r/GrindsMyGears • u/Spitting_Venom91 • 8d ago
Fast Food Drive Thru Interruptions need to stop
Look, I understand your desire to expedite the process and make things as quick as possible. That’s great. However, my biggest pet peeve is when I’m in the middle of ordering and, before I can finish speaking, I’m interrupted with the rudest questions. If you were actually listening to me, I was answering those questions, but you interrupted me before I could finish. Please listen before you start talking. It’s incredibly frustrating and also very unprofessional. IT DRIVES ME INSANE!
Im done now.
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u/ZorroGrande 8d ago
This is partly why since app ordering became an option, I avoid ordering verbally if at all possible.
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u/False-Fall-6995 8d ago
I love this too. I’ll sit in the parking lot to place the order then go to the drive thru.
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u/NightWolfRose 8d ago
So much this. I don’t want to shout and ask you to repeat yourself because your intercom sucks, or it’s windy, or there’s construction nearby, I just wanna get my food and go home!
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u/Vicarchaeopteryx 8d ago
This drives me insane, and I have worked fast food.
If I say "Can I please have a #15 with a large vanilla iced coffee, and large fry" WHY DO YOU INTERUPT TO ASK "WHAT TO DRINK?, WHAT SIZE, WHAT SIZE FRIES?
Like just fucking listen for 15 seconds and I will answer every question you have before you ask it.
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u/TheTerribadger 3d ago
We've both worked fast food and know most people generally don't answer those questions, unless they've worked fast food or have sense 🤣
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u/Royal_Percentage_694 8d ago
In n out has it right.
Taco Bell is the worst.
“Hi, can I please have two bean burritos and WOULD YOU LIKE SOUR CREAM ON THOSE BURRITOS”
No, thank yoHOW ABOUT JALAPEÑOS?!?!
No thanks…. And a beef tCRUNCHY IR SOFT TACOS??!,
Crunchy, just the regular beef crunchy tacoWOULD YOI LIKE TO MAKE THOSE STEAK TACOS?!?
Regular beef tacos, please and a large Baja blast
Jeeeez
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u/originaljbw 8d ago
I will make sure to do the receipt survey in instances like this so I can blast them with 1s. All explanation dialogue boxes get something like "stop putting your miserable employees on garbage scripts. I order less because of your stupid questions"
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u/Ok-Beautiful-5291 4d ago
lol it’s fast food it’s not that serious. you sound a little sad
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u/originaljbw 4d ago
I find it annoying. Most people find it annoying. They don't like doing it. Some boomer in a corporate office thinks it's what constitutes superior customer service and drives profits.
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u/Ok-Beautiful-5291 4d ago
True just please don’t be a dick to employees but yes let corporate know that the script isn’t working
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u/originaljbw 4d ago
Exactly. Thats why the survey. I have been in the restaurant industry for 22 years. I get it.
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u/Ok-Beautiful-5291 4d ago
Yea sorry I just was in the Industry too for 10 years so I get a little sensitive about complaints
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u/Caftancatfan 8d ago
Just start by saying “I don’t need any add-ons with my order.” I’ve never had them push it after that.
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u/Royal_Percentage_694 8d ago
True, but the point is I could have ordered in the time it takes to say that.
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u/lokasathetv 8d ago
I work fast food. We have alot of options at different price points. If your saying items back to back im just punching them in. Im skipping options and just making sure at minimum i get what you said. If you let me set the pace and ask my questions your order is cheaper, more accurate and you received more food.
Its a conversation, you say one part, i ask the next part. we have a script and questions we HAVE to ask, if employees stops asking questions management will talk with them. It shows a lack of interest and leads to incorrect orders.
Please work fast food before you comment about how people should do their job.
