Drive-thru Etiquette

If you're that particular about what you eat, don't get your food from an assembly line.

Drive-thrus are a symptom of cultural madness: we keep busy chasing the next paycheck or the bigger house or the more expensive two-week vacation, but what are we busy doing, really? Each of us with our head down in our personal hamster-wheel believes we consume resources to sustain our lives; in fact we've geared our lifestyles, our collective lifestyle as a culture, toward consuming resources. 300 million or so individuals run around thinking, "I have to make money, how can I make money?" and that becomes the driving force of the society. Our lives are subsumed into a machine with no function other than to liquidate the world's assets, to turn every tree and rock, every dog, cow, and human being into a dollar bill.

Personally, I doubt we'll ever reach the doomsday scenario of a barren rock on which people cook each other over fires kindled from bank notes (the only thing left to burn). We'll keep making small course corrections, slapping on band-aids, asking the paper company to recycle or the grocery store to carry organic bananas. In the meantime, pavement creeps farther in every direction, the variety of animal life you'll ever encounter outside a zoo is reduced to scavenger species, and the variety of human culture atrophies to brand names and genres. Your life smells like gasoline and sounds like gears grinding, and it's because you bought the cheaper product rather than the conscientiously-made one, because you took the easy job rather than constructive one. It's because you stayed late at the office again and settled for two weeks' vacation so that you can have the shiny car and get/be the American (tm) girl.

I'm not laying blame here--we're born into the system, and whether you're on the bottom or the top, it's hard to see the way out of it. Life in general is a big confusing mess. But you can choose not to work or eat at places that leech away everyone's quality of life and keep us all on edge. If you only have 120 seconds for lunch, then quit your job. No, it's not that easy, but yes, it is.

I can feel for you. I worked at Taco Hell when I was in college. I will never work in fast food again. For a number of years I worked on the road and suffered with drive thru windows.
I would like to share with you life from the other side window.


Speak clear and plain. Oh yes I agree and that goes for your side of the speaker too.
For god sakes have someone who can speak the language. Too many times I have encountered someone who is fresh off the boat who has a limited grasp of english. With a accent so thick you can cut it with a knife. There must be a book some where titled
"Things to do that will piss off you customers" Page 23 "Put Ivan the new guy from Lower Slobolia on the drive through" Fix the damm speaker. "big mac, order of fries and a strawberry shake" comes back as "ibzzzzzzzzzzz cracked ies ZXQYTM" Some times I refer to this as drive thru roulette. Place a simple order and see what really comes back. (never knew stuffed yak head was on the mickey dees menu)
If your not getting the order or having a bad day don't take it out on me. Case in point.
McFish, fries coke. Beats me how this kid could screw it up but every time he read it back the order was wrong. After the 5th attempt instead of saying mcfish, I said whaler and the kid snapped back "This is not Burger King asshole.

About not pulling ahead. I stopped doing this after to many times to count. I was forgotten. Often for long periods of time. To the point of having to go in and get the order.
Only to find it's been sitting on the counter now cold because someone couldn't bring themselfs to do thier job or not even done because "oppps we forgot" In calm and polite voice I will ask for my money back if I am asked to wait. . As soon as you say that it's amazing how fast it will appear. Sorry burned too many times by "please pull ahead trick. It seems to me a company that can track everything down to the last french fry can't look over and say "We are out of fries or it will 20 minutes for the shake machine to come back up. Instead of leaving the customer to sit out in the parking lot in hopes food will arrive. This is suppose to be "Fast Food" if we wanted to wait we would go to a sit down place and eat real food. It may also occure to you that the customer is expecting fast service because they don't have the time to wait.

Calm down if you order is not what you wanted, I agree but sometimes it can really bug you when it's the same item no matter which resturant your at and it's screwed up. My problem item is the Egg and Cheese biscuit. No matter how plain I speak or how slowly I say it. It always comes back with sausage on it. I don't really care if you have just sold 100 of them with sauasge on it. It's a menu item don't tell me you don't have a key for it.
Don't argue with me that I didn't order that.


