There is an <xyz> sandwich on the menu, and also an <xyz> meal.

I order the sandwich, get to the pay / pickup window, and they are charging me for the sandwich and fries.

At no time did I mention "fries." At no time did I mention "meal." I ordered a sandwich, period. Just a friggin' sandwich. STOP selling me (and charging me) for stuff that I did not order.

Or:

Pull up to drive through, order a #1
Response: Just the sandwich, or the meal?

My thinking is that #1 would imply Combo #1, meaning meal.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Or:

Pull up to drive through, order a #1
Response: Just the sandwich, or the meal?

My thinking is that #1 would imply Combo #1, meaning meal.

I did not order by number. I used the words, "<xyz> sandwich." I did not say "<xyz> meal," I specifically said "sandwich."

This is not a one-time occurrence. It happens frequently, actually most of the time.

Why have both "sandwich" and "meal" as two separate items on the menu, if you are going to charge for the meal even though I order the sandwich?

Doing it wrong. Throw them off by asking what kind of food they have there. Ask them to repeat it a couple of times. Respond to upselling by asking if you could have half a sandwich for half the amount.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Or:

Pull up to drive through, order a #1
Response: Just the sandwich, or the meal?

My thinking is that #1 would imply Combo #1, meaning meal.

I did not order by number. I used the words, "<xyz> sandwich." I did not say "<xyz> meal," I specifically said "sandwich."

This is not a one-time occurrence. It happens frequently, actually most of the time.

Why have both "sandwich" and "meal" as two separate items on the menu, if you are going to charge for the meal even though I order the sandwich?

Right, just offering the scenario that I'm usually presented with in a similar situation.

What is an xyz meal??

This is why I like McDonald's new drive thru setups, they have a large screen that lists your order before you proceed, so there is none this.

BK and the others seem to be stuck in the past and aren't implementing this though.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

What is an xyz meal??

It is what I did NOT order. I ordered the sandwich, not the meal.

This used to happen to me as well.

Since most of them don't know the difference between an entrée and a meal, if I want just the entrée I would always say "Just the xyz sandwich and not the meal".

This might help you too.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

What is an xyz meal??

It is what I did NOT order. I ordered the sandwich, not the meal.

You want fries with that?

It is God punishing you for eating fast food. Need to start patronizing the Diner where you could comfortably sit at the counter with the round stool and enjoy your hamburger. There are places here like that, but I guess Mouse World is upscale.

"xyz, sandwich only."

It's two more words, gets you want you want and saves times with questions.

Try it.

This is all assuming that the talk box isn't garbled and/or barely audible, or that the a-hole also in line that didn't shut off his damn diesel truck. There's been times I've just driven up to the window after a few attempts at ordering.

And the tactic; Welcome to (fast food joint) would you like to try our (new, very expensive or overstocked food)? Just answering No, followed by a long pause throws them for a loop.

quote:

And the tactic; Welcome to (fast food joint) would you like to try our (new, very expensive or overstocked food)? Just answering No, followed by a long pause throws them for a loop.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Follow that up by asking for a deposit slip and asking the time.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
[QUOTE]
Follow that up by asking for a deposit slip and asking the time.

No way do I want them thinking they work at a bank drive through, they can't even count back my change! I haven't seen a bank drive through that hasn't been replaced by ATM machines, recently.

These kids are just following orders from the franchise owner or corporate. Just wait till the business idiots start pushing it in health care. Yes sir, would you like a digital rectal exam to go with your bloodwork? Special today.

Don't screw with the help, guys. The person on the other end of that drive-thru speaker has even less influence than you over this kind of thing. You can bitch about it to corporate because you're a paying customer, whereas the poor soul taking your order is beholding to their employer.

The way to deal with this is simple- expect to be asked these kinds of questions and deflect them as politely as you can. Don't get me wrong- this kind of thing annoys me, too, but taking it out on some minimum wage schmoe is not the cure.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
Respond to upselling by asking if you could have half a sandwich for half the amount.

Like the old Chris Rock bits...

"Three-fitty for a burger? Good lawd that's a lot of money! How about I give you 43 cents, and you get me half a bun that you dunked in the grease trap."

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:

Don't screw with the help, guys . . . expect to be asked these kinds of questions

What you are saying is entirely reasonable, except that I was not asked any question. The fries get added to my order automatically, with no discussion.

By the way, the fast-food place that we are talking about here, is our beloved Chick-Fil-A. I typically order a spicy chicken sandwich (with mayonnaise and extra pickle), a $3.85 menu item, add 7% tax, and it should be $4.12. I get to the window and they want $6.10, because they have added a medium size order of waffle fries at $1.85 plus tax. Not a small order at $1.65, but a medium order.

It happened again today. I pulled around, parked, and went inside for a conversation with the manager. He told me that it happens because 80% to 90% of the customers order a meal, not just a sandwich. I gently reminded him that he had just told me that these customers order a meal, whereas I ordered a sandwich.

He got a bit flustered, did not have a response for that, except an offer to comp my meal -- sandwich and fries. I thanked him, declined the comp, handed him the fries that had been erroneously included in my order, and told him that rather than a comp, I would like to see him train his order takers to give me what I order, nothing additional. He said that he would discuss it with the workers at shift meeting, we shook hands and I left, with my spice chicken sandwich, mayonnaise (not the bad kind), and extra pickle.

Maybe they wanted you to have the fries, so you would have something to help scrape that mayo off.