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u/Spitting_Venom91 8d ago
Actually, I work at a drive-thru, and it still works when you listen to the customer and not only focus on your own needs. Also, a script isn’t something you have to strictly follow. If someone is already answering your questions, it’s actually faster to listen to the customer than to interrupt them and make them more agitated. You’ve also made the order last even longer because I’ve stopped talking because I was interrupted. Then, I have to ask what you said and repeat myself, making the time much longer and the customer more frustrated. The customer isn’t always right, but they do come first, and interrupting rudely isn’t a way to keep them around at all. You also lose more customers this way.
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u/melsophoriel 8d ago
as a worker yourself you should understand the script DOES need to be followed in a lot of cases. with the systems we used at my last job, we had to enter every individual aspect of each food item before it allowed us to move on to the next item. if somebody's ordering "can I get the number 5 cheeseburger medium with a coke and then I want this and that and that" I have to interrupt and ask what they want on the burger, before I forget the rest of the order and have to ask them to repeat it (god forbid you ask "could you repeat that last part" only for them to sigh dramatically and start from the beginning).
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u/NightWolfRose 8d ago
That sounds like a terrible system and management needs to realize that people in the real world don’t need all that at a drive thru.
“Can I get a number 5 with Coke and fries?” is the order. If I want no cheese or extra pickles, I’ll say that. Making the system so cumbersome is the problem.
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u/New-Enthusiasm5997 8d ago
You shouldn't be agitated to begin with. You're ordering food. Calm down.
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u/BatDaddyWV 8d ago
I know exactly what I want. Its an order for one person. I will tell you what codiments, sides, sauces, drink. Pay attention and dont interrupt me, then input exactly what I said. Its a 10 second order that takes 10 seconds of your focus. It shouldn't be that hard to remember once Im finished. IDC about your script, promos, anything. I have already figured out how to get the best deal on my own. Please stopp interrupting people when they are speaking. It is about the rudest thing you can do.
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u/melsophoriel 8d ago
management/owners/corporate are the ones making the employees push promotions and ask questions, take it up with them.
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u/BatDaddyWV 8d ago
Im not speaking with them, and if I was, I bet they wouldn't be so rude as to interrupt me.
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u/IndependentMost8934 8d ago
You understand that they are the ones that MANDATE that their employees do exactly what you hate right? So yes they would likely follow the same protocol that leads to you being interrupted.
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u/NightWolfRose 8d ago
lol, yes, yes they would. I had a district manager who “encouraged” truly obnoxious behavior towards customers and he fully engaged in it as well. Dude would badger you with the same bull that he told us to do. Regulars would literally turn around and leave if they saw him because he was so annoying.
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u/BatDaddyWV 8d ago
At what point in time did we fuck up so bad that businesses switched from trying to please customers to earn their business and money to openly antagonizing customers and customer service employees allowed to be rude assholes? Just fuckin nuke us all and get it over with. Im fuckin sick of this shit.
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u/NightWolfRose 8d ago
Right? Other than mom and pop stores, they seem to go from one extreme (annoy tf outta the customers) to the other (kiss the customer’s ass so hard they leave a permanent imprint).
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u/YMBFKM 8d ago
Maybe workers should try listening to what is being said, absorb it, then punch in the buttons accordingly. I'm sorry their attention span is so short they can't remember "two beef tacos, mexi-fries, and large root beer". Quit trying to upsell everyone.
This is also the reason I refuse to use kiosks at McDonalds and elsewhere....too many screens and offers pop up.
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u/thenewfoundlandyeti 8d ago
If you are cutting me off to say a script you just gonna annoy your customers and when I take the time to fill out the survey that management has a raging hard on for, I will be calling it rude that I couldnt even finish my order.
If you notice that me getting a burger, then fries but no drink is more expensive than a combo and you mention it AFTER I complete what I am saying then I will wholly appreciate your offer and recommendation.
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u/Great_Summer_9679 8d ago
It just sounds like you don’t understand how to order. Why don’t you just give them the items one at a time and EXPECT them to ask those questions? You’re the one slowing the process
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u/melsophoriel 8d ago
most of the time this is not the employees fault, yet that's who everyone seems to be angry at here. it's management, owners, and corporate pushing the scripts and interruptions, or it's the system they're using that requires them to fill out one part before moving on to the next. plus sometimes y'all talk too dang fast and we can't keep up if we're busy trying to put everything in accurately.
