Photo: Jeremy Brooks, Flickr.
Fast-food customers frequently complain about bad service and long waits at the drive-thru. The easiest people to blame are the restaurant employees who are often characterized as being slow, rude or just plain incompetent.
A 53-year old Taco Bell manager in Maryland (who asked not to be identified so he could speak freely without fear of reprisal from his bosses or offending customers) has an answer for all the complainers: Look in the rear-view mirror.
He says that it's often the customer who delays service with a lack of consideration for both hardworking staff and other patrons idling in the lane behind them.
"I've often wished we had a steam catapult -- like the ones they launch planes off of an aircraft carrier -- to get some of these people moving," he says. But he believes that many problems with slow service could be easily remedied if customers followed a few simple rules.
A 53-year old Taco Bell manager in Maryland (who asked not to be identified so he could speak freely without fear of reprisal from his bosses or offending customers) has an answer for all the complainers: Look in the rear-view mirror.
He says that it's often the customer who delays service with a lack of consideration for both hardworking staff and other patrons idling in the lane behind them.
"I've often wished we had a steam catapult -- like the ones they launch planes off of an aircraft carrier -- to get some of these people moving," he says. But he believes that many problems with slow service could be easily remedied if customers followed a few simple rules.
1. Know What You're Ordering
Frequently, customers change their minds at the pick-up window, once their food has already been prepared. It takes more time to change the order, especially if it's an item that has to be remade. "This slows everything down," he says. "Especially on large orders."
2. Don't Add Additional Items at the Pick-Up Window
"Often the food has already been made and they have started working on the next order."
3. Have Your Money Ready, and Please, Nothing Larger than a $20
Many customers think they're being helpful by searching their pockets for exact change. They're not. "I have seen people take a couple of minutes to find a few pennies," he says. "Meanwhile cars are backing up and food is getting cold."
4. No Eating at the Window
This Taco Bell manager has seen people start dining on their lunches before driving away, opening sauce and other condiments, and passing around orders among several passengers in the vehicle.
5. Come Into the Restaurant for Large or Multiple Orders
This is a big time waster for cars with just one or two passengers. "The larger an order, the longer it will take to make everything," he says.
Of course, these rules don't take into account the sheer volume of cars lined up for tacos and burgers or the situations where customers are doing everything right and employees just can't keep up.
Our Taco Bell manager still finds there's no excuse for rude customers. "Customers usually could care less about the people behind them," he says. "Common courtesy frequently takes a back seat in the drive-thru."
What do you think? Is it the customer or the fast-food employee that makes the drive-thru a torturous experience? Let us know in the comments below.
12-07-2009 @12:08PM Jesse said... It's pathetic that this isn't common sense, but having worked fast food during high school, I can assure that it's not.
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12-07-2009 @12:57PM Katje Sabin said... Good lord! The first two are easy fixes... don't allow the customer to change the order, or to add items, without going through the line again. I can't believe this is okay... if it's not allowed, it won't happen. If you allow it, then that encourages the behavior. For pity's sake (and for the sake of your other more polite customers... ie, the ONES YOU WANT TO REWARD, not the morons who expect special treatment), change this policy pronto!
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12-07-2009 @1:16PM Sarah said... I sometimes hand out food before leaving. But only at certain shops where they are notorious for getting the order wrong.
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12-07-2009 @1:53PM Marumm said... I believe the golden rule takes care of all of these. It's just basic common courtesy.
But Sarah is absolutely right. Many locations are good, but there are some locations that are just absolutely awful for order accuracy. Those need to get checked out ASAP, otherwise you have to wait through the entire drive-through line again just to get your defective items replaced.
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12-07-2009 @3:34PM 54 said... why hold up the line rummaging through the bag? on the very rare occasion i use the drive thru, i'll usually make a quick stop in the parking lot to make sure the order is right. if it is, great. if not, i just walk inside to get it fixed.
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12-07-2009 @6:18PM Bob Abner said... I no longer go to Taco Bell. I used to go late at night (when fast food restaurant choices are limited), but they constantly messed up my order. I find something on the menu that's ok, then order the same thing all the time - that way, I order it exactly the same way every time, I order correctly. and the people at the window SHOULD get my order right (and charge the same amount) every time.
BUT THIS STRATEGY DOESN'T WORK AT TACO BELL!
