Why can't the person at the drive through shut up and listen to my order?

Question

What's the deal. Shut up and wait until I finish talking. And servers in restaurants. Nobody writes the order down. Half the time they get the order wrong. I will order the simplest things and they will screw it up. You have to fight to get what you what. They won't just shut up, listen to what you what, and bring you what they say. They wanna "take charge," push the order so they can save 2 seconds, and then mess everything up and get it wrong. We have a service based economy, run by people who have no concept of how to serve others. Or am I am just foolish to think that competent, intelligent people take those kind of jobs? Is it just that people who have their act together don't take service industry jobs? Is that it?

Answer 1

Drive ups have notoriously bad sound systems. They flat can't hear you half the time. And they are multitasking - taking your order & filling someone else's at the same time. You probably wouldn't envy that driveup person's job.
As someone who doesn't order simple stuff in restaurants, I can tell you that a small amount of rapport can help with servers. You sound like a real treat to wait on. Do you smile at the server? Do you help them by consolidating requests to lessen table trips? Do you tip well when you get decent service? As a customer, I understand the "I worked all day, I'd like to come to the restaurant & relax & be served" concept. It's give & take, though.
Servers have incredible demands in the course of a shift. There is downward pressure to turn your table over. If you're unsure they have your order correctly, recap at the end. Don't let the server grab stuff off the table without asking. Don't feel rushed into leaving. You're paying the rental on the table, after all.
Some incredibly talented people are servers. They all have a story, just like you.

Answer 2

most people who do those kind of jobs are teenagers and I have nothing against teenagers, but they know this is not going to be their career, so they just don't care. And most of these jobs are minimum wage at best so they might feel it is not worth their while to go the extra mile for so little pay. And I have found that most kids (teenagers) do not have any respect for the customer and chew gum and don't count back your change (if they even know how - thats another topic!!!) and won't look at you while they serve you or talk on the phone while serving you or chit chat with with another clerk, etc., etc. I am not that old but I do remember when you could count on the service industry people because they wanted your business and knew you would come back if treated decently. Now the turnover in these places is very high and I don't think they are trained properly in the first place.

Answer 3

Ok.

To put my answer in perspective know this:

I have been in hospitality for 16 years. I admit I have never worked in a fast food joint so I can't really comment there however I am what you would describe as an 'industry proffessional'

"...servers in restaurants. Nobody writes the order down..."

The decision to write an order down is based entrirely on what the order is going to be. If I walk up to a table of 8 people and take a drinks order off 2 people.. I don't need to write that down. But at the same table if I am making a food order, I would be insane not to write down exactly what each person is having, where they are sitting, any changes to the dish that they require, etc.

Having said that, I can comfortably take an order of a table of 4 and remember everything - but this is after years of practice
Waiting tables requires that you keep hundreds of little bits of information in your head at the same time, it's not easy but you get better at it over time.

"...Half the time they get the order wrong. I will order the simplest things and they will screw it up..."

You have to be careful here because things aren't this simple. If you consider the stream of events that occurs between you deciding what you want and the food hitting the table, there are many areas that mistakes can be made. In some restaurants there can be dozens of people that deal with a single order, and if any one of those people makes a mistake...

I think you are grossly overstating the problem too. Half the time? You only notice the times when something goes amiss. I deal with about 400 people a week (in two jobs) which probably equates to about 2000 'transactions' per week. Last week, I forgot to order a beer for one guy and forgot a side of cheese for a kid's pasta. Thats about 0.1% in my estimate.

"..You have to fight to get what you what. They won't just shut up, listen to what you what, and bring you what they say.."

This is another area where you need to be careful. The number of times I get people who just don't understand what things on the menu are or want to re-write the menu.

Honestly have you any idea how much effort a chef puts into creating a dish and how annyoing it is for someone in the restaurant to decide that they don't want this that and the other (allergies aside) because they don't like it before they even know what it will taste like.

Food is about complementing flavors and a dish should be viewed as a whole - not something you can pick an choose only the bits you think you like. If you honestly cant eat a dish because you just can't stand something - order something else!


"...They wanna "take charge," push the order so they can save 2 seconds..."

When you enter a restaurant, you are entering a controlled environment. We *HAVE* to take charge because if we don't, everything falls appart. Each restaurant has its own system of operation and the more systematic you approach, the more efficient the opperation will be.

