Last Updated on May 19, 2024
So you might wonder why I’m complaining about a terrible experience with McDonalds Ipswich on my personal blog. It’s because there’s no other way to air my grievance.
I ordered McDelivery through the official McDonalds App, which sub-contracts to Uber Eats for delivery. I made what I consider to be a simple order:
- 1 Deluxe McCrispy
- 1 Double Quarter Pounder
- 2 Medium Fries
- 1 Medium Shake
- 1 Medium Coke Zero
- 1 Halloumi Fries
- 1 Sour Cream Dip
When the order arrived, I opened the (sealed) bags, and the Deluxe McCrispy was missing from the order. A missing side order I would probably have shrugged about and moved on with my life. In fact the dip that was supposed to be delivered with the Halloumi fries was missing, but that’s fairly standard in my experience.
The Deluxe McCrispy was for my daughter, so I gave her my burger. I rang the McDonalds on Tavern Street, Ipswich, who were responsible for fulfilling the order. A very cheerful, and apologetic employee explained that they can’t do anything with orders made through McDelivery using the app. He then gave me a freephone number for Uber Eats customer service.
If you need the phone number for Uber Eats customer service, if you have delivered via the official McDonalds app, it is 0800 088 5663.
I ran the Uber Eats number and to their credit someone answered the phone very quickly and took down all the details for my order. When I made the order, how I made it, and my name. The operator found my details quickly.
The operator at Uber Eats quickly and apologetically explained that she needed to set my expectations. She made it clear that they could not trigger a new order for my missing item, but they would try and refund that part of my order.
After being put on hold for a couple of minutes, I was told that, due to McDonald’s McDelivery policy, I would not be refunded the £6.49 I had spent on the burger that had not been delivered.
I remained calm, asked what course of action I could pursue to get a refund, and was told again that Uber Eats was unable to refund me. I was then apologised to again and asked to complete a short survey after that part of the call had ended.
McDonalds Tavern Street Ipswich, the official McDonalds app and McDelivery failure
I tried lodging a complaint via the official McDelivery app and was transferred to the customer services part of the McDonalds UK website. From there, a very limited set of FAQs did not contain any information about how to deal with missing parts of a delivery order.
There was a customer services chatbot, but after entering a message, there was no function to actually to send it. This was another dead end.
I left a rather impotent negative (but polite) review on the Google Business Profile, expressing how disappointing the experience with the Tavern Street McDonalds in Ipswich had been.
Next I checked the official McDonalds UK profile on X (Twitter). As expected, I saw a lot of people messaging McDonalds complaining about errors with their orders. The standard response to every complaint on X was McDonalds apologising and requesting that the complainer send a DM with the order details.
So I send a DM to Mcdonalds UK on X stating that the restaurant in Ipswich Tavern Street had failed to fulfil my order. I gave the order time, the method of order, the take out order number on the receipt that was stuck to the delivery bag, and the collection number printed on the bag. These are the same details I gave to the Uber Eats operative on the customer service number.
24 minutes later McDonalds replied on Twitter and asked me to provide the postcode for the restaurant that fulfilled the order, and a screenshot of the order receipt from the McDonalds app. Which I have sent.
I’m not expecting an acceptable conclusion from Mcdonald’s, but if I receive one, I will publish it here.
I will not order McDelivery again. I am unlikely to buy from McDonalds again. Spending a total of nearly £30 to NOT have dinner is not an experience I have any desire to repeat.
My daughter did enjoy my burger!
Update
Mcdonald’s replied, reasserted the lack of a refund, but offered me vouchers for three free medium-sized meals. I’m happy with this outcome, but I’m disappointed that I had to push so hard to get it.
Update – Saturday 18th May 2024
I finally got around to visiting Mcdonalds on Tavern Street in Ipswich to collect my free food. I made my order through the app and selected table service. When my food arrived, some of the order was missing, and the free meal had not been discounted from the total I was charged. Oh well.
“It’s reassuring to see McDonald’s stepping up to resolve issues like yours with vouchers for free meals. Your blog provides a great platform to share both challenges and successes in customer service.
Your blog provides a great platform to share both challenges and successes in customer service.
That sounds like a total nightmare, especially since you had to chase them across social media just to get a fair result! If you do give them another go, check the Food for Thoughts guide to ensure your next reward is handled correctly.
Interesting read about the challenges faced during food delivery. It’s a good reminder that reliable service is just as important as the product itself.