They get you in the Drive Through! !

Okay, I have a bone to pick this slow Wednesday evening...

I was on my way home from campus tonight and had a craving for hamburgers. Forgive me a few vices..but I do indulge in BK burgers (plain 'ol .89 cent burgers) occasionally. Nothing fancy and they can keep their fries. I know..burgers aren't food by conventional definition either, but, I call it a vice for a reason. lol...


Anyway, onto what rubbed my bunny fur a bit wrong tonight. How many times have you been asked to "Please pull forward and someone will have that right out!"? Well, I had that tonight, and like an idiot..just went ahead and did it. Normally, it's not a big deal and you can see there is a reason, right? Someone behind you may have an order for just what came up and why should theirs get cold while yours is made piping hot for the delay?

Except...this time..no one behind me. No one in the dining room either. It's a cold night and nothing going on for events or anything else. College just restarted and no one has loan money refunds yet (in a college town, life and economic reality is defined by those, twice a school year)....So what gives?? Hamburger meat, was the explanation and likely true, for what it's worth.

However, it was after I had pulled away with my hot food and annoyed 'tude that my wife reminded me on the phone, her former Burger King job did this as standard policy after a certain time, and regardless of customer need or hassle. Why? PRIZES! Drive through time is recorded, meticulously. It's the subject of competition between stores and results in a variety of competitions to award those with the best times...


So next time you're asked to pull forward, keep in mind....they benefit from that, directly. If no one is behind you? Try saying NO! ..and see how it goes. Personally? I'm more direct than that and I figure next time I'll simply tell them that if I pull forward, they can bring a refund not the food ..as that will be all I'll want after being told to play for their gains of defrauding competitive counts for no other good reason.

(Hops off soapbox after giving the King a good kick)

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Oh, my bunny friend, I certainly can't fault you for that vice. BK is like a drug to me from time to time. Whatever it is about that flame grilled taste. I usually visit every couple weeks for a whopper.

Having never worked fast food, I did not know that about a drive-thru. That's interesting information.

I just don't like arguing with a minimum wage worker when food is involved unless I plan on leaving without it. I'm too afraid of a "special sauce" of some sort being added to my food.

Good rant and info!

Refresh my memory on where that line is from . . . it's on the tip of my brain.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Considering the pot head teenagers that work the late shift, I figure the risk with fast food at such an hour is already high enough. Besides, can't blame them for asking people to pull up when the company puts a dumb policy like that in place.

Dumb because all they'd have to do to determine how fast the line is actually moving is to instead rate the speed based on how fast it takes cars to move from the first window to the second. Of course at night, no system is going to be successful in determining speed. But the first to second would be a far better indicator when there is a line, such as lunch time.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


W2000,
Is that true?! I hate it when they do that and if it just to get their times looking better....well then that really pisses me off

!!!!!!!

reply to post by denybedoomed


The line had a bit more color to it, when said in context... but it comes from Lethal Weapon 2.

denybedoomed
Refresh my memory on where that line is from . . . it's on the tip of my brain.

Its from the movie Lethal Weapon II when Leo Getz gets a tuna sandwich instead of his steak sandwich, he goes off.

I would have embedded it but he uses the F-word profusely in that clip.

denybedoomed
Refresh my memory on where that line is from . . . it's on the tip of my brain.

Joe Pesci ... and he uses the four-letter "F" bomb in there. Of course, I was expecting a rant about having gotten every item in the order wrong when I dropped in to read this based on the title.

The last time I went to a Burger King (at least 5 years ago) they did this to me. The thing is, there wasn't anybody in the store eating and there wasn't anyone in front or behind me in the drive thru. After I pulled forward, I looked at my husband and told him they were messing with his food, they didn't want him to see them doing it so they made him pull forward. I laughed... he didn't. But I did kind of think about that after I said it as the kitchen is visible through this drive thru. I haven't eatan there since they changed the whopper *smeat*... (I know they did damn it) and after that drive thru experience my husband doesn't either.

They do use time though as most places do. You can usually spot the timer on the wall somewhere inside the drive thru window ticking away. This is why they will sometimes ask you what you ordered as you are sitting there waiting for it. To keep the times down to a minimum they have to clear the order from the screen which is supposed to be done when they hand you your food, but is usually done well before to keep the times low. They clear the orders too early and forget which order goes to which car.

