Does A $5 Voucher Make Up For Terrible Customer Service at a Fast Food Restaurant?

Bad customer service can happen to the best of restaurants and businesses, but how management responds to the mishap is what can make or break an establishment. It also can determine whether we are a repeat customer or not.

Here's my story.

It was July 3, and we decided to grab some fast food for dinner and take it to Fruita for the fireworks and eat while we were waiting for darkness to fall.

I stopped at a Grand Junction fast food restaurant (which shall remain nameless) and ordered a total of five meals in the drive-thru at a cost of around $38. I put the sacks of food in the back of the SUV and we headed off to Fruita.

We were excited about seeing the fireworks, and, honestly, pretty excited about what promised to be a yummy dinner. Unfortunately, that excitement turned to disappointment as soon as we had our chairs set up for the fireworks and pulled out the sacks of food.

Out of the five meals that were ordered, not a single one was correct. Not a single one! There was an item missing from all five meals. Are you kidding me? Never mind that we had already been forced to make substitutions in some of the meals because they were out of the particular product we ordered.

I noticed on my receipt there was a web address where you could provide feedback about your experience at this restaurant. So, I went there and explained what had happened and how disappointed I was. I said I wasn't angry but very disappointed in the customer service.

Shortly thereafter, I received an email stating that I would be receiving something in the mail to make up for our bad experience.

Well, it arrived the other day, and I was quite dismayed to find a $5 voucher from the restaurant in the mail. I guess my expectations were too high. I was thinking that maybe a couple of complimentary meals would be a reasonable bit of good public relations.

First of all, I feel I should have been compensated for the fact that I paid for five full meals and instead received five incomplete meals. The fact is, I did not get what I paid for.

Secondly, as a matter of good will, the restaurant should have then provided a couple of complimentary meals as a way of expressing how truly they sorry for my inconvenience and their poor customer service.

Thirdly, I should have been contacted directly by the restaurant manager, and not some automated corporate response system.

What do you think would have been a reasonable response by them? Did I expect too much? Since it is "cheap" fast food, should I not expect to have - at the very least - competent customer service? Is the solution simply to suck it up and lower my future expectations?

Please take the poll below, offer your thoughts, and help me know exactly how I should be feeling about this.