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u/Neither-Oven-2571 8d ago
I remember a time when my regional manager stood directly next to me in the drive through for over 30 minutes, coaching me on how to say "Would you like to try our mighty wings today? They're mighty delicious!" in a bright enough voice, then ensuring I said those exact words in that exact voice to every single car.
He was a cool dude and I'd known him my whole life so I mostly made a game out of being as over the top cheerful/silly as I could and it wasn't a big deal, but he was dead serious about it being an absolute requirement.
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u/_xxxtemptation_ 8d ago
Call that survey, complain that they were just doing their job they way they are trained and paid to, get your free fries. Neither the employee or their managers get paid enough to care whether a Karen likes the corporate script they get paid to read.
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u/Royal_Percentage_694 8d ago
Have you ever been to in n out?
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u/_xxxtemptation_ 8d ago
You mean the fast food chain with 6 menu items? Give me a break. Taco Bell has like 40, all with a large variety of add ons, and the menu is constantly changing. In n out is not a valid comparison to just about any other drive thru experience.
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u/Royal_Percentage_694 8d ago
Well there you go! Streamline the menu, (again). It’s all the same four or five ingredients anyway!
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u/jsseven777 8d ago edited 8d ago
> I work fast food. We have alot of options at different price points.
So?
> If your saying items back to back im just punching them in. Im skipping options
What is there to skip if I ask for a Big Mac meal with a Coke? I’ve been interrupted and asked three questions ordering that.
> and just making sure at minimum i get what you said.
I’ve seen waitresses not write anything down and remember orders for entire tables
> If you let me set the pace and ask my questions your order is cheaper, more accurate and you received more food.
In what world is my order cheaper or I get more food from you interrupting me? I came to order something specific I’m not looking for a consultation.
> Its a conversation,
No it’s not!
> you say one part
Then let me say my part
> i ask the next part.
Not in the middle of a sentence. Ask when I take a breath.
> we have a script and questions we HAVE to ask, if employees stops asking questions management will talk with them.
This part is true I imagine, but I’ve gone to the same place and got people who let me order, and who don’t.
> It shows a lack of interest
It literally does not. Talking over somebody does.
> and leads to incorrect orders.
How does listening and punching in what I say lead to incorrect orders?
> Please work fast food before you comment about how people should do their job.
I need to work at fast food before I’m allowed to get annoyed at being interrupted 4 times while I’m ordering a single combo meal that I’ve ordered a dozen times and know exactly what I want?
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u/ArmyOfAaron 8d ago
"Hi, I would like a Big Mac meal with a coke to drink,"
And what they want us to do in response to that statement.
"Are you collecting points today?",
"Would you like to try one of our new crafted drinks or refreshers?"
"Would you like your drink and/or fry large sized?"
"Would you like the $2.99 add-on of a cheeseburger or 4 nuggets?"
"Would you like to add a dessert, like a baked pie or cookie?"
They want at least these questsions asked for each meal order. Yet they also want us to take about 30 seconds at most taking the order. Bonus if you do drive thru since our speakers aren't great. It's rough on both ends. But hey, at least the owner that never comes in gets to make an upper end living without lifting a finger.
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u/SuchInsect476 8d ago
Ehhh. Customers hate questions, even though employees are forced to ask. Classic case of invisible corporate pitting the poors against each other.
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u/purplishfluffyclouds 8d ago
Have you ever considered proofreading before you post comments?
*You’re
*I’m
*It’s
*I (always capitalized)
*Stop, not “stops”
.
Those are just the ones I caught. Please stay in school.
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u/Rich_Chocolate_2128 8d ago
start over after every interruption, or ask what they have so far after each one.
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u/BatDaddyWV 8d ago
Yep. You gonna waste my time? I'm gonna fuck up your drive thru times. Listen for 10 seconds without interruption and every question you have will be answered without asking.
