The Hardee's Experience

OK, story time. I was running errands for lunch yesterday so in the interest of time, I decided to stop at a Hardee's for a quick bite before heading back to the office. I rarely do fast food anymore, but still I chose Hardee's because it was on the way, plus I had a bunch of coupons from this fundraiser book I had bought.

Anyway, I pulled out a coupon that read "Enjoy a Free Thickburger of your choice with the Purchase of a Thickburger of Equal or Greater Value" and pulled up to the drive-thru. That's when the fun began.

I thought this was a fairly straightforward coupon, and when it was my turn I told the speaker girl that I had a buy one get one free coupon for a Thickburger and would like to order two Grilled Sourdough Thickburgers. She paused for a moment then said I would need to come inside to place my order.

That seemed strange, but I thought the heat may have been causing problem with their outdoor screens or something, so I went inside. When it was my turn, I repeated my order to the lady at the counter. I said I had a coupon for a buy one get one free coupon for a Thickburger, and I would like to order two Grilled Sourdough Thickburgers. At this point the manager standing behind her came up and said "You can't do that."

I asked why. He said sourdough burgers and Six Dollar burgers are NOT thickburgers, only the specifically marked "1/3 Pound Thickburgers" are Thickburgers. I showed him my coupon and said it doesn't specify what kind of Thickburgers I could order, it just said I could use it for any Thickburger of my choice.

At this point he turned around and pointed to the #1 Combo on the board. He said "Read the board! Do you see where it says those are 1/3 Pound Thickburgers? That's what you get!"

I said "Why? The sourdough burgers are Thickburgers too." He then proceeded to roll his eyes and said to me and to everyone else on line and in the restaurant. "Sir, you need to learn how to read!"

Wow. He didn't just say that to me. This was no longer about a burger. It was about common decency, professionalism, customer service. You don't insult customers in front of other customers. Especially when you're wrong.

I told him I know how to read just fine. And he said "Go read your coupon again, it says Thickburger, not sourdough or Six Dollar burger."

I said it doesn't specify what kind of Thickburger, it says ENJOY MY CHOICE of them.

He said "You really need to learn how to read. Read it again. It says THICKBURGER!"

At this point I was pissed and asked to speak to the manager. He said he WAS the manager. So I asked for the number of the district manager. He wandered into the back to get it.

Just to make sure I wasn't making a mistake here, I reviewed the board again. Clearly Combo #5 was for a Six Dollar Thickburger and Combo #6 was for a Grilled Sourdough Thickburger. (Basically all their big burgers are called Thickburgers...)

So when he came back and handed me the piece of paper with the number, I said to him, "Since you said I can't read, would you please read for me what the burger is called in #6?" He took a look, realized what I was talking about, and then turned back to me and said "Just call the number."

I insisted. I said "No. Please. If you are going to insult me in front of all these people and tell me I can't read, I want YOU to read it for me so there is no misunderstanding. Please read to me what the #6 burger is called." He repeated "Call the number", at which point the woman in the back handed him my two regular burgers. He put them down on the counter and said "There you go. Have a nice life. Goodbye."

Unbelievable. I was pissed, but not at the burgers. Heck, the only real difference between the two was the one I wanted came with a sourdough bun. So I took them and left. And when I got to the car, I started to dial. After 4 rings nobody answered so I hung up. I let it go and went back to the office.

About an hour later my phone rings, and it's the guy from Hardee's. He said "Did you try to call earlier?" I said yea, and explained what happened. He asked me if they comped my meal. I said no, but I didn't want or expect that. I'm quite capable of paying for the burgers, and my problem wasn't with the food, it was with the manager. Well, I want to give you a free meal. It sounds like he doesn't understand our menu. I told him no thank you, that wasn't the point. He insisted. He said "I know it's not the point but I want to do it anyway. Can you stop by on your way home after work? I'll be over there anyway."

It was on the way so I said fine. Fast forward to 5pm and I got in the car and headed over there. The guy was easy to spot as he was the only one behind the counter in a shirt and tie. I introduced myself and he apologized for what happened, and handed me a voucher for a free meal. He then asked me which manager was the one who said I couldn't read. I pointed the guy out, and he called him over.

He asked the guy "Did you tell this guy he couldn't read?" The manager glared at me, but he said yes. The district manager immediately said "Your fired." I don't know which of our jaws hit the ground first, but I actually spoke first. I said "I don't want the guy fired and I didn't want a big stink. I just wanted you guys to work on your customer service."

The manager kind of gave me a "thank you" look, then his eyes went back to the DM but it didn't help. The DM simply said "What do you think I'm doing?" then he looked back at the other guy and said "GO!"

The guy slumped off.

I just stared at this DM. "That is NOT why I called you." I said "I was angry at the guy, but I don't want to be responsible for making him lose his job!" He said to me "You didn't make him lose his job. He did. They've had lots of training on customer service and obviously he didn't learn anything."

So now here I am, feeling extremely guilty about ordering a burger with a sourdough bun. Anyone want a coupon for some free Hardee's? I don't think I'm going back there...