# Large lunch orders: any lapse of courtesy here? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 17, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-lunch-orders-any-lapse-of-courtesy-here/644354 "2012-12-17T21:02:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-lunch-orders-any-lapse-of-courtesy-here/644354/21 "2012-12-18T13:39:44Z")
In theory, the couple of guys should be made to carry a sign saying “Ordering For 15” so that you know to find someplace else, but them’s the breaks. Annoying, but shit happens. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-lunch-orders-any-lapse-of-courtesy-here/644354/22 "2012-12-18T15:25:12Z")
Bad etiquette. If you’ve got a large order, ring it through earlier so that the store can prepare in advance if they are able. I used to work in a shop that sold spit roast chicken, which took at least 1.5 hours to cook. We used a system of averaging out the number of chickens sold each hour historically and planned accordingly. From time to time, people would come in with very large orders (like 10 whole chickens) and act like they were doing us such a favour for doing such a large order. No, it wasn’t doing us a favour at all, it completely mucked up our numbers and we couldn’t serve our regular customers without making them wait for the next batch of chicken to finish cooking. On the other hand, if someone rang in the afternoon and said ‘can I get 10 whole chickens at 7pm tonight’, we’d simply add another 10 chickens to the spit and no one got inconvenienced. ---
**Author:** ![solosam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@solosam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solosam)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-lunch-orders-any-lapse-of-courtesy-here/644354/23 "2012-12-18T15:34:01Z")
This was profoundly rude. I am not in line to get my food, not wait while you order food for ten other people. If you have an unusually large order, you should call ahead and let the staff know in advance. One time at was on an exercise in Fort Irwin. We were all out in the desert heat, wasting time from work to line up in front of the mess tent. One soldier in line was tasked to order food for 15 people. The NCOIC threw her out of the tent for stalling the entire line. There’s no reason for the rest of us to stand around waiting in the heat because half a platoon was too lazy or too “special” to stand in line at the tent. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-lunch-orders-any-lapse-of-courtesy-here/644354/24 "2012-12-18T15:38:24Z")
Did they know the place usually gets slammed at lunch? If so, they were rude and should have called ahead. IMO, it’s similar to coming into a restaurant that closes at 9pm and ordering a bunch of food at 8:57pm. Yes, “the sign says 9pm and if they closed at 8:57pm they should put that on the sign!” Doing that still makes you an asshole. In college I worked at a sandwich place that would get lines out the door during the lunch rush. We had one oven at the back of the line specifically for pick-up and delivery orders. A gigantic order placed from the line would create extra stress for both the customers waiting in line and the employees attempting to prevent sandwiches from piling up and spilling on to the floor while the people in line glared at them. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-lunch-orders-any-lapse-of-courtesy-here/644354/25 "2012-12-18T17:19:02Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > Yes, but would a Subway/Quiznos/McDonalds/Jimmy Johns/wherever actually get a large order together ahead of time for any random person who calls in? Or do they only do this for customers they already know? I imagine if it is a significant sized order, they may request a credit card number to hold the order. I don’t know, I don’t work the industry, but that makes sense to me. I can’t see why they wouldn’t take a large order called in if they didn’t have a specific reason not to trust it. Like they get a dufus name “Phil McCracken” or the caller is giggling the whole time. But they might protect their investment with a CC# to ensure they get paid. > [@billfish678](#): > > I mean. I am in line at McDonalds. I could walk up and order 200 hamburgers. If they take my order overeverbody elses its gonna be awhile before anybody gets jack. Stores have the option to say “I’m sorry, we don’t fill overlarge orders on the spot. You should call ahead.” Or the can fill that 200 hamburger order, because that’s 200 hamburgers, but then wonder about the ill will that generates in the rest of the customers that are standing around. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-lunch-orders-any-lapse-of-courtesy-here/644354/26 "2012-12-18T18:31:04Z")
