[blueoceans]

Ok, I just got home from going thru the drive thru at Jack in the Box this morning. I ordered a #10 sourdough chicken combo..nothing else, just that.

I was the only customer, it was 6am in the morning. The employee was a young teenage guy (who, judging from his distinct vocal tone-didnt seem too fond of girls).

I dont know if he was new or what, but I noticed the order seemed to take a little bit longer than a typical order does. I was cool with it, being patient as I usually am.

He took my payment, and gave me my drink right away,.but the fries and sandwich were still being made. I could overhear him using his mobile headset device,.taking an order from the next customer behind me.

...and then....it happened,...(cues horror music)

the employee, seeing that he wasnt quite finished with my order, had kindly asked me to pull my vehicle forward AWAY from the service window, so that he could assist the next customer.

yeeeaaaaa riiiiiight....i wasnt going anywhere
I responded to him that I was cool with waiting for my order, and that I just rather stay in place until he had the rest of my order done.

Folks, I want to address with you an obvious new tactic I am seeing implemented by many fast food eateries in regards to their drive thru service, and basically it entails having the customer who is waiting at the window to drive away from the window so that the next customer in line can be helped.

while at first glance this seems like the good samaritan thing to do,..rest assured, it is not, and I will explain why.

When you follow their instructions, and drive forward away from the window (like they want you to), you are giving in to their corporate greed. The whole fundamental of "lets take as many customers cash as we can, regardless of whether or not their food is still on the grill".

You are basically letting someone cut in front of you. Yes, I know that customer was behind you,..but just because youre in front of them, wont necessarily dictate that youre food will be handed out to you before they get theirs..its all a matter of what food item is done next. Theoretically, logic tells us its the order that was placed first. Corporate tactic says,..whatever our half-assed employees can muster together and wrap up, and get out the window fastest.

I first noticed this evil tactic about 2 years ago at a McDonalds restaurant. (did McD's originally devise this tactic?..who knows). I pulled up, waited for my order,..and I watched in horror and disbelief as at least 2 customers behind me got their order,.and I was still waiting on mine!

This is absurd! I got out of my car and marched inside of the store and threw a holy rant inside..yeah, I made a big scene,.and was joined by other dine-in customers who were also fuming mad. but little did I know at first glance when I walked inside, that their employees were still fulfilling drive-thru orders all the while I was inside the lobby bitching and moaning.

I could have asked for a refund, and as I recollect,.I think I did. But McDonalds won,.thats right,..the moment I pulled away from their drive thru window,..they won..because by the time I finally left McDonalds, and drove out of their parking lot, with my refund and my order. ,..they had already serviced about a good 7 or 8 orders from the drive thru alone. ...and come to think of it, that was probably a kind estimate, as Im sure they probably handled a lot more.

I know my rant is about fast food restaurants in general, but regarding McDonalds specifically,..they alone have already figured out that the more drive-thru orders that they can complete per hour, they bigger profit margin they take in.

Think about it, when you go to a fast food eatery,..any fast food eatery..one of the first things you notice is if there is a long line at the drive thru. if there is a very long line of cars backed up in the drive thru,.well,..chances are, you are going to look at other nearby fast food alternatives.

what you cant see immediately as you approach the drive thru,.is if any customers were asked to pull forward so that other customers can be assisted. so in actuality, that rather short line you think you see at a drive thru, may in fact be longer than you thought it was.

you can take a stand on this..i know i have. next time you go thru a fast food drive thru...and are asked to pull forward,..DONT DO IT!,..STAY RIGHT IN PLACE,RIGHT THERE BY THE window..there is no need for you to pull up, or away from that window..stay there until YOUR order is completed..and check the bag to ensure your order is accurate...cause once you leave that window,you forfeit your place in line. ..end of story.

send a strong message to the fast food corporate execs that youre not going to be pawned around just so they can make more money at the sacrafice of having you wait longer for your food.

Like burger king always says,..have it YOUR way,..not their way!!

[Cyzyk]

Yes, that policy originated at McDonald's, but not for the reasons you state. Remember their 90-second guarantee? Well, every restaurant has a timer that measures the serving time of each customer, and cannot easily be tampered with. This is used to rate the efficiency of a given restaurant. If the employees have you pull forward, the timer counts you as being served.

They pull you forward to keep their times (and their ratings) up. That is where it started at least; I suspect you may be right in assuming it has become more than that.

[Despondent]

Overheard at a McDonalds in Robbinsville, NC recently:

"This ain't no burger king. you can't have it your way!"

I think the expectant mother behind the counter knew the guy, but We all heard it (and those behind the counter chided and joked, repeating the phrase).

[Sailor Abbey]

First of all, why are you eating at McDonalds? McDonalds food makes your mouth and stomach sad. Eat at Wendy’s or A&W at the very least.

If the person at the window asks me to pull forward, I probably still will. I don’t care about corporate greed or restaurant ratings. I care about getting my food spit and semen free. If it means waiting an extra five minutes for some spit-free fries, so be it.

[TruJade]

First of all, why are you eating at McDonalds? McDonalds food makes your mouth and stomach sad. Eat at Wendy’s or A&W at the very least.

If the person at the window asks me to pull forward, I probably still will. I don’t care about corporate greed or restaurant ratings. I care about getting my food spit and semen free. If it means waiting an extra five minutes for some spit-free fries, so be it.

