When it comes to fast food places, no two places are the same. Wendy's spicy chicken nuggets are far superior to those from McDonald's, while no one does milkshakes quite like Dairy Queen.
I have always preferred burgers from In-N-Out, but my brother will always go for Five Guys.
There will always be debates when it comes to which establishment does fast food the best.
The biggest debate surrounds the ultimate side dish: french fries.
No one can ever seem to agree on which fast food chain has the best french fries, but that doesn't stop the debate. Redditors are engaged in that very debate as we speak!
It all started when Redditor Seraphicly329 asked:
"Which fast food chain restaurant has the best fries?"
Perfect Sauce
"In and Out. Watching them slice up them fresh potatoes makes me feel something special. Especially when dipped in that thousand island special sauce mmmmm"
– bathofknives
Don't Know What You're Missing
"Checkers!!! My current pregnancy craving. Thanks alot for reminding me to get the fry lovers size on my way home from work."
– jerri89
"Anyone who doesn't say checkers has never had checkers' fries."
"But to expand on this... anyone notice how all of their other foods suck?"
– murrepe321
"I haven’t had these fries since I was a kid vacationing in Florida. I’m from the great white north and I totally came here to say that checkers fries are the bomb!!"
– bluerodeosexshow
Fries Of Yore
"I've had this debate with my dad a lot."
"He says it's McDonalds."
"I don't have a definitive favorite, but if I had to choose, I pick the old Wendy's fries, before they did this Crispy version. I just loved the Sea Salt flavor they used."
"(I don't dislike the new fries, but I vastly prefer the older ones)"
– F19AGhostrider
"Wendy's sh*t the bed with their new fries. Now it's McDonald's."
– SteelTumbler
"Wendy's old ones 100% I love how the were thick cut and when they got all floppy they were the bomb."
– Rahtgooves
Curly Is Aways Better
"Ngl I’ve always been craving Jack in the Box curly fries. But that’s just me."
– SignalOk1538
"Arby's curly fries are GOATed."
– einherjar81
"I like my fries to have a crispy outside, and a soft fluffy inside. Arby's Curly Fries do meet that specification, when you get the big long curls, however every time I order them, I get 1-2 good curls on the top of the box, then 3/4 of the box is filled with all short hard bits. Ugh."
"And the Krinkly Fries are exactly the opposite, all soft and fluffy, with no crisp whatsoever."
"IF I could get a box of all long curls, they would be #1 on my list."
– Stormblade73
"McDonald’s for skinny"
"Jack in the Box for curly (which is a shame because I live 6 hours from the nearest jbox these days!)"
– Steph_Boyardee
KFC International
"KFC Australia. The UK KFC fries are horrific"
– stuloch
"Don’t know about either but the US KFC fries are delicious"
– Keyguin
"The KFC fries in the UK are actually nice now. They used to need 4 sachets of salt to make them edible."
– TheCubeOfDoom
Once You Go To Five Guys...
"Five guys. The fact that these fries haven't forced the entire industry to adapt is crazy to me."
"Going to any other fast food place, getting a large fry makes me laugh and wonder why the hell I didn't go to 5G."
– Hank___Scorpio
I Dare You To Argue
"Bojangles, if anyone disagrees I will fight you"
– chaosbones43
"Took me way too long to find this but 100%! Especially when they are fresh and seasoned just right. No other fast food restaurant even comes close IMO"
– TheSocialButterfly11
Cajun Is The Best
"Five Guys cajun fries. Those fries are some of the best GD fries you'll ever have in your life"
– Present_Rip7556
"overall? i think wendys [MA] but a close second is popeyes. Cajun fries are amazing"
– TJzzz
"It’s not fast food, but if you ever come across a restaurant called Hot N Juicy, get the Cajun fries. I don’t think it’s too big of a chain, but they set up shop in Cali, AZ, Florida, Vegas, idk which other states but good God it’s some good fries every time"
– double_decker_taco
Only One Right Answer
"It is funny to see all the people who have never been to Runza give answers that aren't Runza"
"The correct answer is Runza."
