A hot topic emerged on social media this morning, September 22, as netizens flagged McDonald's for a controversial practice related to its fast-service standard. Customers reported that store employees, under pressure to hit a 90-second order-completion KPI, would mark orders as "completed" in the system before the food was actually ready, leaving patrons waiting much longer than expected upon arrival.

In addition to the premature order flagging, some consumers pointed out that McDonald's has reduced staffing levels, with employees juggling multiple roles across the kitchen, front-of-house, and cleaning duties. This multitasking burden, they argued, makes it nearly impossible to meet such demanding performance targets for food preparation speed.

In response to the backlash, McDonald's customer service in China stated that these concerns would be accurately documented and that the company would implement necessary optimizations and corrective measures to address the issues raised.