We all fancy a Maccies once in a while, right?
Whether it’s a classic Big Mac, Filet O Fish, or the famous McFlurry, McDonald’s will forever be crowned as the world’s go to quick bite, and here in Bristol we can proudly say we have 12 of them.
However, for customers who have visited a certain McDonald’s branch in the city, it may not perhaps be the case, sadly.
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With a 3.5 rating on Google, the McDonald's on Fishponds Road in Fishponds is scored the lowest of the dozen, having the same rating as two branches in Bedminster.
McDonald’s has responded back to criticism on Google and has stated that while they are ‘disappointed’ by the mixed reviews, they believe that that this doesn’t fully represent the branch’s services. A spokesperson said that customer satisfaction is a priority and that they are always disappointed when they hear of any experiences that fall short of our customers’ expectations.
To add salt to the wound (or McPlant in this case), the reviews on Google have been arguably more sour than savoury. While the branch has garnered a fair share of light-hearted and positive reviews, it has also been on the receiving end of critical reviews that left customers rating the Fishponds restaurant as low as one star.
Overall, recent takes on the eatery’s service have varied from being the ‘best’ to ‘absolutely shocking’. In particular, some customers were rather left impressed by Fishponds’ McDonalds store as one user wrote: “Best service I have ever received in a McDonald's.
“Emily, who works upstairs, treats customers as if they are in a proper restaurant, with enough parking space, tidy toilet, self service condiments, I wish every McDonald's could be like this one.”
Another similarly added: “Very good McDonald's... fast service also very clean and tidy.”
A user commented on the staff’s friendly service; however, they emphasised that the food value was, to their opinion, was rather less than impressive.
They wrote: “New site, teething problems, Staff are very nice but the food keeps being served cold/tepid and there is always something wrong with our order, check before you leave.”
Another group of users who reviewed the site on Google, had more damning remarks to share on the other hand, regarding the food quality, which was consistently regarded as allegedly ‘cold and old’ in texture and taste.
One disgruntled customer wrote: “We haven't been to a McDonald's for ages after countless poor experiences with cold, tasteless food, but we decided to try again today and......
“Absolutely terrible!! We waited over 30 mins in the drive through before anyone managed to take our order then when we received our food it was ALREADY COLD!!! How!! How is that even possible these days to be able to send out cold food when it's made to order!!
“We thought the reason it was taking so long was that they were so busy that the cooks were just trying to keep up with all the orders meaning the chances are it will all be hot and fresh! NOPE! Cold and old!!
"It's not like fast food is even that cheap any more we spent over £25 on cold food. This McDonald's was rubbish!!!”
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Another described a similar experience eating out at McD’s by writing: “Wait wasn't too bad. But it looked like someone had sat on my burger and my food was COLD.
“To be honest I wasn't sure what was colder my Coke with ice in or my burger and chips. I even saw a male member of staff having a full blown shouting match with a food delivery person. Very unprofessional.
“I am extremely disappointed with the food. I will not be going there again.”
Others have raised separate matters on the Fishponds branch, with one user even describing an alleged bloody McMuffin.
The disapproved customer wrote: “I found someone's fresh blood one morning in my mcmuffin wrapper after I had eaten it, I was offered a £10 voucher only. Also every time I enter the drive through, the staff are very rude. There is one guy here that tries to rush you to order. Shambles of a place.”
Comments flocked to the review to provide their support, with even one commenter suggesting to ‘get the Food Standards Agency in here’.
Meanwhile, another customer addressed their ‘terrible’ experience even using Mcdonald’s delivery service, as they wrote: “Delivery service is absolutely shocking. Stupidly i have ordered multiple times for delivery and never learnt my lesson.
“My most recent one was 20 pounds worth of food ordered and receiving 3 medium fries and nothing else.
“Called them and they tried blaming uber eats. It's not the delivery driver's job to go open all the food to make sure it is right before delivering. Mcdonalds should seriously be paying more attention to detail when handing orders out. Absolutely terrible!”
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McDonald's response
McDonald’s has responded back to criticism on Google and has stated that while they are ‘disappointed’ by the mixed reviews, they believe that that this doesn’t fully represent the branch’s services.
A spokesperson said: “Customer satisfaction is a priority of ours and we’re always disappointed when we hear of any experiences that fall short of our customers’ expectations.
“However, the reviews referenced make up a tiny proportion of the thousands of customers served each day.
“If any customer does have a complaint, we encourage them to either speak to a member of the crew in the restaurant or get in touch with our customer services team.”
