McDonald's, Guatemalan Style

I'm having trouble moving these pictures around, but these are all taken at McDonald's. Yep, McDonald's has this beautiful garden and fountain. The Guatemalans could teach our American workers at McDonald's a thing or two. The people at McDonald's in Guatemala have learned customer service and all get an A+ for their grade. Here's the typical dine-in adventure at McDonald's:
1. You are greeted at the door and typically the door is held open for you as you enter. At the above pictured McDonald's, a worker comes to put a plastic bib on HG (we only ate there twice, but this happened both times).
2. They help carry the trays to your table.
3. The ketchup for your dine-in experience is typically the kind that you squirt into the little papercups. They typically get this for you.
4. They come around, checking to see how you are doing, and if you would like to order dessert. Yep, this is McDonald's.
5. At another one we visited on our trip (the one mentioned in #7 below), they will bring the English speaking worker to the front, just to help out. I can order decently in spanish and so it's not a problem, but it's a nice service.
6. You also typically do not take your own trash to the can like we do in the US. I usually begin loading our stuff up on the tray and over comes someone, eager to clean up our table and take the trash.
7. On our last night in Guatemala, we went to a different McDonald's. This was had the same LOVELY customer service. They came to the table, bringing their comment book, asking if we would like to make a comment on their service and food. Sure! We all wrote something in it. The workers got a kick out of HV and HM both writing something in it.
8. The food is very fresh. I don't eat McDonald's except for breakfast foods in the US. While it's still not my favorite in Guatemala, I can eat there. There are not 1000 burgers sitting under the lamp, ready to be passed out to customers. If they have the meat prepared, they keep it in the back and prepare the burgers as you order them. We all order ours in a special way, "plain," and it does not take them any longer to prepare than it does any other burger.
9. For the girls, one of the highlights is that they let you choose your own Cajita Feliz (Happy Meal) toy. They put the choices on the counter and you can select the one that you want. On our last night, they were having Super Cajita Feliz and you got to select 2 toys AND there was a little baggie inside the box that had a lollipop, gum, stickers, and some coupons for area attractions.
10. For me, one of the highlights is that the Oreo (and the M&M which HM got a few times) McFlurry has both the candy/cookie in it AND hot fudge (or caramel if you prefer) for no extra charge. Nice! They don't blend the McFlurry at all so it's more like a sundae with more/different toppings but it's still tasty.
So, US workers in McDonald's, take notes. Your co-workers in the south are showing you up!