Get Some Drive-Thru Etiquette!

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a fun, relaxing weekend! I meant to blog something, but as you have learned---I'm the QUEEN OF PROCRASTINATION! haha...I'm working on it; this is all a process.


Just for a little background info: I've worked at Chick-fil-A, the fast-food chain, for almost five and a half years now. It was my first job in high school, and yes sometimes I'm embarrassed that I'm STILL there. But hey, it pays the bills, and I'm thankful that I'm able to keep a job for so long.


Anyway, I was just telling Chelsea last week that everyone should work in some type of restaurant at least once in their lives. It will really teach you how to appreciate what employees go through to serve you. At the last store meeting, my boss reminded us that without customers, we basically don't have jobs. I also heard a quote sometime last year, and it just sticks with me. "If you're not serving others, then what are you doing?"


If you think about it, every job you can think of requires you to serve others. Whether you do hair, sell drugs, deliver mail, or work at a bank...you are SERVING somebody. Even the most selfish money hungry people seek ways for folks to buy their products; they are serving up a form of entertainment.


Sometimes serving others is hard, especially when you are forced to deal with rude and undeserving people. I worked Friday and Saturday this weekend, and I can't even explain my level of frustration with people and the disorganization of the workplace. As usual, everyone flooded in the doors wanting breakfast when breakfast was bound to be over within 20 min. People don't realize that you need time to switch over from breakfast to lunch, so it'd be wise to wake up a little earlier if you're craving some morning food.


I often work in the drive-thru, and some of you don't realize how rude you actually are (and sometimes that can make it frustrating). People have gotten so technologically advanced that they don't know how to put a cell phone down for less than 5 min so they can have their order taken precisely. And then, they have the nerve to get mad when the order is wrong! Hellooooo?! Get off your phone and listen!


One of my co-workers wrote this little thing a couple of years ago on the many annoyances of the Chick-fil-A drive-thru/fast-food period. I ran across it yesterday, when I was deleting old messages on Facebook. I decided to repost it. Maybe you'll laugh, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll get it, maybe you won't. Bottom line: Respect those that serve you, and those that serve you will respect you. (But at the chicken spot, we're taught that the customer is always right. Always. Ummm, not really. But ok, I'll pretend that you are. haha)

"you and me could write a bad romance"

•  it's a chick-fil-a sandwich, not just a chick-fil-a, we'll take fried sandwich too

• it's pronounced fi-VE and twel-VE.

• if i didn't ask you what kind of sauce you wanted, don't tell me, the people at the window will ask, thank you

• no, we don't have "child-sized" milkshakes...cuz your little kid should not have that many calories, thanks

• its pronounced MILKSHAKE, not meeeuuulllkkshake or however the heck you just said it

• they're just nuggets, i don't need you to read out the ENTIRE NAME, as long as you don't say MCNUGGETS, we're straight

• please, please, please say the size and amount of ice you want in your drink up front, cuz chances are i've made it by the time you're done ordering

• talk faster please, you're wasting valuable time

• unless i ask, i usually understand what you mean, you don't have to repeat every little part

• of course its sweet lemonade, the diet is just sweetened with splenda, ya don't have to imply that its sweet, i know the difference

• i'm not incompetant just beacause i "work fast food". don't talk to me like that

• i can't read your mind, lets not get an attitude....

• let's not order 93984875 milkshakes, i'm already bustin my butt for other peoples drinks, thanks

• go to walmart, buy some tea, and make your own freakin gallons

• um, get of your car, walk inside and order a tray, you're lazy.

• if you're gonna make an order for more than $35, you can come inside too.

• don't take forever to stare at the menu and just order the simplest item, gahhh

• lets not hang your money out of the window like a jerk

• GET OFF YOUR PHONE!

• of course i'm still here, where would i freakin go, duh?

• uhmmm is NOT a proper answer, let's gooooo alreadyyy

• HELLO?!?!? is RUDE. a simple, i'm ready to order now will work

• if you need a min, at least let me know, don't just sit there and get an attitude with me

•  ^ you can ask nicely, "can i have a min.,please?" not "gimme a min", or "hold on"...especially if you are on the phone.

• when i was little, i ate whatever my parents ordered me, if not, i didn't eat. you don't need to sit there and wait for your kids to decide what they want, just get them what you want them to have!!!

• it's not charbroiled or charcoalbroiled....there's.. nothing here to do with broiling or charcoal.....stop now.