I know our Wendy's, McDonald's, Burger King, and Taco Hell do it.

The timers don't work BECAUSE THEY ALL CHEAT!

Kind of off topic, One time i went to taco bell(hell) at 12 and ordered a few tacos, the messed up a 3 taco order. As revenge at 1:45am (15mins before closing) i went in and ordered 15 Beefy 5 layers. And asked that all of them be grilled. Victory!

They could have been having a food fight and didn't want you to see your burger flying through the air.

Frexmil2

Kind of off topic, One time i went to taco bell(hell) at 12 and ordered a few tacos, the messed up a 3 taco order. As revenge at 1:45am (15mins before closing) i went in and ordered 15 Beefy 5 layers. And asked that all of them be grilled. Victory!

edit on 22-1-2014 by Frexmil2 because: (no reason given)

Not so much if they spit in all of them. I hate not being able to see what people do to my food and I never take anything back. I believe I would have to go to jail if I found out someone had spit in my food and I ate it.

rickymouse
They could have been having a food fight and didn't want you to see your burger flying through the air.

They didn't care about that part. They just didn't want him to see them pick the same burger up off the floor and put it in his bag.

Kangaruex4Ewe

Frexmil2

Kind of off topic, One time i went to taco bell(hell) at 12 and ordered a few tacos, the messed up a 3 taco order. As revenge at 1:45am (15mins before closing) i went in and ordered 15 Beefy 5 layers. And asked that all of them be grilled. Victory!

edit on 22-1-2014 by Frexmil2 because: (no reason given)

Not so much if they spit in all of them. I hate not being able to see what people do to my food and I never take anything back.

I believe I would have to go to jail if I found out someone had spit in my food and I ate it.

I just assume everyone spits in my food when i go to late night drive thrus, cuz most of the time my drunken friends act like donkeys(honking the horn, yelling out the window, asking for numbers...ect) adds that extra Flava
Edit: I am DD as i am only 20

Sure it's not right, but its not like they are running a racket in there. Those prizes are usually for one store in the district, not for every good time they get.
And those times don't take into effect most outside sources, I didn't work a fast food drive through but i've worked one. And you get the craziest things, people that will pull up and just be on the phone for 10 min with a line behind them refusing to acknowledge you. And then that one bad time will screw up an entire shift off good ones. Which higher up can use to cut hours, overtime, pay increase.
Doesn't make it right, but at the end of the day does it really change how your food came out? They still provided the service you paid for

reply to post by Wrabbit2000

Now that you mention it, I can think of 3 different places where the same thing happened to me. No one behind me, no reason to pull forward.... so I thought. Now that I know its about fudging ticket times I'll stay put and watch them like hawks from the drive-thru window.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


What's the difference whether you move forward or wait at the window ().....your food will still take as long won't it?

Here in Australia I LOVE Hungry Jacks (BK equivalent) and my favourite is the Whopper with Cheese. How much does it cost over there? 0.89c? Here a Whopper with Cheese costs $AUD5.80 or something like that. A meal with fries and Coke is $7.90.

Wrabbit2000
If no one is behind you? Try saying NO! ..and see how it goes.

Wrabbit, I thought you were supposed to be some sort of oracle-like font of wisdom!


When I'm daring enough to order fast food, I treat them like royalty.

"See how it goes" being defiant and rude to overworked, underpaid teenagers? See how quickly you get an extra helping of secret sauces!

I think your advice is going to get me some mystery "prizes" with my food indeed!

I worked at a Burger King not that long ago. And I don't believe there was some huge rush to try and make us look better. When I'd have a slow day, we actually went a little slower. We didn't really need to rush. But at the same time, we are supposed to keep it reasonably fast. It's called fast food after all. Usually an ideal order shouldn't be more than about a minute long.

Also, I had a list of things to do each day, such as clean the broiler, wash the fry cooler, scrub the floors, and so on. So I want to hurry up and get an order out especially if it's a busy day, so I can get my other stuff done and over with. I don't really want to stay late.

reply to post by LightAssassin



The tiner clock is wired to a scale beneath the window spot so until the vehicle moves, the clock keeps ticking