I’d say ordering for a large number of people at a place like the OP described is, at the very least, being socially oblivious, and probably rude. Because the people ordering are aware that it’s a fast food place and that the people behind them are likely in a hurry and are certainly expecting reasonably speedy service. So there’s nothing \* technically \* wrong with what they’re doing, but they should have the deep down uneasy feeling that they’re being dicks. Whether this merits more than an apologetic “sorry” to the people waiting behind them, I’m not sure. I do know that when this happens to me, the store loses my business for that day. There’s more than one fast food place in the sea, and I hate waiting in line (even with electronic devices to play Scrabble with while I’m waiting). ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-lunch-orders-any-lapse-of-courtesy-here/644354/27 "2012-12-18T19:12:04Z")
I’ve definitely walked in to a place, seen the line, and left. If I got in line and then found out the person in front of me was ordering a dozen sandwiches, I might have a similar reaction. Not sure how I would know they are ordering a dozen sandwiches if they’re going one at a time. I might get impatient and ask how many more. It is an inconvenience to make others wait inordinately. Where is the line between “first come/first served” and “can somebody else get in here, I haven’t got all day”? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-lunch-orders-any-lapse-of-courtesy-here/644354/28 "2012-12-18T21:06:40Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > So there’s nothing \* technically \* wrong with what they’re doing, but they should have the deep down uneasy feeling that they’re being dicks. Not that I disagree, but such self-awareness violates most principles of human nature. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-lunch-orders-any-lapse-of-courtesy-here/644354/29 "2012-12-18T21:31:37Z")
This always happens at Chipotle. Always. Inevitably, I’ll be behind someone order 15 burritos for the office and instead of them just handing a list over to the employees, they’ll go one by one-- “Ok, this one is a burrito. With brown rice. _waits for rice to be scooped_ Now some pinto beans. _waits until beans are scooped_ Half chicken and half carnitas. _waits until meat is scooped_ Then JUST A LITTLE mild salsa, _waits until salsa is scooped_ a large scoop of corn, _waits until salsa is scooped_ and one dash of hot salsa. _waits until salsa is scooped_ Then lettuce. Ok, and a scoop of guacamole.” Repeat 10 times This makes me rage for a number of reasons. 1: Chipotle has a fax order system just for large orders like this. 2: Chipotle has a smart phone app for orders large and small (I know because I use it when I order Chipotle for my entire debate team) and 3: If you don’t have a fax machine or smart phone, you can either call in an order or order right on their freaking website. C’mon people, get it together! Needless to say, I think it’s rude. If you’re ordering more than a few things, I think common courtesy dictates that you call it in. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-lunch-orders-any-lapse-of-courtesy-here/644354/30 "2012-12-19T03:51:34Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > Yes, but would a Subway/Quiznos/McDonalds/Jimmy Johns/wherever actually get a large order together ahead of time for any random person who calls in? Or do they only do this for customers they already know? > > Because I am reading the OP as a Subway-type establishment. And I’m not sure that sort of place would ready up a bunch of custom sandwiches just on the basis of a single phone call. I know the sub places here like Subway and Quiznos specifically advertise their catering feature and make stuff ahead. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-lunch-orders-any-lapse-of-courtesy-here/644354/31 "2012-12-19T05:37:52Z")
Why couldn’t they just call ahead? If I were to put myself in their shoes, the last thing I’d want to do is stand around waiting for 10 sandwiches to be put together. And, of course, if I’ve got just one order, I certainly don’t want to be stuck behind these guys and their 10 sandwiches. I don’t think what they did was necessarily rude, but it does seem thoughtless. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-lunch-orders-any-lapse-of-courtesy-here/644354/32 "2012-12-19T16:39:05Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Just now I went to lunch at the food court of a major shopping center downtown. My choice was a sandwich place. Now, this particular place makes hot sandwiches to order. That means putting raw meat (raw meat sheets, really) on a hot griddle, frying it up, and then asking the customer whether (s)he wanted the sandwich exactly as it’s listed on the menu or not. IOW, this isn’t a place where you can just have cold cuts slapped on bread; it takes a few minutes (though not long per sandwich). The griddle, BTW, and its process is in plain view. > > The line was a little longer than I’m used to, but it’s the lunch rush, so I didn’t think anything of it. Only after I’ve ordered and paid do I see what’s going on: three guys have put in an order for _at least_ ten sandwiches - possibly as many as fourteen or fifteen (though the actual number’s probably