Drive-Thru Gripes

Pet peeves about using the drive-thru window at a coffee shop or fast food joint.

As a girl that spent many high school years working a drive-thru window at a fast-food restaurant, back when people were actually nice and paid attention to you, these two things really burn me up.

First of all, in addition to trying to personally sell you an additional product AFTER you place your order, like "would you like two apple pies for a dollar with that?" you now have to endure a recording at the BEGINNING of your order at the drive-thru as soon as you pull up. Only sometimes you think it's a real person, so you start talking, only to find out it's a recording FOLLOWED by the 'real' person that is taking your order.

So now I just ignore that opening question asking me if I want to try 'the whatever product' and wait for the real person to come on speaker. And then I say to them "Are you ready to take my order?" just to make sure it's not still a recording, and also to let them know I am NOT interested in their front-sell recording.

Secondly, and this one really makes me nuts, is when the same person that is talking to you and taking your order is simultaneously taking someone else's money at the window and getting them their change. They are NOT giving you their 100% attention, and they are talking to two different customers at once. The least they can do is take the 15 seconds or so that I am using to place my order to actually PAY ATTENTION to what I am saying.

I can't tell you how many times the person running the drive-thru window gets my order wrong or makes me repeat it, because they are busy completing some else's transaction and talking to THEM instead. It's a wonder their cash drawers aren't constantly short.

And then when YOU get up to the window and it's your turn to hand over your money and wait for change, and that same drive-through person is talking to the next person placing an order instead of greeting you with a smile or a hello, I find that totally rude.

When I am handing someone my money or debit card and they are talking into an earpiece to someone else and don't even have 5 seconds to acknowledge me, or even make sure my change is right, that just annoys the heck out of me. I mean, how much do you like talking to someone WHILE THEY ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A DIFFERENT CONVERSATION ON THEIR PHONE? Rude!!!

I understand efficiency and getting people in and out of the drive-thru quickly...but I think it also leads to more problems with misunderstood orders and BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE, and it has happened to me lately at practically every drive-through I go to, from fast food to coffee shops.

Okay, I'm done griping...for now!