– elting44
God-Tier
"I don't care what anyone says, In N Out fries on a good day are God-tier. There is no better fast food french fry. Consider that they use Kennebec, the superior fry potato, and sunflower oil, which is top tier frying oil. They cut potatoes on site.
Of course there is going to be some variation compared to the mass factory-produced shake shack fries that are formed from a batter, but you can hardly call those fries."
– tornato7
Best For These Reasons
"Hear me out, I think Nacho Fries from Taco Bell are the best for 3 reasons:"
- "Crispy. If you get them fresh they are fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside. They're on point."
- "Seasoning. Cajun seasoning is also pretty decent where you can get it, but nacho seasoning is better in my opinion."
- "Sauce. Comes with Nacho Cheese, which is perhaps the best pairing for spuds, followed closely by ranch variants. Chilli cheese fries are better, but in my opinion are a different category of food item."
– malik753
A Full Analysis
"I've found Wendy's fries are usually pretty good but I'm not a fan of their morning wedges or whatever they're called."
"Arby's are okay. The crinkle-cut fries are meh. The curly fries are slightly better but not as good as they used to be when the stores made their own in-house (a very long time ago)."
"Sonic fries are okay."
"I haven't been to an A&W or Long John Silver's in a while (they moved out some years ago) but I liked the fries okay."
"McDonald's are thin and often cold and sometimes quite greasy and over-salted."
"Burger King fries are no better than McDonald's."
"I despise Five Guys. They're usually soaking wet."
"Haven't had In-and-Out in a long time but I always felt they tasted a little better than cardboard. Even with salt on them."
"I haven't had KFC, Popeyes or Taco Bell in a while so I can't rate them. Haven't been to a White Castle in a long time either... I usually just went for the burgers."
"There are probably others but I don't remember or haven't tried."
– md724
Only When Fresh
"McDonald's fries when they're fresh and properly salted are no joke. We've all been eating them forever so we're just used to them I think."
– jew_biscuits
"I think McDonald's fries are the best if they're fresh and prepared correctly . . . which seems to be rare these days."
– Dr_Edge_ATX
"Properly salted McDonald's fries, they're literally heaven."
– chucked___cheeze
"McDonald’s for me and it’s not close"
– jewishMILFhunter2
In The Area
"Where I live, McDonalds first, Wendy’s second."
– ijeanofdreammie
There are a lot of different opinions here!
I think what I learned is that it's less about the establishment and more about the location. The fries from my Popeye's may be far superior to one in the next state over, but their Shake Shack may show up the one in my area.
One thing we can all agree on: the mission to find the perfect french fries will never end!
Love it or hate it, it's hard to avoid eating at McDonald's or other fast food chains every now and then.
Those who tend to avoid it also tend to simply not have a taste for the greasy, deep-fried, not particularly healthy items on the menu.
Some even wonder if the greasy, high-calorie food is even less healthy than people think, wondering what exactly goes in the burger patties and the chicken nuggets.
A viral photo of a deep-fried rat from a New York City Popeye's only exacerbated those ever-growing conspiracy theories.
With this in mind, it would be helpful to have some first-hand knowledge from those in the kitchen at McDonald's, Burger King, and the like, to know what is and isn't safe to grab and go.
"McDonald's workers of Reddit, what is the one menu option that you would recommend people never eat and why?"
Less The Menu Than The Location.
"Really depends on store and location."
"In my experience everything is pretty clean compared to other places I've worked."
"And because the food sits in heating trays, even the stale food is relatively safe to eat."
"They are also pretty anal with inventory and food waste."
"With the volume they push out weekly, it would be very rare for a store to have expired food."
"There is a comment in here about the grease vats not being changed."
"Maybe it was just my store, but we filtered the grease nightly, and cleaned the vat before every oil change."
"The fry vats got changed the most, due to their overuse."
"We also had constant secret shoppers and annual corporate patrons who would really judge the quality of the food."