twelve or thirteen). Obviously, this takes quite a while - significantly longer than normal. A rather large line of already-ordered people forms because of it. > > My question is: did those three guys (obviously ordering lunch for an entire work group or crew) do anything wrong, etiquette-wise? Were they under any obligation whatsoever to do anything differently (like divide lunch among more than one place, which would obviously inconvenience them), assuming the consequences of their decision even occurred to them until it was too late? The person ordering 10 lunches is doing a greater deal of business with the establishment than Solo Sally. Naturally, the sandwich shop is going to make life easier for good customers and large orders, not the chick ordering one solitary Cobb Salad. The sandwich shop is a _business_ and it only cares about feeding you lunch during your lunch hour (or however long it is) _only for so long as it makes **business** sense_ to do so. You pay a little more, you get a little more. Welcome to life. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-lunch-orders-any-lapse-of-courtesy-here/644354/33 "2012-12-19T17:35:07Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > The person ordering 10 lunches is doing a greater deal of business with the establishment than Solo Sally. Naturally, the sandwich shop is going to make life easier for good customers and large orders, not the chick ordering one solitary Cobb Salad. The sandwich shop is a _business_ and it only cares about feeding you lunch during your lunch hour (or however long it is) _only for so long as it makes **business** sense_ to do so. > > You pay a little more, you get a little more. Welcome to life. Yet at the same time, they have 15 pissed off customers in line that might not come back tomorrow, which is bad for business. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-lunch-orders-any-lapse-of-courtesy-here/644354/34 "2012-12-19T19:13:31Z")
> [@overlyverbose](#): > > Why couldn’t they just call ahead? If I were to put myself in their shoes, the last thing I’d want to do is stand around waiting for 10 sandwiches to be put together. And, of course, if I’ve got just one order, I certainly don’t want to be stuck behind these guys and their 10 sandwiches. > > I don’t think what they did was necessarily rude, but it does seem thoughtless. I think it depends on the place. I seriously doubt McDonalds or Subway would fill a phone-in order…they aren’t set up for it and they run a high risk of being stood-up. I always feel for the guys that get recruited to pick up lunch for 15, it’s a crappy chore that usually goes to the low man on the totem pole. If I ever got stuck picking up sandwiches for 15, I would make a detailed very legible written ( or even printed ) list and hand it to the person behind the counter It would be way quicker than giving all the info verbally. And how many people work behind the counter? It seems like one employee should handle the large order in its entirety while the other employees handled the other customers. I guess the only time recently I was in a similar situation was when I was at a deli ordering up a large quantity and variety of sliced meat and cheese for a party…in that case I gave them a list and one person worked on my order while the other guy filled the smaller orders that came in behind me ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-lunch-orders-any-lapse-of-courtesy-here/644354/35 "2012-12-19T19:16:15Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > And how many people work behind the counter? It seems like one employee should handle the large order in its entirety while the other employees handled the other customers. Because this is an important answer, I’m answering: this would be impossible and cause the large order to fall extremely behind. Four people total at this location: one for the register and helping the other three, two frying up the meat and toasting the bread and retrieving the fries, and one putting on toppings to the customer’s specifications (they never just assume you want the sandwich as written on the menu - especially since in at least one case, it does NOT list a default topping). ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-lunch-orders-any-lapse-of-courtesy-here/644354/36 "2012-12-19T19:34:21Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > I think it depends on the place. I seriously doubt McDonalds or Subway would fill a phone-in order…they aren’t set up for it and they run a high risk of being stood-up. Subway does take phone in orders, and big orders. However, they may require a credit card number. I don’t know about McDonalds. Does anyone order large McDonalds orders? > [@](#): > > If I ever got stuck picking up sandwiches for 15, I would make a detailed very legible written ( or even printed ) list and hand it to the person behind the counter It would be way quicker than giving all the info verbally. If you can’t call in the order ahead of time, that is a smart approach. However, that