Specifically, I want simply a burrito with only ground beef and cheese (with extra ground beef and extra cheese), and the largest lemon-lime soda they have with very little ice, AND THAT'S ALL!!!
Simple, you say, impossible to mess up... WELL, DON'T BET ON IT!
I have ordered that same order (or tried to, anyway) AT LEAST 50 TIMES. I get all kind of different orders, and all kind of different prices.
I have completely given up, and no longer frequent Taco Bell, so don't hand me a big load of manure about how everything would be ok if customers would only be courteous. Late at night, customers at Taco Bell drive-through are discourteous, I believe, for primarily two reasons: 1) they're drunk, or 2) they've been a Taco Bell drive-through customer previously and are aware of what awaits them at the speaker and at the window.
I got tired of being angry when I was going to get something to eat, so I finally came to my senses and realized the only way to solve the problem was TO EAT ELSEWHERE!!!
And to answer your question, YES, I have gone back the next day and complained to management, and NO, it did not change anything.
These days, I go through the drive-through window at Wendy's, and they ALMOST always get my order right. Unfortunately, they're only open till 1 am.
And I make sure that at least occasionally I compliment the folks at the window for doing a good job.
Sincerely,
Bob Abner
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12-31-2009 @9:37PM Rj A said... In the defense of Taco Bell,
You don't go to BK or McDs and ask for a burger extra beef and extra cheese. You have to be specific like a quarter pounder with extra cheese etc. Same with Taco Bell, go inside and stare at the menu for more than a minute and inquire what is in each burrito. There are many burritos and many ways of getting the same item but create different prices.
Give these hardworkers a break, it's not there fault you went 50+ times and didn't figure out by reading the receipt the cheapest and tastiest ways to get it.
Its not rocket science but it's also not PBnJ. Give TB another chance-- they got awesome food! (the new 89c burrito is 5-layer- with Beef beans nacho cheese sour cream and cheddar cheese-- I'm sure you can get it ur own way and its cheap!
Rj
~Nj
12-07-2009 @4:59PM Shawn Harstad said... If I wanted to go inside, I would have. The Taco Bell in my town constantly messes up the order. I dont leave that window until I check my bag. Thats just common sense, especially with the idiots that work there.
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12-09-2009 @6:32AM Mark said... I think anyone who demands "special orders" in the drive up lane is basically lazy and believes the world is "all about me".
Fast food places and particularly drive up windows are meant to deal in volume ... not special orders which are subjective.
How much is "extra this" .. "less of that"?
If you want something special, go to a restaraunt .. or at least get off your butt and go inside and talk face to face. Check your order at the counter and discuss any problems there.
Give the world a break and stop trying to get a custom meal for $5 while you sit in your car. Geeez .. it's fast food.
Who is able to read your mind to
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12-09-2009 @6:40AM Eric said... I love Taco Bell, and they're almost always open. The problem does not seem to be with the poor workers. The problem is with greedy mgmt. I don't know anyone who works at Taco Bell (by the way, they practically never mess up my order), but you can see that the employees are too much under the gun to hurry. They are not stupid however, so they take your order, ask you to pull up as close as you can to the vehicle ahead of you, then wait to take your money until your order is ready. That's because the owners watch/punish the workers based on how long it takes you from the time you place your order til the time you get it. That theoretical timing begins when they take your money, so the sick-of-it-all and stressed out, minimum wage workers get around that by not taking your money til the food is ready. What a mess!.
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12-09-2009 @6:42AM tom carr said... i work at a fast food place and another thing that slow's down thing's in the drive thru is pepole who are on there cell phone's when they pull up!they will say hold on i'm on the phone that's rude place your order first then park the car and make your call
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12-09-2009 @6:57AM jennifer said... I am certainly not a "frequent" customer at ANY fast-food restaurant (not just Taco Bell), but I see I am not the only one who feels TB consistently screws up orders at the drive-thru! No matter WHAT I have ordered (MAYBE once a month, if that), SOMETHING is wrong. Not only is my local Taco Bell as slow as refried beans through a strainer, they CANNOT get an order right. They either forget an item, don't sub beans for meat, etc.... The last time I went (for my daughter), I stopped to check the order and TWO things were missing, and ANOTHER item was made incorrectly.