"In all honesty, it was one of the hardest jobs I've ever worked."
"I did it all in the 6 years I was there."
"Cashier, drive thru, dishes, back end, maintenance, inventory, overnights, management."
"Pretty much every job they had, I spent time in."
"Other than the miserable treatment the employees get from the customer and corporate, the overall business and restaurant side of it is impressively streamlined."
"They have quantified almost everything."
"Maybe the only thing I'd stay away from is the birthday cake."
"I don't even know if you can still buy them, but they would be like the only item in the freezer year round until some unfortunate soul bought one."- WalterPecky
Toren C Humor GIF by VPROGiphy"I worked at a burger King for a week, couldn't stand all day plus the sounds caused constant migraines."
"It was clean as you'd expect it needed to be."
"Made me feel better about eating fast food actually."
"They had a simple rule, if you wouldn't eat it or feed it to your mother then don't serve it."
"Well that plus all the other rules."- modsarefascists42
Be Selective When It Comes To Egg...
"Any of the eggs.'
'There are 2 different ones."
"When they make the scrambled they don't even cook the top of them."
"The round egg sometimes has eggs shells in them, and the folded eggs are like fake frozen squares lol."
"The only real egg is the round egg."
"And never eat the fish sandwich at night time, or the fries b4 the places closes they are not fresh and fryers are already shut off, so it just sits until someone orders it."- Bloomoon-2232
Who Cares!
"You know, no matter how many times I see something like this, it will never, ever make me stop eating fast food."- Artemis_CrabLady69
french fries mcdonalds GIFGiphyWhen In Doubt Stay On Land...
"Worked at Subway 2010-12."
"Only thing I have to say is that tuna and seafood packaged used to have a label on it that said that it didn't contain dolphin or turtles in the meat, then that label suddenly disappeared in 2012."- UnitedTrout
Just When You Think You've Picked The Healthy Option!
"I worked at McDonald's this past summer, and I learned a LOT."
"My store hadn't served them since pre-COVID, but I would stray away from the salads."
"They actually often tend to have more calories than the burgers."
"Also, I wouldn't say not to eat them, but I would still be weary about the fries."
"In the two months I worked there, I think the fry oil was only changed once."- inreallife12001
"Worked at Dairy Queen for 4 years.'
"Do not order the salad, ever.'
"No one ever orders them, because it’s DQ, so when you do, it’s probably 2-3 days old."- naganol32
Wet Hot American Summer Cooking GIF by NETFLIXGiphyLiterally, Everything!
"Not a single thing off the entire menu."
"Not because of how it's prepared or sits until it's served, but because I've read the nutrition facts of most of it in paperwork and boxes, bags and things like that."
"I worked at McDs in Canton, OH on Cleveland ave."
"Pretty well-maintained, clean place staffed by competent people, on 3rd shift, anyway, but you cant get away from whats in the food no matter how its cooked or handled."
"But I will say, based on what I saw, if you're intolerant of too much sodium for any reason, STAY AWAY from the fries specifically, and asking for unsalted doesn't make a difference."
"I don't remember a number, but thats always stuck out in my mind as being crazy high whenever their nasty food comes up in conversation."- seventytwosuccubi
We must remember, should we find ourselves eating at a fast food chain or a five star restaurant, health inspectors check them regularly.
Suggesting that everything served was at the very least cooked in a sanitary environment.
What exactly was being cooked, however, might remain a mystery...
People Describe Which Outrageous Food Items They'd Add To The McDonald's Menu If They Were CEO
I love McDonalds. I try not to indulge in eating there as often as I used to. I still love it.
But their menu has grown significantly over the years, and I, like many, have thoughts.
There are so many ideas they could implement to shake things up.
Now I have discovered, we all have ideas.
Hopefully Ronald is listening.
RedditorAstroAwesome12345wanted to discuss what is missing from one of the world's greatest menus.
They asked:
"You are the CEO of McDonalds. What outrageous food item do you place on the menu?"
Bring back the ten cent hamburger Tuesday. That was one of my favorite specials ever.