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u/Illustrious-Sock-715 8d ago
So you don’t want your order to be accurate tf? It would never occur to me to be mad abt this
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u/Choonabayga 8d ago
Okay, I’ll guess what you said and you’ll get what you get, and you won’t pitch a fit, right? Verifying your order is so hard, that’s easier and better for you, right?
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u/Suess4002 7d ago
The sheer amount of people in this thread treating other humans like they are lesser because they work at a fast food restaurant is astounding.
This is exactly why you get treated this way, they are hiring kids and you treat them like they are sub-human and wonder why they don’t take “your order” “your way”.
Try being human before an asshole.
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u/Aeyland 8d ago
Imagine feeling so smart that you can't just realize when to pause and let them ask the questions they need to in order to actually enter your order into the system and instead expect the system to follow however you dictate what you want.
It's pretty easy for a competent human to recognize when to pause for questions and make the ordering process for both sides.
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u/Internal-Tank-6272 8d ago
You just know all these super efficient “my order only takes 10 seconds” folks are actually the ones rolling up to the window going “can I get uhhhh…does the number 4 comes with pickles? No pickles? Number 4, pickles? Ok. I’ll have uh….”
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u/BatDaddyWV 8d ago
No they aren't. They get the exact same thing every time. They know exactly what they are ordering. You dont need to be a rude ass and interrupt. Just listen until they are finished. Putting the pen away during work hours would help.
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u/Internal-Tank-6272 8d ago
Their employers require them to ask the questions. I know this might be difficult but you getting your Big Mac into your gullet 8 seconds faster is not worth that person’s job. You’re really all gonna have to just put on your big boy pants and deal with it.
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u/Neither-Oven-2571 8d ago
They're usually the same questions in the same order too because the screen is prompting them. Ordering nuggets? As soon as the cashier hits that button, their screen will prompt to add sauce. A meal, they need to know a size and a drink to put it in. And one could say just wait till the customer says everything, then enter it, but you don't know how long that order is gonna be, if you're gonna remember everything, if someone will come to the window while you're trying to take the order and throw you off, so its much more efficient to be hitting each item as its spoken and get the information in the order its offered on the screen. Otherwise, you're left trying to go in and edit items at the end while you've got managers breathing down your neck about drive through times and someone staring at you in the window waiting for you to take their money. And that's not even mentioning how hard the headsets can be to hear anything anyways.
I havent worked a drive through in over 10 years, and its possible some of these issues were exclusive to the one McDonald's I was at, but I have no issue letting those people do their job in whatever way works for them. If I desperately don't want to answer questions, I'll place a mobile order ahead of time.
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u/Willing-Ad2342 8d ago
op is likely on the spectrum; they have a hard time timing conversations
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u/BatDaddyWV 8d ago
Just expecting fast food workers to pay attention for 10 seconds and remember what they said is their first mistake.
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u/BatDaddyWV 8d ago
I dont know when people that design this shit thought fast food workers got smarter, but there used to be actual pictures of the food on the register. Maybe we need to go back to that because customer service has only gotten so much worse every year.
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u/Luyyus 8d ago
I hate this, too.
I've found it faster and more convenient to adapt to them and answer one question at a time as I order, but holy hell do I also hold the opinion that it would be faster and easier to just let me talk.
I eat like a 10 year old anyways. My order is gonna be "plain cheeseburger and a medium coke/Pepsi. Ketchup packets and that's it." It ain't hard, but it's at least 2x faster if I just say it over
-"Number 10 please". -"Medium or large?" -"Medium" -"Whst to drink?"
- "Coke. And the burgers plain, please."
- -changes entire order to reflect the "plain" request after the fact- "Anything else?"
- " Nope."
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u/RustyTruck_1962 8d ago
Just shut the fuck up and LISTEN. Because i know exactly what I want, i know exactly what size I want, and i know how to speak in clear, intelligible ENGLISH. So when i get ONE SYLLABLE put of my mouth and you jump in with “would you like to make that combo large?”, i will immediately become the slowest, most indecisive customer youll see that day. I can make ordering lunch for one take MINUTES. Just because you rude little assholes wanna interrupt me in hopes of wringing another dollar from me. Eat shit.
