Fast Food Rage

My sister coined the term, at least in our family, for the anger at the poor food/service at fast food restaurants, particularly at the drive through windows. Fast Food Rage. I have experienced it not once, not twice, but three times in the last 5 days; twice today.

Now, I understand, some fast-food workers are not well-educated, not well paid, not well motivated. I do. And I say this as someone who worked at a fast-food place. It is, in some cases, an entry-level job, a part-time job for those who are in school, or a second job. Not in all cases. And I am NOT writing this to disparage those people who choose to work at a fast-food place, either as a way to learn job skills or as a career. I am not. I am just writing this to ask them to consider those aspects of their job that they can improve on so I stop getting aggravated when they tick me off...I mean make an error.

Take last Sunday, for example. I headed to Johnstown to complete my hunter/trapper education course. I needed to eat lunch, and I didn't want to be late, so I decided to stop for fast food. Because it's fast. And, mostly, food. And fast.

So I went one of the two "Meatpatty MaleMonarch" locations that I know of on the route. I pulled up to the menu board/order box. I was greeted, placed my order, and was given the dollar total including tax. There was one vehicle ahead of me. I pulled up, waited for the other vehicle to leave the drive-up window, pulled forward, and waited. After a couple of minutes, a woman came up to the window, opened it, and asked, "Can I help you with something, Ma'am?" I looked at her kinda weird, and said, "Yes, with the order I placed." She said, "Oh." and walked away. ANOTHER woman came up to the window, and said that they were having problems with their headsets, and didn't know what I had ordered. She then asked me what I would like.

Now, what I WANTED to say was, "Really? Because you GAVE me a dollar amount due that included the TAX for the item I ORDERED." What I SAID (and, I will note, calmly) was, "What I'd like is to take my business elsewhere." And I drove away.

I then went to the OTHER "Meatpatty MaleMonarch" location in town (which was also on the way to where I was going) and ordered the same item. Because it was what I wanted. The young man gave me the SAME price as at the first location. I drove around, was greeted, GOT MY FOOD without being asked again what it was, and my change. I asked to speak to the manager, and she was promptly called over. I thanked her for her drive-thru person's attitude, told her what happened at the other MMM location, and suggested she call them and thank them for sending me to her because of their incompetence.

Today, I found myself in Johnstown again, this time to visit someone in the hospital. When I left the hospital, I decided that, since it was 1 PM, I should probably eat. So, I pulled into the drive-thru of the "Southern-State Non-Broiled Poultry" and was asked what I'd like. I said I wasn't sure yet, and the person told me to let them know when I was ready. You would THINK this would be the time to tell me you don't have something. You would think. I placed my order - for a sandwich meal with fries and a drink. To be greeted with "Um, we don't...um...have any...um fries now, it'll be about 10 minutes before we can do them. Would you like...oh, mashed potatoes?"

Yeah. I want to eat MASHED POTATOES while I'm DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. Now, the image of my Uncle John, who was pulled over for steering with his elbows while he was eating a bowl of cereal flashed through my head (no lie, the newspaper headline read, "Snap, Crackle, and Pull Over"). But I calmly said, never mind, I'll go elsewhere. Because I had another hospital visit to do in another town, had some errands to run while in that town, and had two (count 'em, two) meetings this evening.

So, I decided to give my first MMM another shot. They were right down the road from the SSNBP, and I wanted it FAST (the first word in Fast Food)(which means it's more important than it being food). I pulled in, asked for a particular sandwich meal. I was told, "Our broiler's down. We don't got any meat now. Just chicken and fish."

Thought one: CHICKEN AND FISH ARE MEAT.
Thought two: You don't got? What happened to we don't have? We have no?
Thought three: I could have ordered chicken or fish. But I don't like the chicken or fish at MMM, only the beef. Or whatever those patties are made of.

So, I said that I would, again, take my business elsewhere.

I then went on to a Founder'sDaughter'sName location, where I ordered my favorite meal there. I was given a price. I drove up to the window. I handed my money. I was handed my food. I was handed my drink. I was handed my change. WOOHOO!!! I thanked the person at the window - I told them they were the 3rd fast food place that I had been to in 5 minutes. I told them they would no longer be my third choice. They smiled widely and wished me a good day.

And it was good.