March 25, 2003

Kind of embarrassing to admit, but I’m with you!!! I stopped at a McDonald’s in Tomah this past weekend and it took an eternity to get my food. You order, you pay, you’re silently asked to step to the side to wait for the food while the cashier takes the next order. And it’s not as if a different person brings you your food. The same person that took your order and the order of the five people behind you gets your food. It’s like they need to build up a stockpile of people waiting for their food before they can go anywhere near the food. What, trying to conserve energy? Am thinking some corporate efficiency loony-pants is behind this racket. AND, while consuming my meal, I overheard one of the employees telling a customer who was leaving “Come again soon.” Does McDonald’s have a Maitre D all of a sudden? Also, this is just an aside, but have you noticed that most of the people who eat at fast food restaurants LOOK like they eat at fast food restaurants? Note to self: Prepare for horizontal growth. - Bic

March 24, 2003

I'm sure nobody is with me on this... but could fast food be faster?

I'm serious. I know it's pretty fast (cue Homer and that giant can of Foster's - "it's pretty big, I guess"), but whatever happened to the pre-made burger just waiting under the angelic glow of the 200 watt heat lamp jumping for it's chance to satisfy that next hungry, yet impatient connoisseur? It used to be one quick transaction... you order, they fill the tray in front of you, you leave. No hold the ketchup, no extra pickles... you take what's ready. Now, you order, they push you to the side and take someone else order (how quickly I'm forgotten) just to be given your order five customers later. And, don't even get me started if you order some nontraditional item (like Chicken McNuggets)... you're out five minutes... minimum. Five minutes! Who has this kind of time?

Plus, here's how I see it. The faster they serve, the more they sell. The more they sell, the bigger their profits (yes, I know... also, the bigger my coronary). It's that simple, right? These are the guys who inject their fries with beef fat to make them more tasty. I'm sure they can get back on board with this.

Probably some sort of health conscience push to not have pre-made burgers sitting on the shelf for hours got us to this life of not as fast fast food (antibacterial heat lamps?)... but it's not like I hit these places for my health. I'm here for a quick meal that I can eat while driving down the freeway talking on my cell phone (and maybe you're occasional interesting Happy Meal toy). Ahh... why do things have to change?

Agree? Disagree? If you have any support or criticism for this complaint, e-mail it to us at cc@geeksontheweb.com and we'll post it.