McDonald's Created A New Position To Deal With Customer Service Problems In Stores

McDonald's is trying to reach dissatisfied customers by adding people to fetch sauce packets and Happy Meal toys, according to a report by Julie Jargon at The Wall Street Journal.

The restaurant chain found that one in five customer complaints were related to customer service, and that number is increasing all the time, according to a leaked presentation distributed to franchise owners.

To help deal with the problem, the company created a new position of "runner."

That person will "hand out cups and sauce packets, and fetch juice boxes for Happy Meals," Jargon writes.

Having the "runner" on hand will help clear up confusion and free up time for the cashiers, who are supposed to tell every customer "thank you" when they're done.

The company is also implementing a "dual-point" ordering system around the U.S., which involves the customer ordering at one end of the counter and taking a receipt with a number. When the number appears on a screen, his order will be ready at the other end.

But Jargon points out that one of the chain's biggest problems is high employee turnover.

Because most employees make a low hourly wage, they are less likely to be loyal to the company or think twice about leaving.

"Let's say I'm in front at the register and the grill's not pushing out food quickly enough. So you have to wait on food, and the customer is getting aggravated at you because you're not giving them the food quick enough, and the grill gets aggravated with the cashier because we're asking where the food is," a McDonald's employee told Jargon.