Come on, it's not rocket science... I consider myself a very courteous customer (everywhere) since I worked at McD's 20+ years ago, have been a cashier in a supermarket, a waitress, etc., before becoming a nurse. I always tell them if I have a coupon, what it is for, turn my radio off, speak slow and clearly, and ask them what they rang up. Back in the day, we had guidelines for drive-thru service (pull over cars if the wait will be more than a minute, repeat the order to the customer, check the order before handing it out, use the right size bag so that it can be double folded to keep the food hot, etc.). Nowadays - never mind that the menu board speakers never work correctly - you get someone who speaks a language other than English, they are holding a conversation in the background with the headset on, you get one person taking the order, entering it in the computer incorrectly, then not communicating with the "runner" who is bagging. They end with "$10.28, pull up," then the cashier takes your $, shoves the bag in your face and closes the window. Hence the reason I am NOT a frequent fast food customer!
Oh yeah, and all the food is sh*t too... Stay home and cook. LOL
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12-09-2009 @7:04AM jen said... I worked fast food before so when I go through the drive thru I hurry myself along. I don't hurry along because I am in a hurry, but because I know the car behind me might just be a rude person and I don't want to take up any more of the employess time than I need. I am a very patient person and never complain unless it's obvious of who is at fault, more so if they do it on purpose. I might hand my kids in the back their drinks but only if I see that they employee walks off to get the rest of my order. I sometimes even hand a drink to my oldest to pass to her brother while I am grabbing the rest of my order. I usually tell them the sauce I want at the speaker in order to keep it faster, but a lot of places still don't give it to you so the ones known to do that I will tell them I want it at the window. When I worked fast food I worked drive thru everyday. A lot of my customers were regulars and would order the same thing everyday at the same time. So they'd just pull up and say it's me or would start going on with their order. I'd politely ask if they wanted anything different while I rang up their usual order as I had them all memorized. Sometimes if I was off somewhere else with the headset I wouldn't ring it up but would ask if they wanted something else still and knew the price already so I would tell them to pull on around. ALL my customers loved me and they laughed at how rushed I would be yet I kept my cool. I really hated the customers that would pull up and sit there and say umm, umm, ummm, then ask a question about every menu item.
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12-09-2009 @7:10AM Mark in Iowa said... My thanks to the Taco Bell manager for sharing these tips with the author; some good "secret" insider tips we probably should have known to begin with! If everyone read this, we could speed up the line 10 percent at least.
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12-09-2009 @7:12AM adora said... I work fast food. I am a 36 year old mom of 4. I went back to work part time, now that my kids are all in school. I work the drive thru. While most of my customers are very decent, I do get some that are quite rude, no matter how nice you are.Alot of times, the cashiers do not bag the food, and we almost never make the food. By law, we cannot open your food package, and check that there are no onions, ketchup, etc. And when you have 3 people calling back orders, sometimes mistakes happen. And when you have owners that refuse to spend the money to upgrade their systems, it does make it hard to remember every detail. when you go throught a drive through and add 6 changes to one sandwich, it is a pain. and the time starts when you take their order, not their money.
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12-09-2009 @7:14AM steve said... It's not just the drive threw it is every where.People just don't have consideration for anyone but themselves in America any more
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12-09-2009 @7:17AM Eric said... LOL! Get some dignity- stop working for Taco Bell.
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12-09-2009 @7:17AM Kelli said... I work at BK (not the greatest job in the world, but it pays the bills) and I agree with most of this. True, some of our Sandwich line boys are slow, but often times, it's the customers. They will take 10 minutes at the menu board, nevermind that we have to get the food out under 2 minutes. Then they have to search for money, usually for change. Please, be courteous.
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12-09-2009 @1:30PM Terry said... A Typical minimum-wager! It's the customer's fault. They conveniently forget where their paycheck comes from.
SHUT UP AND BE HAPPY YOU HAVE A JOB THESE DAYS!
(Wouldn't it be a PERFECT world if everyone would just do it MY way)
...Terry M, Former news anchor, NewsRadio WINZ, Miami.
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12-09-2009 @8:53AM NeeMurck said... It would help considerably if the menu was posted a few feet before the place where order is placed. That's where I get stuck, trying to find what I want on the menu when the person on the other side of the mike is asking me what I want.
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