The extent I will let you waffle on is governed by the number of other people that are also waiting for service. If I can save 2 seconds on your table, thats 2 seconds sooner that I can get to the poor guy sitting at the next table waiting for you to finish. It's a hard juggling act and requires that I listen and ask the right question at the right time.

"...We have a service based economy..."

While the service industry forms a significant part of any economy, I would doubt that it forms the basis. Maybe I'm wrong..

"...run by people who have no concept of how to serve others..."

Here I think you are way out to sea. The people who run restaurants are in general very competent at what they do. Some of their staff may be less competent but you get that in any industry. The restaurant trade is one of the toughest to be successful in. A restaurant that is not tightly run will fail very quickly.

"...Or am I am just foolish to think that competent, intelligent people take those kind of jobs? Is it just that people who have their act together don't take service industry jobs?..."

People in the service industry (in my experience) generally fall into two groups. The proffessional and the school leaver. The idea that everyone does hospitality 'while they're waiting for their career to start' is probably one of the greatest problems the industry has.

Half the problem lies with people like yourself who think it's an easy industry to work in. It's not. Over the years I have gained a lot of knowledge about food, wine, etiquette, culture, psychology, public speaking, coffee, weddings, efficiency.. etc, etc.. It's not rocket science but it's not easy either.

The other half of the problem is there is just no serious training offered. Look at the Republic of Ireland. There you can do a four year apprenticship as a barman - the result, awesome bar service. In France it can be dificult to get a service industry job unless you have completed a service apprenticeship. If you've ever eaten in a good restaurant in france or worked with a qualified french watier you'll know what I'm talking about (and I've done both).

"...Is that it?"

No I think it's that the next time you go to a restaurant, you should open your eyes up and look around and try and see what is actually going on. If you are sitting in a place that is pumping and the waitstaff are pushed, have a little understanding. Enjoy what the restaurant has to offer rather than state your demands. Work with the staff rather than make them work for you.

And leave a good tip if you get good service.

Answer 4

You're foolish to think that competent, intelligent people take fast food/service industry jobs.

The only exception would be high school/college kids. Other than that, when I see an adult working fast food, waiting table, working as a cashier in a grocery store, etc., I realize that there's a reason they're like that, and will probably be working in that position for the rest of their lives.

Answer 5

yep, been there.

I feel sorry for you, there is no cure.

I just don't eat fast food anymore, give me a chair at a table, a menu to hold, a glass of water and a few minutes to consider what I would like, cost about the same. If I don't have the time well I make the time. If that is impossible I'll go to the grocery store and hit the deli.

Stay away from chain sit down restaurants too

Answer 6

Calm down! I worked in restaurants before I got out of school, and it is a terrible job. Sometimes it's all some people can get. And it's an absolutely thankless job where you are on your feet all day while people berate you.
In the drive through, the headsets tend to cut out a bit, and there can be a lag in them. So when the person isn't done ordering yet, it still sounds like they are. They aren't trying to irritate you, it's the crappy headsets!
And being a waiter, sometimes the management asks that you try to memorize everything. It's just to look fancy, but it's dumb. Because people aren't perfect, and will often forget something on the way back to place the order.

In other words, if you had ever worked in one of these places, you would understand. A lot of folks work there to put themselves through college (like me) and some people are just down on their luck. Don't be so quick to judge.

Answer 7

My family eats at Applebees every Friday night. I have kept a count for the last 3 months and 8 out of the last 10 times, our order was wrong. We have complained a few times and they have given us coupons for free meals in which were also wrong. It is almost a running joke. But honestly, not many Ivy League grads go on to be a food server. In my neighborhood, you can only order fast food if you speak Spanish or stick with a number meal.

Answer 8

I'll just assume you've never worked at a restaurant or a fast food place. At fast food places they do want you to hurry the hell up. They want you to hurry up because the manager will get on their case if it goes over a certain amount of time.
I hate it when customers take forever at the drive thru, they sit there and go "uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, let me get, uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, let's see here. uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, what comes in your burrito?" They do this while there are a ton of cars behind them, it is annoying as hell. They have a ton of orders to take, of course they want you to hurry up.

Answer 9

I agree with J&C H. It's a low-skill job with little pay. I expect mistakes at the drive through, try to stick to the numbered combos and don't eat there often. Teenagers and people with very few skills don't care what you eat. I've gotten expired milk through the drive through and the manager didn't want to talk about it. I had to call corporate. Plus, I don't go there anymore.

Answer 10

I agree. I even ordered in side one time and they had to take my order back 6 times.