# 'Fast' Food **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 21, 2003, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food/176549 "2003-05-21T14:00:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food/176549/1 "2003-05-21T14:00:03Z")
You just gotta love the British approach. We notice the fast food phenomena and decide to have it here (hey it works in America), but with our usual genius we cock it up. I popped into KFC for dinner today and made my order only to be told that there would be a TEN MINUTE WAIT for the chicken!!! Any other American institutions we can import and cock up?? ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food/176549/2 "2003-05-21T14:11:36Z")
Hey, at least they’re up front about it. Over here, they like to pretend it’s coming right up whether it is or not. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food/176549/3 "2003-05-21T14:18:28Z")
I could understand if the wait was for some minority item that is rarely ordered, but I believe that KFC should always have chicken ready in the same way that BK and Mickey D’s should always have burgers on tap and a fish and chip shop should always have fish and chips. OK at least they were honest about the wait. I know what u mean about the lying bastards who tell you its ‘on the way’, in my experience u normally hear this when youre checking on the location of a taxi thats already ten minutes overdue… ---
**Author:** ![green\_bladder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@green\_bladder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/green_bladder)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food/176549/4 "2003-05-21T15:02:17Z")
It’s just the same with the KFC here in HK… gotta wait seven fucking minutes for a burger every…single…time. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food/176549/5 "2003-05-21T17:19:02Z")
My experience with KFC is that there is usually a wait. I have no idea why they can’t estimate the customer flow as good as anyone else, but they can’t. My current fast-food complaint is that the chocolate shake machine seems to be “down” at a lot of places in my neighborhood. How can you go to a McDonald’s three times in a week and be unable to get a chocolate shake? It’s wrong on many levels. ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food/176549/6 "2003-05-21T18:27:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by green\_bladder \* > \*\*It’s just the same with the KFC here in HK… gotta wait seven fucking minutes for a burger every…single…time. \*\* they have hamburgers at KFC in HK? Rock! ---
**Author:** ![TaxGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@TaxGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TaxGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food/176549/7 "2003-05-21T18:39:41Z")
. . . one of those levels being why in hell you want to consume a McDonald’s chocolate shake three times a week, but to each his own I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food/176549/8 "2003-05-21T18:52:28Z")
Burgers on tap…ew. I want my burger solid, thankyouverymuch. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food/176549/9 "2003-05-21T19:03:56Z")
I’m convinced KFC is not a fast food place. Anywhere that people regularly pop in and spend $60 (usually right in front of me), violates the whole principle. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food/176549/10 "2003-05-21T20:20:43Z")
Hey, there was one time I went on an Arby’s run for my work and they _ran out of roast beef_. That’s right. They had the 5 for $5 going on, and apparently there wasn’t a “limit [x number]” notice, so they had people coming in and buying, literally, 60 roast beef sandwiches. They had to wait until roast beef was brought in from another nearby Arby’s. It was an hour wait. I stayed. I mean, hell, I was allowed to be on the clock while getting food for the boss, and damned if I’m not gonna get paid for sitting around and waiting for roast beef! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food/176549/11 "2003-05-21T21:01:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tars Tarkas \* > \*\*they have hamburgers at KFC in HK? Rock! \*\* It might have been one of those combibed KFC/A&W outlets. We have some of these in my area and you can order hamburgers and fries from the A&W menu. I’ve noticed since they’ve merged KFC is no longer touting itself as an alterntive to “those burger boys.” There also seems to be a trend in fast food towards making food as the customer orders it instead of having a stock on hand ready to go, thereby ensuring freshness (McDonald’s has eliminated this, and Jack in the Box’s slogan is “We Don’t Make It Until You Order It.”). This comes at the expense of speed, of course. Personally I’d rather have something hot and fresh and wait a couple extra minutes than to get something that’s been sitting under a heat lamp for several minutes. ---
**Author:** ![musicguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@musicguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/musicguy)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food/176549/12 "2003-05-21T21:29:20Z")
I was in the drive through of an “El Pollo Loco” ( a chain of fast food restaurants in California) which is also a “Fosters Freeze”(ice cream) recently. I ordered a banana split and some other food. When I got to the window, they handed me the other food items and told me it would just be a minute for the banana split. 15 minutes later, I asked what the holdup was? They confessed that they had sent an employee to the grocery store because they were out of bananas! Geez folks, you could have told me you were out of bananas so I didn’t have to wait for for someone standing in a checkout line at the grocery store across the street. By the time they told me, he had returned and they were busy preparing it. Of course the rest of the food was now as cold as the ice cream… ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food/176549/13 "2003-05-21T22:06:41Z")
