True in a lot of places, even most places but not universal, lets just say I eat a wide variety of tacos.
Capt
My first In&Out Burger was very confusing, I kept hearing orders being made that I could not find on the Menu
Assuming you’re not kidding here, how could they possibly collect fifty bucks for a lost ticket? I’d tell them to stuff it. What are they gonna do?
OP here. Now I realize that the place I was describing WAS WhichWich; I had the name confused with another restaurant in the area.
While I was outside puzzling over that rack with the paper bags, other customers were breezing right past me–grabbing bags, marking them, and heading into the restaurant without slowing down. (I’m exaggerating, but only slightly.) I did eventually get my sandwich, but I had to ask the server behind the counter for help filling out the bag.
I’m not a fan of the WhichWich system. It means that when I inevitably get a mediocre sandwich, I only have myself to blame.
Were you in the southern US? In Georgia, ordering a “tea” anywhere will get you sweet iced tea. If you want it hot and unsweetened, you’d need to clarify.
They started doing that with more recent stores, but, originally, it was just the car stalls. I’ve even seen the upgrade process, where they start putting out the covered seating and put an order kiosk near it, and then later put in a kiosk on one side of the kitchen and add a space where you then wait for your food, both to simulate a drive-thru.
But, even with all that, they still never, ever expect you to go inside. The only doors say “Employees Only,” and lead directly into the kitchen. I am not surprised at the response from the employees.
I’m not from California, and I’ve eaten at In-N-Out a couple of times and wasn’t impressed. I also couldn’t figure out why such a mediocre burger joint was packed at 11 p.m. on a weeknight. Now I feel … I don’t know. Jerked around.
We could probably have another thread devoted to secret menus. Some years ago, I was driving through Burger King with my then-teenaged son, and he asked me to order him a “Rodeo Burger.” I told him there was no Rodeo Burger on the menu, and I wasn’t going to embarrass myself by ordering nonexistent items. “Just order it, Dad. You’ll see,” he said. So I sheepishly requested a Rodeo Burger, and the order was accepted without protest. It turned out to be a hamburger with barbecue sauce and an onion ring.
No mention of lost tickets.
True, but to have no mechanism in place to allow a person to purchase 1 taco is just stupid. I went into one for the first time maybe 10 years ago because they had just opened up. I wasn’t really hungry but I was curious so I thought I’d just grab a taco to see if it’s any good…
No can do.
Shit, even McDonalds will sell you one cheeseburger or even one apple pie. Is there anywhere else you can’t possibly order a la carte?
A BBQ Pit thread from some years ago, by a barista who did judge a customer harshly:
Jaded blue-collar coffee anti-elitism rears its ugly head
A couple of choice excerpts from the OP of that thread:
If this is the attitude of the typical barista at Starbucks, then yes, “regular Joes” would be intimidated. Thankfully, when I go into Starbucks and order a “plain ol’ cuppa Joe,” I get what I want, together with fast, friendly service; as I imagine the majority of us do. But there are likely a few baristas who don’t understand that, and feel as the OP in the linked thread did.
Nah, espresso has its own size lingo and it’s got nothing to do with Starbucks’. The tiny one is espresso, bigger ones are double, triple… like whisky but with caffeine instead of alcohol.
This is quite common in Thailand as well, in the food courts at the local malls. Not the big glitzy malls which have the same international fast food franchises that you’d see anywhere.
The local mall food courts have the same food as the street vendors for pretty much the same price and you get to sit in air conditioned comfort. You go to the ticket window and buy a quantity of tickets with different monetary amounts marked on them, then choose a meal, drink, whatever. If you have leftover tickets, you can return them (the same day) for a refund.
I always assumed it was more about “full employment” than thwarting thievery.
Tangentially related rant… maybe restaurant owners don’t like English-as-second-language speakers, but expect them to piss on your floors if you label your restroom with cutesy names like ‘STEERS’ and ‘COWS’.
Not paying bullshit fees like this is my way of trying to protect myself from restaurants with policies like that.
No food for you!
Awesome. Especially if they take it to the next level. Easter eggs on the menu that regular customers could make use of. Games to pass the time, with food rewards for high scores.
This kinda sums up the problem I have with this recent trend. Admittedly, sandwich shops have been doing this for years - you tell them exactly what you want from bread to ingredients to toppings (subway, etc.). But now everyone has gotten into the act - Chipotle and their ilk, pizza places, pasta places, etc. I am tasked with telling them exactly what to add at every step, and inevitably I end up with a garbage concoction. What ever happened to professional chefs creating dishes with the right combination of flavors that work? (I know, I know - this is a different market we’re talking about…)
Add to that the tendancy of these places to skew young, so there is a lots of loud music and shouting and chaos. FUN FUN FUN! Yeah, not so much. I just want a f*cking burrito, m’kay?
A Thai restaurant owner in Bangkok is a real Japanophile. Loves all things Japan. He installed this ordering machine that he saw during a trip to Japan. You punch in your order outside the front door before you go in, then you go find a table and wait for your food. (It’s a small place, and someone looks at the ticket you got from the machine so they know whose food belongs to whom.) I read about it in the newspaper, so the wife and I tried it. Kind of fun. But while there, we saw lots of Thais come in and get all puzzled when it was explained how they should order. Later the owner had it where you could order via the machine outside or with a real human inside. Finally he scrapped the machine altogether.
Confused? No, but they’re coached to only use their sizes. I’ll order a small, medium or large, and they’ll repeat it back to me like they’re correcting me when they read my order back. I guess you could call it a “fake confused.” Me: “Large Coffee, Black.” Starbucks Employee: “Venti, Black?”
While I’m on the subject of Starbucks, the other thing that gets me is the lids. I don’t like drinking coffee through a lid. More often than not, I spill it by dribbling or it actually burns my lips worse than if I could just sip it on my own instead of through a little hole. So, I order mine with no lid, and I’m told “We can’t do that, it’s against the law.” :rolleyes: Uh… it’s not against the law, it’s against your rules; which I understand; the whole McDonalds thing, blah blah blah. I don’t like it, but I understand it. What’s stupid is that I then turn around and order it in a to-stay cup to drink in the store; which of course doesn’t have a lid.
So you’ve not been to Burgerville (a Northwest chain), I’m assuming, or Killer Burger (a largely Portland chain that is growing wildly), both west coast fast food places that blow the socks off of anything else out there.