About 35 years ago, I was at a Home Builders Association banquet at the Hyatt Regency at Lake Buena Vista, in Florida. It was elegant, and we were all telling one another how great we were. Some idiot decided to present all of the awards before dinner was served. Of course the bar was open. As the time wore on, and the speeches become more slurred, it started to be obvious that this was a mistake. Cell phones you could put in your pocket were relatively rare, but a few people in the room had them. The table behind us pulled one out, called and had Pizza delivered. They were drunk and tired of waiting for dinner to be served. Needless to say the evening had gone wrong.
Something else that has gone terribly wrong is "fast food." I don't like to eat in my car, I stopped doing that when I started driving nicer cars, and when I slowed the pace of life realizing that I needed to take time to stop and taste the french fries along the way. The problem with fast food today, besides the food, is the service, especially if you are not going through the drive through. The drive through gets priority out of the kitchen, and those of us standing inside waiting, wait longer, and longer, and longer. I have seen people go through the drive through, and then bring the order into the McDonald's to eat, because it is faster than ordering at the counter. McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's have destroyed the in restaurant experience, by focusing on the drive through, and yet they continue to build indoor dining spaces. Fast food has struggled, and for me, a big part of it, is they have focused so much on the drive through, that it is no longer fast to go inside. Fast food didn't go wrong by selling fast food, they have gone wrong, by neglecting a serious part of their business. And the worse the service gets inside the less it sells, and the more they focus on serving the drive through, making the service inside even worse.
Time to get off of the ship of fools.
I hadn't been in a McDonalds in ages, but on the way back from Ptown we stopped at one to use the restroom and order. They took the order quick but wait about 10 minutes, and then it was bagged. I couldn't help notice a tip jar on the counter. For what? Take a order that took about a minute, the food bagged and a cup I had to go to the soda fountain to fill??? I'm all for tipping when there is good service and realize they need paid better... but the tip jar was ballsy you ask me.
ReplyDeleteTipping culture has gone terribly wrong.
DeleteTake away food in the car makes it smell bad. It hasn't quite come to be what you describe when ordering here...yet. I guess it is down to how many staff they employ to serve.
ReplyDeleteIt is often faster to go through the drive through.
DeleteThat banquet sounds like an absolute disaster.
ReplyDeleteIt often was
DeleteI cannot remember the last time I ate fast food. I will take an eat-in café over a drive-thru establishment any day.
ReplyDeleteThat banquet sounds horrible but I imagine the drunken speeches could have been fun.
Some people don't hold their booze well
DeleteI don't like to eat in the car and definitely not whenI'm driving. You are so right about the inside service. The last time we stopped at McD's, we went inside to use the restrooms and then placed our order. An sweet little old man had placed his order and wanted to join his friends for lunch. By the time he got his order, his friends were finishing up. They waited for him.
ReplyDeleteIt would have been faster to go through the drive thru
DeleteI don't eat out much and never at fast food places anymore.
ReplyDeleteWe seldom do, on the Maryland trip, BK was nextdoor to the hotel
DeleteI hadn't thought about that but I never go inside any longer. It's the worst service.
ReplyDeleteLost track of their core business
DeleteI hate drive-throughs, and I completely agree with you. Getting counter service these days is never easy. I feel like a weird dinosaur parking the car and going inside. (Having said that, I usually don't eat fast food -- I run into this problem when I stop for coffee at a McDonald's.)
ReplyDeleteBack in the '80s I used to LOVE Wendy's. Their burgers were so good. The last time I had one, around 2009, it was just sad.
Wendy's baked potatoes were delicious
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