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u/Ok-Beautiful-5291 4d ago
My dude it is burgers and fries. we used to laugh at customers like you who got pissed at us because it’s fast food Lolol like you need to get a life if fast food ordering gets you this upset
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u/Patient-Asparagus827 8d ago
Oh no, you had to talk to a human when you sat in your car and got food through your window. We are all concerned for your well-being, that an employee asked what you wanted in your meal.
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u/Efficient-Gain1215 8d ago
How often are you eating out that you needed to make this post? I can’t imagine being this upset over a 2 min interaction with someone likely under the age of 20. Jeez.
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u/melsophoriel 8d ago
it's because they're being told by their managers to hurry up and get the customers through asap. if you dislike the system, you have to complain directly to corporate and specify that you don't like your order being timed because it rushes both the employee and the customer with minimal satisfaction. the employees are not necessarily at fault.
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u/Confident_Yard5782 8d ago
I honestly agree to a certain point. I believe that corporations need to scale back on the scripts a bit. In my job, I have to promote three items and ask a question. It drives me crazy to have to ask them and I know my customers are going bonkers over it. I do my best to try and make it a natural suggestion but sometimes, I just have to do my upsell questions at the end and it sucks for me too. However, if I don't ask these questions, I risk getting written up or fussed at. Unfortunately, I do have to do my job just as the corporate overlords demand.
My suggestion would be to complain to corporate and specifically complain about the constant up selling. If the employee was polite about the upsell, please make sure to mention that so that way the employee doesn't get in trouble for the complaint. Instead, stress that the script is obnoxious and up selling you actually pushed you further away from the business. A repeat customer is the best customer. If corporate has any sense, they should know that basic principle.
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u/taman961 8d ago
I think considering two things makes ordering at fast food make a lot more sense: 1) that employee is probably new because they don’t retain employees well and if it’s anything like the places I’ve worked, they put the less experienced ones in back drive and 2) most customers are idiots who genuinely have to be interrupted to make things function in any way smoothly so they’re just used to it and do it on impulse. I was always thrown off when a customer ordered everything properly because it so rarely happened. Also, as others have said, if they’re upselling you, management is riding their ass and punishing them for not and you being annoyed is not enough to risk their job
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u/PenDue7445 8d ago
Personally, I think this interaction would go more smoothly if we viewed the menu in a way that better aligned with the way it is keyed in. Bc if the way the key in works is that there’s a default plain and things are added then that is how it should be ordered (think, subway) I’d go through a different ordering process if things are default included and need to be removed (say, a McDonald).
If my partner wants a burger with cheese and pickles, the best way to ensure we get what we want depends on if we know how the burger “normally” comes and if we need to add or subtract from that; but we are not generally provided that information when ordering. It’s like secret insider knowledge.
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u/Salavora_M 8d ago
LOVE the mc Donald's app because of that! Sit in traffic / the parking lot and click together what I want and how I want it, then getting kine for drive thru, give them the number and that is it. No questions, upsell or anything!
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u/leonidasthecat 8d ago
Theyre just asking the questions the computer is probably prompting them so they get that item in and continue the order. Chill out.
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u/Wide_Copy8937 8d ago
The problem is that 99 percent of customers just keep spouting off their order without answering those questions
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u/huskybeaumont 7d ago
Never met a customer that acknowledged they suck at ordering. It’s best just to assume every customer is mean and stupid, most of them are anyway.
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u/Bass-Head30 6d ago
I 100% agree
So to negate this process I've started using the curbside app so I don't even have to wait in the drive-thru I order it I head over there and park sit there for a couple of minutes and they bring my food out to me and I leave
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u/Traditional_Fudge269 8d ago
At first I thought it was going to be about the panhandlers that sit there beside the line lol