Hey Dog
"The McDog. A McDonald's hotdog. Only available for 1 hour, on February 29th." ~ TGOTR
"Burger King has a hot dog... They once seriously f**ked up my order and gave me one instead of whatever the hell I actually ordered. I live in Chicago... if I wanted a freaking hot dog, I would have gone across the street to Portillos. The freaking thing was even drowning in ketchup. What the hell." ~ absentmindedjwc
Bag It
"Not completely outrageous, but a big bag full of fresh fries for $10. Include a bowl separated into 4 sections for sauces." ~ baconpoutine89
"In the early 90s (maybe late 80s) when McDonalds still did the 'super size' sizes, you could order a cup of fries and it’d be a supersize cup full of fries. It was great." ~ AshlarKorith
Spice it Up
"Mcdouble Quesadilla." ~ BuckeyeBikeNHike
"I used to literally make these when I worked there. A couple of breakfast burrito tortillas, some shredded cheese from the salad mix, and a few pickle slices to taste; throw on the 10:1 side of the grill for about 30 seconds with the clam down." ~ Karunamon_LoL
"When I worked the overnight shift there a very long time ago, we actually made these all the time. They were honestly good af. If they offered it with the quarter pounder meat, I'd order one." ~ mtrkar
Cheers...
Dog Alcohol GIFGiphy"Dry Martini." ~ Massive_bagholder
"McTini." ~ WoolaTheCalot
"Taco Bell cantina is a thing. McDonalds dive Bar sounds legit." ~ Worthyness
A McDonald's bar. What's the happy hour? I'll think about it.
Big Red
Happy Ha Ha GIF by Arrow VideoGiphy"A tomato. That's it. Just a whole tomato." ~ WildForestBlood
McMystery...
"The Mc pizza." ~ Whys-tdk122
"Have you heard the investigative journalism program (or ijp) called Whatever Happened to Pizza At McDonalds where Brian Thompson asks the question 'Whatever happened to the pizza at McDonald’s?'” ~ Z_Murray33
"Yes it is a very good ijp indeed. It seems to still have a limited popularity despite Mr. Thompson's attempts to educate the public. Sadly, if you look in the comments above you will it incorrectly referred to as 'Mcpizza' In addition, another individual is claiming that the novelty McDonald's in Orlando, Fl serves pizza, when we of course know that it is not original recipe and should be considered noncanon." ~ LobotsBalls
McMystery
"Dude what were those things called from like 10 years ago? The snack things that were like… crispy chicken in a wrap with honey mustard, and different variations of that kind of thing. I would absolutely bring THAT back. Were they called snack wraps?" ~ iakonu_hale
"This is the only answer I wanted! I scream every day for snack wraps, grilled or fried. I lived by those things." ~ SpecificAmy
Come on Ron...
"I think about THE BREAKFAST BAGEL a lot. I don't buy their bull about a covid-impacted reduced menu. Sure for the first few months, I got it, but this? This is bullcrap. THE BREAKFAST BAGEL is the only BREAKFAST item I like. It might actually be my favorite thing from McDonalds full stop. It's not right that I've not tasted the sweet caress of that greasy little witch for almost 2 years. Pull your freaking crap together, Ronald." ~ RockMeDoctorZaius
Be Big
big mac vintage GIF by Soul TrainGiphy"Big Mac Fries. Fries loaded with everything you put on a Big Mac." ~ phattoes
Now I could get onboard with those fries and the bagel. Yum.
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There is a clear reason why the insanely unhealthy--and inhumane--food of McDonald's continues to draw long lines at the drive-thru and entire sports teams on the bus ride home from a game: MARKETING.
The McDonald's brand is synonymous with comfort, consistency, and even family.
Nowhere is that core essence reflected better than in the "Happy Meal."
Introduced in the mid-70s, the "Happy Meal" was conceived as a way to drive business in one of the most effective ways imaginable, by making kids love McDonald's so much that they scream at their parents about it from the back seat of a car.
