McDonald’s Customers Happier at Franchisee Restaurants

McDonald’s calculations on guest satisfaction in 2006 showed that complaints per 100,000 guests totaled 20.1 at company-operated sites versus 12 complaints per 100,000 guests at franchisee sites. Franchised restaurants in Hawaii had the highest regional customer satisfaction. Lowest satisfaction franchised restaurants were in the Philadelphia region, with Baltimore-Washington a close second.

Company-operated restaurants showed a similar regional pattern: the fewest complaints were found in the West Division, the most in the East Division, with the Central Division in the middle.

One-fourth of the 500,000-plus complaints concerned transaction inaccuracy, such as a wrong item in an order, missing item or incorrectly prepared food. Other accuracy complaints were missing condiments, too-small portions, overcharges or shortchanging, and missing napkins, straws or utensils.

The next biggest group of complaints, 15%, concerned rude or unprofessional employees, with the third-largest complaint segment, seven percent, being slow service.

Bill Whitman, company spokesman, said that McDonald’s takes customer feedback “very seriously.” He said the company gives feedback to its franchisees and restaurant managers, further stating that the less-than-pleasant information is necessary to do a better job. The company differentiates restaurants that it calls “brand builders” (fewest complaints) from “brand destroyers” (worst complaint records). Names are named, from best and worst franchisees to area supervisors and operations managers for company stores. Presumably this brings peer (and possibly other) pressure into the equation, prompting owners or managers of high-complaint restaurants to work hard to improve customer service.

Five to seven percent of the total feedback was classified as praise.

News story here.