Something for all you drive through workers. Take a bath, leave the piercings home. I don't want to see your tongue, nose, lips eyebrow or any other pieces of metal hanging off your body. Cover the tats. I know it makes you look bad and rad to your friends. It just makes you look unkept and unclean. Ditch the 9 inch finger nails and please wash your hair and keep it up and out of the food. I know in theory we have health department regs that cover this but this nasty crap I have seen. I also know it's not pc for your boss to tell you this.

Here is a tip when your handing the customer thier food. Do not, I repeate do not try to shove everything out that little window at once. I only have two hands and tying to make me take four things at once including my change does not help matters.

This is a really great thread. The McDonalds drive thru has been a pet peeve of mine for years. After too many foul ups, delays and just rude people. It has to be a rare moment when I use McDonalds any more. I find the people at Arbys much better and the food is much better.

I was with you (see my reply earlier in this thread) until this quote...



For my generation, it was long hair, bellbottom jeans, and tie-dyed t-shirts. For my parents, it was bobby socks and poodle skirts. Every generation tries to stake its own identity that is different from the current norm.

If you really have a problem with how Gen-X'ers or Gen-Y'ers or whatever the hell it is we're supposed to call teenagers and twenty-somethings these days, are dressed and adorned, then I suggest that you not frequent places where they tend to work.

- Ace

You have a good point here. An interesting book to read is "Fast Food Nation", which sort of defines how the social price of employing a vast, low-wage workforce and the health cost of industrialized agriculture combined with an obesity epidemic - actively undermine what most people ultimately are trying to achieve.

Paying people a living wage with health care starts with the consumer. If you don't like what a company stands for because they have off shored their jobs for better profits, try not to buy from them (sometimes it's not possible), but where it is, pay a little more and buy from the company that treats their people like human beings and not robots.

If you are concerned that Wallmart is putting small businesses in town out of business and not paying workers a living wage, don't shop there. The same applies to how fast food companies treat the people who work for them. If enough of us did this the effects would begin to move up the chain.

Also, I completely agree with this:

That's not to say that you should put up with being treated badly, just to say that it always helps to consider what it's like to walk in someone else's shoes.

*Cringes at the memory of the related stories*

I think everyone should try working in a place like Iraq. A few months of things exploding and getting shot at will make you.. uh, spend a lot of time in SL

I've never worked in fast food, but I know what it's like to be under pressure and I think combat is probably better than having to deal with the assholes that Hikaru has dealt with.

OK, I think I'm not really making too much sense.. just chock it up to a war veteran's ramblings. Remember that no matter how much your job sucks, at least you aren't doing one that you wake up every day wondering if it's the last.

To all the counterpoints to what Hika said, they're valid points, but take the complicated orders inside.. you're deafeating the super-fast nature of the drive-thru. The nicer you are, the less spit there will be in your food. Besides, it's usually faster to go inside anytime there are 3 cars waiting to get to the menu.

FUCK MCDONALDS!

I'm respectful and friendly to the people getting my food. If I'm in a bad mood I just don't smile much and don't talk more than enough to order the food.
But... if I'm friendly and I get crap from the person, then I get an attitude.

If I go into a restaurant or store and the clerk can't be bothered to stop her conversation with coworkers or friends while she/he helps me... that's just plain rude.

I've worked in public libraries for years - nothing more fun than being told by your supervisor that no you cannot say something back to the person who came in off the street in a bad mood and took it out on you. We're expected to be friendly all the time because we work for the town. If we respond to a direct, unwarrented insult, we get reprimanded. If we're too friendly, people see it as a reason to chat with us for long periods of time, making everyone in line behind them grumpy. Lose/lose situation.

I agree on all counts there too. My comments about being respectful are intended for those who haven't earned any disrespect by their actions. If my server is being rude, I'll give them both barrels. Having a bad day doesn't give anyone a pass on being a shithead, service industry or not. We all have them, and we should all suffer the consequences of them if we can't control ourselves.

