The Snowdroppers Visit Tamworth Country Music Festival

Posted on Sunday, January 24, 2010




The Snowdroppers spent a week in Tamworth last week and boy is there plenty to see and do in the country music capital of Australia; great country music, great food, interesting people to meet and much more.

 
Before we left Sydney to go on our journey north we made a quick stop at Stanmore McDees. Then over the bridge and far away, through hill and dale we travelled. At Singleton we made another brief rest for some fries and possibly mcnuggets for the hungrier amongst our little party. We were definitely looking forward to catching up for a yarn with our old friends the Brothers Grim and Graveyard Train, and make some new friends in Cash Savage and Abbie Cardwell. We had some pretty outrageous ideas as to how to take Tamworth by storm, and did we ever get up to some crazy antics.
 
Reaching Tamworth in record time, we quickly got to know the town and its genuine characters. Dylan, who manages the South Tamworth branch of the restaurant chain told us all about the controversial decision this year to include the “Grand Angus” burger on the menu which is less cost efficient and less characteristic of the other items. Whether it is worth the gamble remains to be seen. A talking point amongst the locals is whether the South Tamworth restaurant is preferable to the busier East Tamworth branch, which fry their chips a little hotter, resulting in a warmer, but occasionally too crisp, product.

People in Tamworth take pride in their Mcdonalds being of a high quality and internet message boards are now a convenient medium for concerns to be addressed.  
         
Vickie Gardiner for instance, had the following complaint to make:
 
"i am writting to say i have always loved the nuggets but after one night coming to get 20 nuggets also other meals which were 2 quarter pounder large tripple cheese burger large and a big mac large all meals as i mentioned the chips were cold and the nuggets very hard and chewy"
 
It's not just the food which occasionally comes under fire, the beverages are also under scrutiny by Tamworth’s small army of amateur but dedicated baristas (coffee lovers), such as Ian Bridge, who writes:
 
As a long term coffee drinker at East McDonalds, may I say that I will not be continuing my pagtronage of your premises until you fix your coffee problem. It's disgusting. Your coffee continually has a 'burnt taste' to it and leaves a very unpleasant aftertaste. TURN THE TEMPERATURE DOWN!!!! You're burning everything!!!! I'll try it every few weeks but until it regains its previous good standard, you'll be losing my and my friends patronage and money.
 
Whoa! Looks like its not just the coffee that’s getting “hot under the collar”! Its not all doom and gloom for the home of the Golden Guitar though, as other people have gone out of their way to mention the great service. Gregory McFlinigan writes:
 
Hi. My name is Gregory McFlinigan I totally disagree with "Vickie Gardiner" and "Ian Bridge" I as a passionate McDonalds customer believe that Tamworth restaurant is sufficient in all they do and what do you expect when you order a huge meal, the chips go cold. And as for you "Ian Bridge" the coffee is normal, its you because you have drunk to much coffee you dont have any tastebuds left. I came here to say i love Tamworth McDonalds and i am a very pleased with everything you do. WE ALL LOVE DYLAN THE MANAGER IF HE STILL WORKS THERE!! :)
 
The drive back home was in record breaking heat, unfortunately the vehicle I was travelling in did not have the modern convenience of Air Conditioning, which made for a very long trip! Luckily the kind folks of McDs Muswellbrook were happy to provide ice-waters (in the large size) free of charge via the drive thru window which made the trip back to Sydney a lot cooler (literally!). Props to Sharnaya and Rob D for going the extra mile for the customer. We appreciate it!
 
Pauly K
 
Ps. we are playing with Gay Paris in Maitland this Saturday 30th at the Grand Junction Hotel.

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