Manager not knowing his product? Taco Bell

[Axxon]

I rarely go to Taco Bell but I found myself there yesterday for lunch. I ordered some stuff off the value menu and after the manager rang me up I asked if what I'd ordered sour cream and he kinda mumbled that some of it did.

I asked him what specifically and he turned, stared at the menu and said "I think the Beef and Potato Burrito does. Do you want sour cream on all of them."

I asked him if I'd have to say and then how much and he told me and I declined. Didn't strike me as odd but now that I'm thinking about it ( yum leftover Beef and Potato burrito )ian't it odd for a manager to be unfamiliar with the products he sells?

edit to add: He was wrong by the way. There's no sour cream on this one.

[CU Tiger]

ideally it would probably be odd.

if he has any competency at all, he probably hired there directly as a manager and has nevert prepped any of their food and simply has a business background.


Coincidentally a friend of ours reently left a seemingly nice job to become a manager at a Taco Bell, I knew his former boss and knew he resigned, I kept hounding himn as to why I mean Taco Bell, store manager?

Turns out he makes about 75k/year managing this thing....
Not sure its worth the headaches, but there are definitely worse jobs that.... on second thought there are definitely jobs that pay less.

[General Mike]

The best thing about Taco Bell is worker incompetency. When you pay for 4 tacos and get 12, you're living the High Life.

[Axxon]

The best thing about Taco Bell is worker incompetency. When you pay for 4 tacos and get 12, you're living the High Life.

That happened at McDonalds the day before. I'd ordered 2 4 piece McNuggets and a 3 piece chicken strips and the orders got all twisted and it turned out he had stuff that no one was claiming and no 3 piece strips so after asking if it was ok I got the 5 piece ( actually 6 but that was another guys incompetence ) a extra large fries and a large coke to go with my 2 four piece orders.

[JonInMiddleGA]

it odd for a manager to be unfamiliar with the products he sells?

Happens frequently at one of our Wendy's,

[General Mike]

That happened at McDonalds the day before. I'd ordered 2 4 piece McNuggets and a 3 piece chicken strips and the orders got all twisted and it turned out he had stuff that no one was claiming and no 3 piece strips so after asking if it was ok I got the 5 piece ( actually 6 but that was another guys incompetence ) a extra large fries and a large coke to go with my 2 four piece orders.

Yeah, I got an extra Big Bacon Classic out of Wendy's the other day. I don't know why they gave me 2 of them, but I wasn't going to say anything.

[Chief Rum]

Yeah, got a sausage & egg griddle or whatever those newer breakfast sandwiches are called, and a second sauage and egg mcmuffin from McD's about two weeks ago. I was happy to get extra free food, although it made it really hard for me hit under my calorie intake for that day (I saved two of the sandwiches--I started with three--for lunch).

[Izulde]

I don't find it odd at all if he's new there.

[Lathum]

I don't find it odd at all if he's new there.

I totaly disagree.

If a manager doesn't know the product then they need to revamp the training program.

Most restaurants operate on a slim food cost margin, how can managment hold the employee's accountable for knowing the product if they don't know it themselves. It will effect their bottom line.

Not to mention restaurant chains stress consistancy from unit to unit, so if the manager had to cover for an employee for any reason he needs to know the recipes.

[Mustang]

mmmmmm... taco bell sour cream caulking gun

mmmmmm....

[JonInMiddleGA]

How can managment hold the employee's accountable for knowing the product if they don't know it themselves. It will effect their bottom line. Not to mention restaurant chains stress consistancy from unit to unit, so if the manager had to cover for an employee for any reason he needs to know the recipes.

Seems to me you're making several assumptions that don't match practical reality.

-- You're assuming that management has the slightest clue what they're doing
-- You're assuming that even upper management with a clue has the ability to implement effective change no matter how correct their goals may be
-- You're assuming that the emphasis on consistency is practiced instead of only being given lip service (perhaps the biggest false assumption I see here)
-- You're assuming that any significant number of on-site managers are willing to pitch in on the line instead of simply letting service suffer
-- Bottom line -- you're assuming that enough people actually give a flying fuck about quality, service, or accuracy instead of simply wanting a paycheck with as little effort as possible

Eat out as frequently as I do, in this area or any other part of Georgia that I've lived in ... you'll be disabused of these notions p.d.q.

[Lathum]

Well considering I used to be upper level managment for the training department of Carlson Restaurants Worldwide I make no assumptions about how managment feels.

The question was is it odd, the answer is that it is.

You want to tell me a 17 year old kid making $6.90 an hour doesn't care then thats fine, but a GM making 75K, alot of which is probably bonus based, doesn't care I'm not OK with that.

And you are the one that assumes to much about upper level managment, Taco Bell didn't get to where they are by upper managment not holding people accountable.

[Axxon]

Well considering I used to be upper level managment for the training department of Carlson Restaurants Worldwide I make no assumptions about how managment feels.

The question was is it odd, the answer is that it is.

You want to tell me a 17 year old kid making $6.90 an hour doesn't care then thats fine, but a GM making 75K, alot of which is probably bonus based, doesn't care I'm not OK with that.

And you are the one that assumes to much about upper level managment, Taco Bell didn't get to where they are by upper managment not holding people accountable.

Let's add to the fact that he was going to charge me to put sour cream on the ones that didn't have it and he'd already misguessed which ones those are. Was he planning to ask the 17 year old making $6.90 right in front of me which ones to charge for or was he just going to make a price up?

Oops, looks like from the wiki he was actually right about the Beef & Potato Burrito: beef, red sauce, potatoes, and sour cream but mine didn't come with it. The Beef Combo Burrito: beans, a double portion of beef, red sauce, cheese, and onion did. I wonder if this is a regional thing or no one in that store really knowing.

In any case, the food was good and I was overall satisfied and if I'm in the neighborhood I'd eat there again so no loss but it really does seem strange.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Well considering I used to be upper level managment for the training department of Carlson Restaurants Worldwide I make no assumptions about how managment feels.

First, notice that I'm not talking about how anyone "feels", I'm addressing the reality of what's going on out in the field every day. It's not exactly uncommon for their to be a significant disconnect between the two, something that's not remotely limited to the food industry.

The question was is it odd, the answer is that it is.

Then why can I cite specific incidents of exactly the same nature at: Wendy's (1 location), McDonald's (2 locations), and Arby's (1 location), from just the past year? That roughly 1/3rd of the fast food restaurants I've visited in Athens, and I can cite running into the same problem with at least two other restaurants in a totally different area in the same time frame. Is it the majority of locations? Not as far as I can tell. But "odd" ... when it's happening with that degree of frequency, the word "odd" really doesn't seem to apply. Hell, I didn't even find it surprising when it was mentioned.

but a GM making 75K, alot of which is probably bonus based, doesn't care I'm not OK with that.


Whether you're "OK with that" or not, it doesn't change the reality that customers see in restaurants every day. For every store GM that is competent or concerned, there clearly seems to be at least an equal number that don't have enough sense to find their asses with both hands, a bloodhound, a map, and a GPS. The quality of the people they've elected to delegate authority to is but one of numerous examples of their lack of ability, judgement, and/or concern.

Taco Bell didn't get to where they are by upper management not holding people accountable.
Then they (and the majority of other chains) need to either do a better job of selecting the people they delegate authority to or get their asses out of the office & out into the field. Because it (and sister KFC) are notorious for consistently below average service -- and specifically in the area of accurate order completion -- at least in the areas I'm familiar with.