I can't work service industry jobs. I'm not good at holding my tongue when people are rude or being idiots, especially condescending and idiotic. The last job I had that I worked with the public was for an import company, and I had to stalk into my office once to avoid decking a customer who was going on about merchandise "probably made by foreigners" while she tried to get a discount. (Helloooo.. import store you dumb racist bitch!) Personally, I think I should have been allowed to smack her in the mouth, just hard enough to snap her out of her stupidity momentarily, but alas, I had to walk away instead.

I agree working at McDees sucks but the only people that work for McDees longer than one year are:

The managers they get paid decent.
Felons they can't work anywhere else.
Immigrants they can't speak the language and need to establish a work history and time to get a drivers license.
Students working summer jobs.
Losers who don't want to try and get an education and advance themselves.
Drug users can't handle anything any more complicated.
Lazy people Mcdees is the easiest job on the planet and yes I have worked fast food. It's mindless repetitive labor.

As far as quit bitching over $6 spent and lack of service, how many of you on the $9.95 SL lifetime membership have been in the forums screaming about service when you can't log in?

Everything would go faster during a drive by if you would quit asking me if I want to supersize and when it's time for me to pay be at the window and not chatting with your friends.

Do your damn job if you hate it get a better one. Just quit whining to the world how tough it is.

The easiest job on the planet is Executive Director. Whether in the corporate realm or the entertainment industry, the Executive Director does jack squat that's relevant to the day-to-day workings of the company or production, and gets an obscene amount of money to do it. The only qualification is being rich or being related to somebody rich. No brains, talent or motivation is otherwise required. Fast food is rocket science by comparison.

Any position with "executive" in it is generally easier than fast food, with the possible exception of "executive secretary".

I'll rob banks before I ever work fast food again. It really is that bad.

Maybe its management thats retarded

There are a lot of McD's with bad service most are corperate. But the one i used to work at was a franchise. The owners are pretty nice people and they are on top of us like flies on shit so that we give good service. They are known as the best McD's in the area and they want to keep it that way and have record breaking drive-thru times. There are a lot of good people that work there and i haven't seen any bad attitudes or whining from them. There arn't anyone working there that wear any peircings or have tats. And since everyone is doing their best, you would expect the customers to be respectful back. Most of them are, but there are quite a handful that like to come thru and whine about everything. We hardly mess up, but when we do, they bitch about it.



McD's is stressful, mindless repetitive labor, with little pay. People don't stay for very long because they can't handle it. The ones that stay at the one i worked at were either managers, really old, or immigrants. Everyone else left after a while. Lazy people really can't handle working there at all. Not with our manager and the owners.

I get shorted on my order one more time in a drive-thru and I'm gonna go postal!!!!

But, other than that, I agree that people always thinbk they can be abusive towards those in the service industries and it really pisses me off!! Almost as much as being shoirted on my order and not finding out till i drive 5 miles.

And yes..I do check my order these days before driving off..but still..grrrr...

I have this KFC near my home that is the worst run with the most sloppy, uncaring and just plain dumb employees imaginable.

You have to repeat your order over and over until they finally get it right. Then they have the manners of a manic-depressive on PCP. Then they have you repeat your order one final time, for extra irritation effect, once you get to the window. Then it takes them forever to get your order ready, while they chat with each other and laugh and talk about semi-offensive things. Then they give you your order and always forget at least one item, but usually 2-5 items, or they get your entire order wrong. They always forget your drinks and act suspicious when you remind them, like they did give them to you but you chugged them real fast and want more for free. Then after shoving them to you, over full and dripping all over your car's upholstery, they say "Here!", and then slam the drive-thru window in your face.

The best employee they've had, that I've seen, was so stupid I'd be suprised if she knew her own name..but at least she was gorgeous and a real flirt.

Gotta love it.

Double Cheesburger combo, no pickles or onion with a Coke.

No, I don't want to try your new and improved chicken sammich special of the month instead.

