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Area Five Guys run by manager who can't countenance complaints

Consumerist reports a Massachusetts Five Guys - exactly which one is not disclosed - has a manager, who, when confronted with a consumer complaint about an order goes by, gets really fried. And then sends a copy of his tirade to the person who filed the complaint.

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One of my employees at my old job once did this. Guy was being an asshat on the phone, went to hand it off to another employee, didn't realize the phone wan't on mute and heard the whole tirade.

The fact that it was the manager however, make it that much worse. Really a DM should know better

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how embarrassing

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four guys now.

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what a potty mouth and a "lady" no less :)

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I always make it a personal policy to air these kinds of frustrations to coworkers/supervisors in person, in the privacy of an office or over the phone in my car. You never know when you are going to accidentally hit "Reply All". Of course there is the often overlooked risk: another coworker accidentally forwarding your tirade down the road as part of a related/unrelated communication. Believe me, there is nothing like scrolling through the history on an email to find someone launching into what they thought was a private screed against you.

Bottom line...never leave a trail!

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Sounds like somebody needs a vacation. I didn't know fries were this stressful.

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They give you a gift card over a minor screwup and you make that comment that it cant be used online? Really that is f-ed.

If this is the Summer Street one, I have had an order screwed up there before, they gave me the wrong burger and fries. I walked back, they re-did my order with an extra order of fries and gave me my money back so I have to say they are very accommodating and deserve more respect than what this douche is giving them.

F that guy

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I believe everyone in the country should have to work for at least one year in some service job so you can really understand what it's like. I worked in retail management for 25 years and got out 10 years ago. It was the happiest day of my life. What we don't see on the previous post is the original complaint. My guess is the guy was a douche. Sometimes mistakes are made and a gift card and a credit is a very nice gesture and I think appropriate. Granted the manager should have made sure where his response was going before he sent it but you know, when dealing with the "public" sometimes you just have to vent. I had employees that worked part time who were graduate students, artists, writers, intelligent people. When they were hired I made a point to tell them that a lot of customers would assume they are incompetent because they work in a store but not to take it personally. For a lot of people showing indignation toward a business is a belief in the idiotic idiom "the customer is always right." If somebody forgets their fries it's an affront to their dignity and they want compensation! How about calling the business, asking to speak to the manager and saying, "Hey we didn't get something we ordered, can I get a refund or how about the next time I come in we get an extra order?" Simple, polite and respectful.

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Is why I side with the manager. Its disgusting how some people treat service employees.

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His language was a bit inappropriate, but aside form the refund, the Manger was trying to be nice and throw in a free kicker, and the customer was complaining about the extra free stuff he got. Really? Like this customer will never ever ever physically go into a store and use the gift card? (although why gift cards can't be used on-line is a good question...

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I've placed web orders with 5 guys before (or my wife does). When I pick it up, it is already paid by a credit card. I might find it a little annoying if I was unable to place an order online because they wouldn't accept the gift card. The whole point of ordering online is so you don't have to wait in the store. And I love 5 guys, but they can take a while to prepare your food if you order in store.

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I can't find the complaint that "john" wrote anywhere. Why is everyone so sure it was rude? the consumerist describes it as polite. It can be annoying when you ask for a refund and get a credit instead. The only way you can use it is to return to the offending restaurant. For John to say I can't use this isn't much of an excuse to freak out.

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That website specializes in sensationalizing consumer complaints, so if the text that "John" wrote to the company was indeed respectful and polite, including it would enhance the story. However, since the website deliberately chose not to include it, it's a reasonable assumption that it would have justified the manager's strong reaction.

When only one side of a story is told, all anyone can do is make assumptions about the other.

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its bizarre to me that this many people would pile on because it is reasonably possible that the customer was rude. how about some facts?

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Here are the facts:
 

  1. "John" placed an online order for hamburgers and french fries.
  2. Due to a human error, he did not receive the fries.
  3. John registered an online complaint, which was termed as "polite".
  4. The restaurant responded with an apologetic email, termed as "nice", saying they would be issuing a refund directly to John's credit card.
  5. It was not reported if the restaurant refunded the full amount of John's order, or just the cost of his missing fries, but as an additional token of apology, the restaurant offered to send John a gift card.
  6. It was not reported how much the gift card was worth, only that the online order system is not equipped to process such a gift card, so it must be used in person at a physical restaurant.
  7. Unsatisfied with a refund to his credit card and the additional free gift card, John wrote a second complaint to the restaurant.
  8. The text, tone and really any essence of what John said in this second complaint were deliberately omitted from the story.
  9. Whatever it was that John wrote, a manager who read it was moved so strongly by his words, that she wrote six very unfortunate sentences expressing her emotions regarding John's complaint.
  10. The manager's words were vulgar and unprofessional, and she committed the fatal error of "Reply All" to a unintended recipient.

Did I leave anything out?

The glaring omission of John's second complaint speaks for itself. First of all, after getting an apology, a refund, and a free gift card, what more could he want? Reading through the manager's poor choice of vocabulary lies the core sentiment of her response to whatever it was John wrote:

"I'm speechless... all of this over missing fries."

If this so-called "Consumerist" website had a shred of integrity, they would have included the whole email in context.

It's more than just a reasonable possibility that the customer was rude, given the facts we have. I think it's highly likely he was unpleasant and/or unreasonable, if not also threatening! If you are assuming John was pleasant and polite, then what are you imagining he wrote that would leave someone "speechless" over missing fries?

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I'm not denying the possibility but there is no evidence of negative behavior on the part of "john". Is it actually that reasonable to assume that it takes very much to upset a fast food manager? Especially when said manager thinks that people complaining about an order is "a perfect example of why this world is fucked"

The only thing that has less integrity than leaving out parts of the story that don't agree with your agenda, is people that pile on without evidence.

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.

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No evidence does not equal circumstantial evidence. He said he couldn't use the refund to pay online. The manager seems very comfortable using foul language to attack customers along as it's not to anyone s face. That would be strong circumstantial evidence that the manager is a coward and a jerk.

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The refund was to be credited directly to the credit card he used for the initial purchase, so he got his money back. It was just the additional free gift card that couldn't be used online.

The fact that the manager exercised poor judgement does nothing to suggest that the customer's second complaint/demand was reasonable and pleasant.

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I guess you don't need facts

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... because you mistakenly thought that the refund couldn't be used online.

Do you dispute any of the ten facts I listed from the story, or are you simply dismissing them?

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the rest is conjecture. you don't know what facts are.

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I listed ten pieces of information that I gathered from reading all of the story. You haven't been able to tell me which, if any of those facts you dispute. Most illogical.

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there is one redacted email in the original article. There is a description of the surrounding events as interpreted by the reported. your list is mostly what you presume are the "logical" motives of the customer and the author. you equate facts with information "deliberately" left out of the article. Assumptions are not facts or information. your interpretation seems like fantasy to me

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.

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