Last night around 11:30 I wanted something to eat, so I headed to Burger King knowing that they are now open until 12 or later every night. I got there at 11:49. Here's the conversation I had with the lady in the drive-thru. Her: (silence) Me: "Hello?" Her: (silence) Me: "HELLO?" Her: (silence)..."I'm sorry sir, we're closed". Me: "You're closed?" Her: "Yes sir, we're closed" Me: "But it's not 12 yet..." Her: "I'm sorry?" Me: "Why are you closed? It's 10 minutes until midnight and the sign says you're opened until 12..." Her: (silence)..."May I take your order, sir?" I've had my fair share of experiences with both, and I'd say it's worse when the shake machine is "broken" because there are only a select few places to get a good shake in a hurry. If a place is "closed" and you're just looking for some food in general, there's usually quite a few other options.
For some reason, the ice cream machine problem ALWAYS happens at McDonald's. It happens to me all the time where I live in Angleton and whenever I go to Houston or San Antonio. Any former McD's employees out there? What gives? Is it really always broken?
At the Popeye's in Deer Park that I go to when I visit my parents, I've been told several times, "I'm sorry sir, we're out of iced tea." WTF!!! How do you RUN OUT of iced tea?! BREW MORE TEA! BREW MORE TEA!!!! YOU'RE A GODDAMNED CHICKEN JOINT!! Clearly, to me, this is the most annoying fast food "thing."
Having worked in retail, I can appreciate trying to get the hell out of Dodge a few minutes before the actual closing time. There's a lot of crap you had to do before you can actually leave and nothing pissed me off more than someone coming in 5 minutes before we closed. For that reason, I won't go anywhere less than 20 minutes before closing time. I remember the shake machine at the Whataburger on N. Main was ALWAYS broken when I lived in the Heights. I finally just started going somewhere else.
I went to Taco Bell one time, and they were out of meat. Out of meat at Taco Bell? Hell, I think the desserts at Taco Bell have meat in them...
These are important issues that need to be addressed. I am very polite to clerks at Fast food places - or wait staff in general at any restaurant. I hate the "we are closed" when there is 10 min or more left on the shift. I do not eat fast food unless I am near starvation. My son will get sarcastic with the drive thru help- I just give him my food when he does this. I live near Beaumont- in this garden spot we have lost many young people looking for better opportunities elsewhere-so do not look for Rocket scientists in the fast food service industry. Frustrating
You think that's bad? The Popeye's down the street frequently says, "We have no chicken right now, it's going to be a 20 minute wait." WTFFFFFFFFF how can u NOT have CHICKEN????
I can understand if its 5-10 minutes before closing time and they say its closed. But at the Subway on Tidwell and 45N, they close at 10pm I think.. at 8:45 the food is put up and they are cleaning with the lights off. And I am not exaggerating at all.
What? If the store advertises they are open til a certain time and a customer comes in and has time to complete their order before that time they should be served. The fact that some paid employee wants to bolt out early is not a reason.
I've worked as a waiter and hated it when people would come in 10 minutes before closing, but that's an entirely different story. At a restaurant when someone comes in that late, the server probably ends up staying another 45 minutes or so on average and only makes a few bucks in tips for it. On top of that they have sidework and payout to deal with after. At a drive-thru you get your food and you're gone in 5 minutes. Last night, even with the delay in ordering, I was out of there 5 minutes before they were supposed to close. I refuse to feel badly about that.
Oh God, don't get me started on Subway. It seems like ALL of the ones around my house insist on at least looking closed a good hour early. One time I went in like an hour and a half before closing and had to wait while they fetched me some pickles because they had already put them up.
Rocket scientist? Hell, I'd settle for a kid that can spell his own name without looking at his underwear. Overall, fast food workers are exponentially dumber than they were even ten years ago. There are just so many better job opportunities for teenagers these days. Fast food has gone beyond the bottom of the barrel and is now dredging the sewer for employees...
i find it annoying when i have to repeat everything I ordered 4 times before they get it right. but of the two choices i would have to go with people saying they're closed when there is still time...i usually try not to go near closing time but sometimes it cant be helped.
Most annoying: "I'm sorry sir. We are no longer serving breakfast." Let me tell ya... if the time ends with "a.m." it's morning, and they should be serving breakfast. What? You ask, "what about if it's 11:59 a.m.?" Yeah - even if it's 11:59 a.m., they should be serving breakfast. In fact, breakfast should be available 24 - 7.