A complete fast food meal with a little toy thrown in, all served in a fun cardboard box that looks like a little smiling face, the "Happy Meal" has stood the test of time, albeit with some healthier changes in the recent years.
But a recent Reddit thread ran a thought experiment. They imagined a 180: a "Sad Meal." People from far and wide offered interpretations of the very opposite of fun, family, and delicious.
lukeamotion asked, "If McDonald's sold a 'Sad Meal,' what would be in it?"
Some people offered up ideas that still had a foot in the McDonald's universe.
They imagined what shocking preparation faux pas might be at hand, or they modified existing meal choices to be only composed of their very worst elements.
Bad Toys and Worse Food
"Cold fries, an apple pie that's been under the heat lamp so long the filling has dried out, and a warm flat coke. The toy is a used game pass code." -- score_
"Same stuff just the stuff that's been sitting a couple hours under a hot lamp, with a broken Jar Jar Binks toy." -- adanipse
"Nuggets are burnt, fries are cold, unsalted, and the bag is only half-filled. Soda has too much ice and the toy is just a note that says :(" -- Avicii_DrWho
All About the Buns
"Two buns that hold nothing but a fat slop of mayo" -- turquoisepurplepink
"Just the weird middle bun from a Big Mac" -- octupleunderscore
"and the juice from a mc rib lol"
"I'll take one to go. But idk if I want it stale or still frozen, or maybe just untoasted. and a moldy frape for the drink" -- Idabro
Repulsive Imagery
"A large container crammed with french fries and chicken nuggets that are lathered in ketchup."
"It doesn't come with any utensils - you'll have to place the container on the floor, get on your knees and eat it like a dog."
Other entries left the boundaries of the McDonald's food world. They imagined other foods that kids--and even plenty of adults--would hate to receive at a fast food joint.
Brace yourself for healthy boredom and truck stop favorites.
Quinoa Quips
"A container of plain quinoa, and a cup of heavily chlorinated, room temperature water" -- D3vilUkn0w
"'Ever snorted up a big loogie that had some weird hard bits in it? Quinoa is pretty close' -original quinoa marketing campaign" -- loptopandbingo
The Anti-Health Movement
"That's just called salad" -- I_N_C_O_M_I_N_G
"Healthy food. Makes me gag just thinking about it" -- JeffCalledMeSushi
"Liver and onions with prunes for the fruit option." -- greg_reddit
All Enjoyed While Cruising Down the Highway
"A cup of water served at room temperature, fruit slices, onion nuggets, and a mislabeled sauce packet." -- ReadingReddit66
"Natty Ice and a slim jim" -- tmcg6
And then there were the entries that took a broader approach.
These Redditors put the "Sad" in "Sad Meal." But for them, sadness relied on an extensive context surrounding the meal. They developed character sketches and relied on tropes of middle age apathy.
The Decisions That Led There
"Exactly what's in a Happy Meal but you're 36, divorced, and ordered it by accident when you forgot that you don't have the kids this weekend." -- wanderweather
"Hey, what's wrong with someone in their 30s wanting a collectible kid's toy? ;)" -- Some_Random_Android
"I was gunna comment something but yours blows mine out of the water" -- I_Nocebo
Bombshell To Go
"A 23andMe report showing your real dad never loved you." -- wheniwascake
"How does McDonald's know this?" -- strangehitman22
"The fact you're in McDonalds is proof enough." -- wheniwascake
A Litany of Options: It's a Cruel World
"Crippling anxiety accompanied with back pain, with a side of hamburger flavour vodka" -- Screwloose1985
"Mirror" -- PMForDickGraysonPics
"Student Debt" -- jbro145
Earning Your Meal
"The cashier would ask you what happened and caused you to buy it."
"And then gives you a note inside the sad meal box that roasts you about the problem that you told the cashier that caused you to buy it."
-- Arvindjor
We're happy to report that you don't have to worry about receiving anything quite like this the next time you swing by the McDonald's drive-thru.