::SPOOFE pops into Carl’s Jr.:: SPOOFE: “Gimme a couple Spicy Chiggin’ Sammiches, please.” ::lays $2:14 on the table, gets food two minutes later:: SPOOFE: “Ah… I’m so glad I’m not British.” ---
**Author:** ![Purple\_Scottie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a698b9/32.png) [@Purple\_Scottie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purple_Scottie)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food/176549/14 "2003-05-21T22:48:30Z")
A subway that was by my old apartment was notorious for running out of half the items on the menu on a regular basis – they would be out of chicken, turkey, bacon, ham, cheese, and half the vegetables and breads at one time. Of course, they would not tell you that they were out of any of these items until you tried to order them. One time I finally gave up and asked what they did have the ingredients for – it took the cashier a second before she answered meatballs. I decided to get Wendy’s that night. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food/176549/15 "2003-05-21T23:02:24Z")
As I work at Boston Market, one of KFC’s biggest competitors here in the states, I think I might be able to contribute a bit to this conversation. Yes, we sell out of chicken from time to time. Our rotisserie chicken takes about 75 minutes to cook fully, which requires a lot of planning ahead on the part of the shift supervisors. Once an hour, every day, the manager has to confer with the carver (whose job it is to prepare the chicken) and determine how much chicken needs to go in the oven so we’ll have some 75 minutes down the road. If we get more customers than the computer forecasts, or if the customers we get are all placing large orders, it sometimes happens that we sell out of chicken before the next batch is ready. Since our chicken only has a shelf life of two hours, overcooking is a bigger concern than undercooking - if we still have chicken left at closing, it has to be thrown out, which raises our food costs and forces the management to cut employee hours to make up the difference. Typically this only happens once a week or so, and we’re never out of chicken for more than 10-15 minutes at a time. When it does we try our best to appease the customers, offering them a reduced price on another of our entrees or offering them free drinks or desserts if they want to wait. In summary - don’t go to KFC, go to Boston Market. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Gr8Kat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gr8kat/32/18668_2.png) [@Gr8Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gr8Kat)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food/176549/16 "2003-05-21T23:26:26Z")
“Fast Food” is neither fast nor food. Discuss. ---
**Author:** ![Nightsong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nightsong/32/3083_2.png) [@Nightsong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightsong)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food/176549/17 "2003-05-21T23:50:32Z")
And ‘fast food’ definately isn’t cheap anymore either. I’m finding that I can go to a regular resturant and get more food for the same amount of cash (or sometimes less cash) if I’m willing to spend a little more time. If I go to a all-you-can-eat buffet, then I get a heck of a lot more food, and usually for the same amount of cash as one of those so-called ‘value meals’, and the amount of time spent is about the same. The only fast food I go to now days is Sonic Drive-In, for their Route 44 Strawberry Limeaids. * * * \<\< It’s not hard to meet expenses, they’re everywhere. \>\> ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food/176549/18 "2003-05-22T00:06:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by zweisamkeit \* > **Hey, there was one time I went on an Arby’s run for my work and they _ran out of roast beef_. That’s right.** Once I went to two different Arby’s in one night and they were _both_ out of roast beef. ---
**Author:** ![tcdaniel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9bd4f/32.png) [@tcdaniel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tcdaniel)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food/176549/19 "2003-05-22T02:43:40Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by Smapti \* \*\*As I work at Boston Market, Since our chicken only has a shelf life of two hours, overcooking is a bigger concern than undercooking - if we still have chicken left at closing, it has to be thrown out, which raises our food costs and forces the management to cut employee hours to make up the difference. Does the BM Chicken die? KFC usta offer cold pack chickn for fisherman. Seems BM might even offer up a free piece or 2 rather than dispose of perfectly good food. If people buy dented cans and marked down packaged meats, they’d do the same at f-f restaurants My experience at McD (a long time ago) galled me at the waste of timed out burgers. Hell sell’m at half price. Some people aren’t that picky, they just want to eat and run. ---
**Author:** ![Ben\_Hicks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbce88/32.png) [@Ben\_Hicks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben_Hicks)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food/176549/20 "2003-05-22T03:04:15Z")
I know what you mean dude. I went into a fish and chip shop the other day and was told that I’d have to wait at least 5 minutes for my chips. Now, 5 minutes isn’t much in the grand scheme of things but its a fucking _chip shop!!_ When a customer, any customer, walks into a chip shop it’s a fairly safe bet that they’re gonna want some fucking chips. I mean for pity’s sake, do they think the chip fairy’s gonna come in and cook up a batch? There should _always_ be chips ready. [sub]In England chips = french fries, btw[/sub] [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food/176549.md?page=2)