assumes everyone placing the order knows exactly how the sandwiches at that place are nominally made to know what to say “no pickle” or whatever. Especially when it comes to sauces. > [@](#): > > And how many people work behind the counter? It seems like one employee should handle the large order in its entirety while the other employees handled the other customers. For a place like McDonalds, that typically has two or three register people in addition to the cooking staff, that makes a lot of sense. I’ve seen sandwich shops doing the call in order that way - designate one person to run those sandwiches on one machine and have two others running the main line for the walk-ins. If they have the staff and facilities for processing that way, it is a workable solution. Some places, like the cheesesteak place the OP describes, only has one processing line. It has one grill for cooking meats, one register, and one station for toppings/finishing. The staff are playing “zone” instead of “man to man”. Each has a station they work and tasks they do at that station, the food rolls down the assembly line. There’s only one assembly line, so they can’t run the large order on a separate line. I suppose they could alternate the orders - one from the big order, one from another customer. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-lunch-orders-any-lapse-of-courtesy-here/644354/37 "2012-12-19T23:44:46Z")
How many sandwiches become a large order, anyway? The OP talks about three men ordering a total of 12 or so sandwiches. That’s four sandwiches per man, which I don’t think is unexpected in a shopping center food court. If a family of four goes shopping and gets lunch in the food court, it’s not at all uncommon for one person to get all the food while the other three wait at a table. Whether those three guys were ordering for three different families or a single work crew, there were three people in line for 12 sandwiches so those thinking about getting on line see the same thing either way, and the wait is the same for the people behind them whether it was three orders of four or one order of 12. I’d probably be a little annoyed if a single person got on line for twelve sandwiches but I wouldn’t think it was rude. Why should they have to split their orders among different places or send more people to stand on line just so I have a better idea of how long the wait is? And that’s all it is - a better idea of how long the wait is. The actual wait is just as long whether its one person or three people or twelve people. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-lunch-orders-any-lapse-of-courtesy-here/644354/38 "2012-12-20T00:08:04Z")
Depending on staffing and layout, I think the ideal way for the business to handle this is assign one worker to the large order and have the other workers continuing to take orders and prepare food for everyone else. Yes, the large order takes longer to process and get out the door, but over all more customers will be serviced in a timely manner. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-lunch-orders-any-lapse-of-courtesy-here/644354/39 "2012-12-20T00:09:12Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Subway does take phone in orders, and big orders. However, they may require a credit card number. I don’t know about McDonalds. Does anyone order large McDonalds orders? I don’t know if McDonalds gets giant orders (although I think it would be a sad office meeting if the catering was from McDonalds), but in high school, I remember coming back from field trips and arriving at a fast food restaurant on a bus full of hungry teenagers. I remember the manager at one such restaurant telling the bus driver or teacher that they should have called ahead to warn the restaurant that they were arriving with 40-50 kids. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-lunch-orders-any-lapse-of-courtesy-here/644354/40 "2012-12-20T12:36:11Z")
A few times in the past, for work, I’ve had to go in and place a large, multi-person order without calling ahead, because I wouldn’t have known what to order in advance. Also, not all places let you order in advance. However, the staff would then often ask if it was ok to serve someone else with a smaller order ahead of me, or they’d put one person on my order (meaning mine would take slightly longer) but have the other staff deal with other orders. My order taking slightly longer was fine with those waiting back at work, because it was still better than going out and standing in line. Same when I was working in a cafe. If it happened more than once we’d suggest ordering ahead or having someone from our place go and take orders (for an order big enough), but sometimes those options aren’t practical. There are ways of dealing with it without pissing all your customers off. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-lunch-orders-any-lapse-of-courtesy-here/644354.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-lunch-orders-any-lapse-of-courtesy-here/644354.md?page=3)