No, I don't want to biggie size it.

Yes, I want cheese on my cheeseburger.

No, I don't want an apple pie with that.

No, I don't want a frostie.

*Opens bag, pulls out sammich & takes a bite into a fat onion and 2 pickles ruining my burger*

ARRRGGGG!!!

WTF is this 'no piercings or tattoos' thing ? How does that define one as a 'clean' person ?
Some of the stuff I read in here, wow.

Aaahhh beautiful images of a small french or italian village and walking to the corner for some fresh cooked food and a nice glass of wine and socializing with people.

Life here stateside is just too hectic to enjoy such things w. regularity, it might be there too but leave me to my fantasy.

I need to look into Italy's immigration policies..

That's a silly statement. I'm an executive and it can be a pretty stressful job. There are days when I LONG to be just anther cog that does my work and goes home for the day. I look at the cashier at the grocery store and I am so envious. I know that she doesn't lay awake at night thinking about better ways to scan groceries. I know the fry cook at McDonalds does spend his evening thinking of better ways to fry the french fries.

Making decisions and putting your neck on the line everyday is hard work. It would be so nice to just go home at the end of the day.

Executives do work hard and some of have worked damn hard to be an executive. Jesus, haven't you ever seen Working Girl?


Only you liberal hippies have tattoos and piercings. Good boys like me with executive jobs working for the MAN don't have time for such foolishness.

Do you have a groovy rainbow peace sign on your arm, Lecktor?

Not on my arm, it is directly below my prince albert.

HAWT

*sorry, had to comment*

It would be nice if the people taking my order knew english.

we usually stuck those guys in wash or trash

we did once have a manager that sucked at english that was a nightmare for a while. she couldn't even answer the phone! she gave the phone to an employee, which isn't allowed. I'm glad they got rid of her.

err *wipes crumbs from ultra yummy SteakNShake cheeseburger, extra tomatos, extra cheese, mustard plz, Mello Yello to drink, err side of colslaw (gotta eat some veges)* urrrrp

Something else to add to that list: If you have a diesel engine, turn the fucker off. No, I don't care that you have a big bad truck. Yes, I do care that you are idling the engine in my ear and making me go more and more deaf with every passing second. Don't sit there with your enging roaring in my ear and try to yell your order over the engine. I can hear you just fine if you shut it off for a few seconds, sasquatch. It makes my job much easier, and it generally makes me more likely to be nice and not order the kitchen to give you the special sauce... It's common courtesy...do it.

Now, with that out of the way.....

It amazes me how everybody who has had one or two bad experiences in a fast food drive thru automatically condemns EVERY single person who works for said company. Frankly, as somebody who did her time at the pits of hell (aka McD's), this disgusts me. Get a clue. Not everybody who works there is:

Hell-bent on screwing your order up. Some of us are actually trying to do our job...

Going to treat you like something they scraped off their shoe. Often times, if a fast food person has a bad attitude, it is in direct proportion to how you treat them.

An illiterate idiot. Talking to me like i am only aggrivates my inclination to break my foot off in your ass.

Trying to make you late getting back from your lunch break or wherever you're going. Grow a brain. Everybody comes for the high volume periods at the same time, and they all want the same kind of service that you do. Sorry if the service team doesn't bend over backwards and kiss your ass to make sure that you get your food ahead of everybody else. Not gonna happen, unless you're the only person in line. And don't yell at the person taking the orders if the restaurant is running two windows...their job is to take your order, and take your money. The end. Getting lippy or bitching about the wait will not make the food go out any faster. Patience is a virtue...learn it.




Don't be inane. The odds are, if somebody in a drive thru line is asking you if you want this, they are doing their job. McDonalds at least tells you when you go in to do drive thru that you MUST suggestive sell other items. Often, it's because there may be something you might have forgotten to order. Or might want to try. Don't take my head off if I ask you if you'd like some dessert with your meal. I'm doing my job. Just smile, politely say no, and tell them that will be all.