Perhaps it might make you feel a touch more grateful to have that 1000 calorie beast in a bag.
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Fast Food Workers Share The Funniest Things They've Ever Overheard At The Drive-Thru Window
PSA: the drive-thru microphone hears EVERYTHING, ALL THE TIME.
The drive-thru at a fast food restaurant is a one-of-a-kind social experience. Just about every step is a weird form of human interaction that occurs literally nowhere else.
And, oh yes, there are robot speakers that look alarmingly like sci fi trash cans.
Those microphone/speaker machines mark the first step in the drive-thru experience. All is garbled on both ends, so the employee and the customer routinely yell at one another--sometimes out of anger, but often purely out of necessity.
But when that insane interaction is finished, there comes a sense of relief for customers. They feel as if they can withdraw back into their private zone in the car. Sure, the window is open, but at least there's only a quick food handoff left.
WRONG. That microphone is still on, my friend. Consider yourself warned.
HawaiianShirtsOR asked, "Fast food employees, how sensitive are the drive-thru microphones? What unexpected stuff have you heard from customers who didn't think you could hear them?"
Drive Thru 101
"I don't think most people realize that if your car is pulled up on the sensor that triggers the microphone, we can hear what you're saying the entire time.
"I have heard conversations about people complaining about a long line, straight up badmouthing my coworkers, etc."
"I advise you to put your window back up after you order lol"
-- nireseor98
Cat Parents
"Once heard someone saying 'stay buckled baby! you'll get a treat treat if you're good okay?' and i thought they were talking to a child."
"They pulled up to the first window and there was a kitten in the front passenger seat trying to climb up the back :)"
-- wetsocksssss
A Good Boss
"People might not realize that everyone im the fast food place hears you, not just the person youre talking to. At least at my Wendys we all wore headsets."
"This is kind of related to the question, but while i worked there it was pretty common for a customer at the drive through to get impatient and disrespectful with the person taking their order, which was almost always a woman at that position."
"To their surprise though, whenever this would happen, my manager, who was a very large man, would turn on his mic and start laying into the guy about how he cant treat his employees like that."
"The shock you could hear in their voices when they suddenly had to confront a man about the behavior they didnt think anyone else could hear was always rly funny"
Where Everybody Knows Your Name--And Voice
"As long as your car is over the sensor the person can hear you, just a warning for anyone who wants to chat about any sensitive topics."
"Commonly heard about STDs, secret pregnancy and embarrassing medical issues which was all the worse given I worked in a small town and I often knew these people."
Zero Support for the Lizzards
"Worked at Brown's Chicken, had a lady pull up and ask for 'half pound chicken lizzards'."
"'liver? Or gizzards?' I asked."
"'half pound chicken lizzards!'."
"Then I hear a guy next to her say, 'woman, you know it's a damn reptile.' cracked me up."
-- raulduke05
Captive Performers
"I am in a college town so I've heard it all. Lots of conversations about sex and drugs. Sometimes I will leave them waiting so I can listen to the rest of the conversation." -- sarahboo0321
"So that's why I'm always in line so long, you are listening to my interesting life. LOL." -- cuoyi77372222
High Standards for Nuggets
"Not a fast food worker, but I used to do support for cell phones and occasionally had idiots call me from their cars before going through drive thrus."
"I had one lady who went to McDonald's, ordered a 6 piece McNuggets and an extra large coffee with 12 cream, 6 sugars, and 6 sweeteners (health conscious, obviously)..."
"...and after she was asked to drive around she either muttered or said to someone else in the car (she'd left the phone on the dashboard or something after asking me to 'hold') 'I swear to God if they're out of Sweet & Sour sauce again I'm gonna shove those Mcnuggets so far up the manager's a** he's gonna need a colonoscopy to find them all.'"
"All I could think is maybe she should have ordered that coffee as a decaf."
-- feor1300
Good, But Not That Good
"My friend and I were both working one day. A guy pulls up and she asks if we can take his order, he says give me just a sec.. so we wait."