• well done's the word, not "fried hard"

• its POLYNESIAN...not difficult

• don't just lay your hand on the window and expect me to reach, put some effort into it

• i HATE repeating myself, seriously, what do you think i said??

• PAY ATTENTION...ketchup, mayo or sauce?, "no thanks, just ketchup"...duhhhrrr

• your sauce?? where are we again??

• no, we don't have fish, burgers, frostees, arby's sauce, tarter sauce, "regular fries", or chocolate icecream

• a chocolate milshake, but half chocolate half vanilla....think about it, you're dumb

• lets nooooottt add crap at the window and say we did

• yes. you'll get your straw, spoon or napkins, hold the eff on

• dude, you don't need to drive that fast, just don't creep along either...

• speak up! just don't shout...

• can't ya'll just pay someone back later?? same car orders are lamee.....

• no as a matter of fact, you didn't say "no ice", if ya did i woulda remembered...

• no, you didn't say "large"....jerk

• a meal comes with the usual...fries and a drink....where do you live? under a rock?

• it already comes in a medium size, dude

• it's not really a pleasure to serve you at the window

• can we not order from the passenger side? k thanks

• they're waffle fries...normal fries in a waffle shape...whats so difficult???

• let me finish talking before you answer or drive away please

•  diet....diet what??

• if you say coke or pepsi...ill know what it means, dont worry bout it...if we don't have it ill let you know.

• why do want a milkshake when its reeeeeaaaalllllyyyy cold outside??

• the salads and wraps are pre-made. no, we won't make a special one for you, just don't order that.

• if you want icecream instead of a toy, tell the order taker, don't wait til ya get to the window

• if you have to come back though, just let the order taker know what you need so things don't get complicated at the window

• we're outta breakfast, get your butt outta bed earlier

• if its on the breakfast menu, its only for breakfast

• yes a milksahake costs more instead of a drink, why wouldn't it???

• if you don't like our prices or how fast we do things, go to mcdonalds...right down the road

• speak English please....

• "may i have it without ice" is acceptable, not "can i get no ice in it"...uhm nooo

• will it kill you to say "thank you"? geeezzzz

• yes, you have to get whats on the coupon, unless its a drink....stop asking..

• no, it is not minute made lemonade... ewww..try fresh squeezed, lets not insult the lemonade...

• why do you need 7837646738 sauces for 4 nuggets?????

• define "lots of"

• i'm not laughing. shut up

• the fries were perfectly hot, do you WANT to burn your mouth and my hand, seriouslyy???

• sorry we got it wrong, stuff happens, get over it

• bring your lazy butt inside if you aren't disabled, have a lot of kids, or are in a hurry

• no, we don't want your nasty trash to thow away in here, theres a trash can further up, or thow it away at home

• credit cards are our fave. :)

• where are you gettin allllll these coupons?

• um you don't say the "t" at the end of filet.....get that straight please

• lets keep it simple, and quick ;)

• uhhh its all chicken, its not that difficult

• read the menu, dont sayyyy excuse me? if i say chargrilled, spicy, or ceasar, 8 or 12, 3 or 4....its all spelled out

• its "VALUE SIZED"

• define "extra, extra"

• the biggest size drink is a "large"...32 oz

• we don't have "boy" or "girl" toys

•  you've never heard of Chick-fil-a???? whaaattt??

• we changed the menu like a year ago or so, so lets not get an attitude and say "you changed the menu on me." where have you been if you knew the menu so well to begin with..

• don't blow smoke in the window person's face, ewww.

• the person taking your order and the person taking your money are not the same....we see the difference

• breast feed your kid on your own time, not in the drive-thru....yeah, it happened

• here's a knife, cut your own sandwhich in half

• the cups are marked...and btw...the lemonade is the yellow one....and the tea is brownish...um duh

•  ohhh...chick-fil-a combo?? uhhh they all are

these are the things people should know, its not hard people! hahaha

**this is why we're right and the customer is usually wrong 

Now, don't go thinking that we're rude. You may not understand. There's some days that I feel so much joy in serving the public. Then, there's days like this weekend. I was frustrated with the organization of the job as well as the customers. Don't criticize about how we feel, the wait it took for you to get your food, or anything else until you work a considerable amount of time in a restaurant. Understand that everyone has a bad day. You do, don't you? Why is it so hard to believe that a restaurant won't?