leave. No more worrying about the cashier ringing you up wrong. It’s quite the time to be alive if I say so myself.
Of course, Mcdonald’s seemed to have paved the way for this new technology. Currently, Burger King and Wendy’s are slowly catching up. Of course, this is at the expense of the customers.
When you implement a new product or technology, for that matter, the entire store has to watch its lovely training videos. Let’s be serious; we ignore them, sit in the back and bask in the A/C while our co-workers still slave away, making customers their food.
This is where manners come in.
Customers Are Always Right? No?
I went to Wendy’s last Friday. Wendy’s is a bit further from where I live, so I don’t go there often. I looked at the app to see what kind of coupons they had (frugal for the win!) and noticed they finally started doing mobile ordering. Of course, we all know how much I love mobile ordering, so I figured, why not.
The ordering was easy; I paid for it and said to check in when I got to Wendy’s. Fair enough. I get to Wendy’s I check in. I go through the drive-thru like the app is telling me. I told the drive-thru girl I put in the mobile order, and she asked: “What do you want to order?” So right off the bat, she ignored what I was saying. I repeated myself, saying that I had a mobile order. She rudely said they don’t do mobile ordering.
Okay, so you don’t do mobile ordering? Say what? I thought maybe I had the wrong Wendy’s. While circling the building, I noticed I did NOT have the wrong Wendy’s. This was, in fact, the right Wendy’s. Hmm.
I decided to go in and see why you said you didn’t do mobile ordering when the app said you did, and I PAID for my food already.
I go into Wendy’s. It’s lunchtime, so there is a line. It’s not moving. No one is doing much of anything but standing around. Whatever.
I finally get up there. I said that I had a mobile order. The front counter cashier looked a bit confused, so she went to the drive-thru cashier (mind you, this one said they do NOT do mobile ordering) and said, “Oh, you go to this screen over here.” When she couldn’t find my order, she told me they did NOT do mobile ordering and that my order was nowhere in her system.
When she was looking for my order, she took my phone and saw a receipt from Wendy’s in Wendy’s app with the time and date.
Well, this is where it gets really ugly, real fast. She decided, let’s accuse you of lying. Like I was trying to get over on them. Like the food that they make gets cut from her paycheck. Not wanting to hear me out, I said, “the food is already paid for.” Her response to me was, “Dispute it with your bank,” as she walked away.
This is where my question comes in…
Wendy’s Where Did Your Manners Go?
Talking to Corporate/Wendy’s Customer Service
While their corporate was nice, they only said they’ll get the district manager to refund me and have them call me to discuss the situation.
The district manager didn’t call me, but the general manager did five days after. She told me that I would have to call another number to get my refund after corporate said they could do it on their end. The general manager didn’t apologize for the way I was treated. She tried to cover it up with a free meal, which I kindly declined.
This entire Wendy’s experience overall left a bad taste in my mouth. Will I ever go back? No. Not after everything that has happened. I’ll take my business elsewhere.
**Wendy’s corporate phone number is 1-888-624-8140. If you need to call them with any issues.
Looking for Places With Great Customer Service in Central Florida?
Just because Wendy’s lacked customer service doesn’t mean every other food establishment is like that. Central Florida has many great restaurants you should try out. For whatever you are in the mood for, there’s a restaurant. Visit our archives of some of the best food places in town.
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