Ms. Abbey is right firstly,Mickey D's or McDicks as some call it
may taste good, but their food actually makes you feel sick within less
than 5 min of finishing your meal. Secondly, i don't know about

you but i've never really complained unless there was an obivous mistake.
I've always pull off to the side and waited. Unless i've been there for longer than
10,15 min i usually twiddle my thumbs. I don't know about the McDonalds in

other countries or neighborhoods but if the wait is long they give you a free drink
or buger or fries even a Mc Flurry and thank you for being one of the few customers
that don'tcause a ruckus! But i've only ever experienced 'the wait" at Mcdonalds
everywhere else seems rather effecient

[blueoceans]

I don't know about the McDonalds in

other countries or neighborhoods but if the wait is long they give you a free drink

what th?......

or buger

say whaaaaaatt?????

or fries

huuuuhh???

or even a Mc Flurry and thank you

get out!! where in the world do you live at?..thats a far-fetched McDream here in the states..expecting that type of Mcservice from Mcd's, or even getting free McCrap is next to Mcnone.


i forgot to mention earlier that, regarding McDonalds specifically,...many of their locations now feature these "2 in 1 ordering lanes", that allow them to take orders simoultaneously from different cars.

Just as I was saying, McDonalds has already figured out a way to take more orders per hour.

Someone asked why do I go to McDonalds, and not Wendys instead.

Honestly, I dont really care much for fast food, and would rather prefer to eat healthy,.but in this crazy hectic world, unfortunately I frequently find myself in the situation of me eating fast food, or eating nothing at all. (because of time limitations)

And usually wherever I happen to be, there always seems to be a McDonalds around, and Wendys never seems to be around, unless I actually venture out and seek them. Just my luck.

[Slade]

You don't go to a drive through window to wait ten minutes for your food. You go there because you need/want it quickly and expect that the restaurant will deliver. If your wait is taking that long, you might as well go inside. As a drive through customer is it your right to get your food quickly and accurately.

Abbey: The first time you find semen in your food, you could probably sue for some serious health code violations and maybe even sexual assault.

[mireaux7]

You don't go to a drive through window to wait ten minutes for your food. You go there because you need/want it quickly and expect that the restaurant will deliver. If your wait is taking that long, you might as well go inside. As a drive through customer is it your right to get your food quickly and accurately.

Abbey: The first time you find semen in your food, you could probably sue for some serious health code violations and maybe even sexual assault.

well said! I applaud you

[Sailor Abbey]

Abbey: The first time you find semen in your food, you could probably sue for some serious health code violations and maybe even sexual assault.

But I wouldn’t sue cause I would feel bad. What I would do is go inside and punch somebody in the mouth. But I hate getting out of my car and going in places, so I’d prefer just to smile, nod, and pull forward - wait the 2 extra minutes or whatever and not risk finding jiz with my mayo.

You don't go to a drive through window to wait ten minutes for your food. You go there because you need/want it quickly and expect that the restaurant will deliver. If your wait is taking that long, you might as well go inside. As a drive through customer is it your right to get your food quickly and accurately.

Oh boo hoo! I had to wait an extra 10 minutes to eat. Wah. I'm gonna cry now.

Goddamn, you guys. Eat some xannies and chill out. Lifes too short to spend your time being pissed off about poor fast food service. They hire 16yr olds, whadda ya want? If you dont like it, dont go. If you do go - you're part of the problem.

[Cyzyk]

They hire 16yr olds, whadda ya want?

I started my illuminated career at Wendy's at the tender age of 15. Of course, I suspect the majority of their employees are not slated to enter the honors program of the state university a year early as a sophomore.

Then again, it really isn't all that hard making hamburgers.

[Deepsycher]

It reminds me like the pattern of the discrimination of coloured or black people in America when they paid at the front but had enter at the back in which the bus usually drove off except for the white coloured people in this case.

Me, I like burgers but I don't want something that looks like meat anymore. Tasty, but not tasty for my wellbeing after. In the same way as corporate greed I use to be greedy at the food in these place in which I believed I greedily sacrificed my health then.

[civilian_number_two]

I'm not sure where this thread started or where it's going. McDonald's is "evil" for trying to serve more customers per hour? Capitalism is evil? Evil Capitalists spend more time making your burgers because they need time to put semen into them? This reminds me of those claims that McDonald's doesn't actually use 100% beef, but that they buy their meat from a company named "100% beef." That's hillarious.

To the original post: if your order's taking long, they want to get on to the next one. Since they have more than one person in the kitchen, it's inefficient not to serve at least two people at the same time. Refusing to pull over won't put more men on the job, and you won't get served any faster. But yeah, the drive-through window at any restaurant has in my experience always been less efficient than parking and getting in line inside. I don't think however that this is part of any nefarious plot.

[Deepsycher]

Oh I mean it is meat but it looks very moulded in shape to every burger that I brought unlike the organic ones that I was recently eating.

Yes, I have a question about that:

I might agree when they say 100% beef but which BIT of the beef?

This post has been edited by Deepsycher: 16 May 2007 - 04:57 PM

[barend]

You don't go to a drive through window to wait ten minutes for your food. You go there because you need/want it quickly and expect that the restaurant will deliver. If your wait is taking that long, you might as well go inside. As a drive through customer is it your right to get your food quickly and accurately.

exactly


the McDonalds drive through in Cremorne on Sydney's North Shore have a policy of making you wait ten minutes for one item to distract you from the fact that they forgot another item.

[Despondent]

How about the places that are so good that they seemingly don't care about anyone but the customer at hand. I'm talking about where you pull to the window to place your order. There's a great BBQ joint in southside that now has franchises all around town as well as in Baltimore. But the hole-in-the-wall original will let the line of vehicles snake around the building and into the street. Don't plan on approaching from the west unless you can get away with a u-turn. You won't be served in under 20 minutes there on a busy day (but sometimes they do have a person on-foot to approach cars and take orders).