"And this guy is telling his passenger this long story. No one was behind him in line so we let him go on and on and there are 3 of us just listening to this story being told at the ordering mic."
"Finally my friend speaks up and says 'guys, this is a great story but are you ever going to let us know what we can get for you?' And both guys in the car start laughing and finally say what they want."
"When they came up to the window the guy was still laughing and asked for a picture of us because it was the best comeback he's ever heard. He was a restaurant owner in a nearby valley where the best wines in the world are made."
"He also left a great review about us on Yelp. Nice guy too."
-- reb678
Hit and Run-Thru
"One time, the guy started ordering, then some other bloke walked up to his open window for almost running him over."
"Why was he walking in the drive thru in the first place? Idk it was kinda weird and this dude was ranting at the driver for a while."
"Most of the time I can barely hear the order though"
-- Jp_gamesta
Bullied At the Window
"So kind of the opposite thing, one time I ordered and I was in a really good mood and I kind of sang/talked 'thank you~ ~' to the drive thru person..."
"...and as I was driving away I could hear them mock me 'ThAnK yOu~ ~' it immediately ruined my day."
-- merlamer
Storytime
Bro, fast food storytime. I was in line a fast food burger place that's popular in Texas. I was stuck behind some b!tch taking forever to order (windows down, could hear her the whole time) DID NOT know what she wanted. When she was finally done I zipped up to that speaker, and waited.
When they asked for my order I spit that like I had rehearsed it for hours. When I got up to pick my order up, the guy leaned out and said "there's an apple pie and some extra fries. Thanks for knowing what you wanted." Made my day and apparently his.
We're waiting
Reminds me of when I worked my first fast food job. One point I started working overnights and one dude pulled up at like 2AM and took 32 minutes to place an order consisting of a single combo meal.
Best part is because he took 32 minutes to place his order, our SOS for the night was ~30 minutes so I got the pleasure of being chewed out by my boss the next day for us being so slow despite the fact we literally did nothing wrong.
Satisfaction
Sometimes I wish that other industries could do what I do when faced with someone who can't figure out what they want/need to say.
"Timmy? Did you forget what you were thinking about? It's ok....im going to ask Sally what her idea is, and you can keep thinking. If you remember, raise your hand and I'll call on you, ok?" (Said multiple times throughout the week to the preschoolers I teach).
Can you imagin if you could skip to the next customer in line!?! I think job satisfaction would improve immensely lol.
Comeback slap
My friend and I were both working one day. A guy pulls up and she asks if we can take his order, he says give me just a sec.. so we wait. And this guy is telling his passenger this long story. No one was behind him in line so we let him go on and on and there are 3 of us just listening to this story being told at the ordering mic.
Finally my friend speaks up and says "guys, this is a great story but are you ever going to let us know what we can get for you? And both guys in the car start laughing and finally say what they want.
When they came up to the window the guy was still laughing and asked for a picture of us because it was the best comeback he's ever heard. He was a restaurant owner in a nearby valley where the best wines in the world are made. He also left a great review about us on Yelp. Nice guy too.
Good management
People might not realize that everyone in the fast food place hears you, not just the person you're talking to. At least at my Wendys, we all wore headsets. This is kind of related to the question, but while i worked there it was pretty common for a customer at the drive-through to get impatient and disrespectful with the person taking their order, which was almost always a woman at that position. To their surprise though, whenever this would happen, my manager, who was a very large man, would turn on his mic and start laying into the guy about how he cant treat his employees like that. The shock you could hear in their voices when they suddenly had to confront a man about the behavior they didn't think anyone else could hear was always really funny
Speak up
One time, the guy started ordering, then some other bloke walked up to his open window for almost running him over. Why was he walking in the drive thru in the first place? Idk it was kinda weird and this dude was ranting at the driver for a while.
Most of the time I can barely hear the order though
Big brother
Just a heads up...most new Starbucks drive thrus (2017 and newer) also have a camera on them. We can see you picking your nose....
Also, if a siren is going by, please just wait. I can't hear a damn thing.
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