Have you ever pulled out a drive thru, whats the longest you waited?

[MIGrandma]

Wow, lots of impatience at the drive thru.

I can't imagine pulling out after placing my order. You can see how long the line is before you place your order, if there are too many cars and you don't want to wait, then fine, but if you've already ordered I think it's rude to leave and mess up the process for the employees.

And when they ask you to pull over and wait for your order it's only to keep things moving along. If you refuse and sit there and wait and wait and wait for your order, you're holding up the line. Maybe the person behind you only ordered a Coke. They could have had their Coke and been on their way, if you'd only pull up to a parking space and wait like the employee asked you. Pretty rude not to do that when they ask you to.

I once waited quite a long time to order INSIDE, but I had my "patient panties" on and was actually rewarded with a free dessert simply for being patient and not causing a stink about it.

I think I may have waited 10 minutes or so in a drive-thru, no big deal.

And getting angry because it's "taking too long" and driving somewhere else seems pretty stupid to me. By the time you get to the other place and order your food, you probably could have already had your food at the first place you went to. We had that happen at the restaurant where I worked. On busy nights when the lobby was full and we were taking names to seat people some would ask how long it would be, most people waited but occasionally someone didn't want to wait 15-20 minutes to be seated so they left, said they were going somewhere else. Well, the restaurant where I worked was in a tiny little town with no other restaurants for at least 10 miles. By the time they drove somewhere else they could have been seated already. It just amazes me the lack of patience some people seem to have these days.

 

[mom2rtk]

I was horrified to notice that one McDonalds, one Burger King and one Carls Junior I frequent now have a reserved parking spot at the end of drive thru marked "Reserved for customers waiting for drive thru orders"
Those are the only ones that I have seen so far.

I'm glad they added those spots. If they had those where the OP was, they could have had the van pull up and park while the OP got his order.

I love when I go to McDonalds for chocolate chip cookies and they ask me to pull into one of those spots. It means the cookies are just coming out of the oven!

 

[phorsenuf]

Were you in my car yesterday? I was running some errands and stopped at McDonalds. Placed my order right away, drove to the first window and paid. Well apparently 2 of the cars that were ahead of me had special orders and were told to pull ahead. Instead of pulling into a space they moved their car up maybe 6 feet. The car behind them was then stuck and I know he had to wait for a special order too. By the time I got to the second window to get my food it had been 17 minutes! I was pretty ticked, especially since I didn't even have the choice to move out of line and pick my food up inside.

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

Well I ordered a simple sandwich, no way it takes 8 min(the length I had waited at that point) or so to make. If they started making it when I ordered it, it was prob done a min or so afterwards which means it would have been sitting there while they worked on the first order. Again not acceptable to me.

The manager was probably yelling because your food was done. They screwed up by not making the first car pull forward so you could get your sandwich. Our local place doesn't have room to have a car pull forward so it has a door on the side and will run your food out to you so you don't have to wait too long in line.

 

[bdcp]

Thats not the case in my area. On several occasions i'd go into the store instead of the drive thru, and i'd wait much longer. The last car at the drivethru had gone and left ages ago before i got served, on several occasions. Because theyre quicker in the driver thru, i just use that.

Not true for you does not equate to not true at all. Nor does not true for an individual equate to not true for the public in general. When you get in the drive thru and order your order goes into the queue with ALL the orders. Drive thru orders are put into the order system with all the orders and are made in order. The only reason drive thru orders might take longer is because people sometimes do special orders and there is a longer wait for those regardless of where you are. The food comes up in order it's ordered, not because it's the drive thru. I have seen many fast food places with 8-10 cars in it and when I go inside there's 2 people in line to order. That's how Starbucks is all the time here that has the drive thru. Do that math.

And for someone who refuses to move out of the drive thru when asked to, that's just rude (and very selfish) to everyone behind you. There is a reason they ask people to move out of the line and that's because that order is delayed for some reason. So, in doing that the pp was thinking only of themselves.

 

[Shutterbug]

Wow, lots of impatience at the drive thru.

I can't imagine pulling out after placing my order. You can see how long the line is before you place your order, if there are too many cars and you don't want to wait, then fine, but if you've already ordered I think it's rude to leave and mess up the process for the employees.

.

In my case there was just one car in front of me when I placed my order...still waited at least 8 minutes who knows how much longer. Too long for a drive-thru when you have other places you need to be.

 

[MIGrandma]

In my case there was just one car in front of me when I placed my order...still waited at least 8 minutes who knows how much longer. Too long for a drive-thru when you have other places you need to be.

Like I said, lack of patience these days. If I was so crunched for time that I couldn't wait 8 little minutes for an order at a drive-thru I would have grabbed a granola bar from home on my way out the door.

 

[DawnM]

Only once. I think there was something wrong inside but I had to get to an appt. I waited over 10 min. behind several cars without moving.

 

[Dani784]

Wow, lots of impatience at the drive thru.

I can't imagine pulling out after placing my order. You can see how long the line is before you place your order, if there are too many cars and you don't want to wait, then fine, but if you've already ordered I think it's rude to leave and mess up the process for the employees.

And when they ask you to pull over and wait for your order it's only to keep things moving along. If you refuse and sit there and wait and wait and wait for your order, you're holding up the line. Maybe the person behind you only ordered a Coke. They could have had their Coke and been on their way, if you'd only pull up to a parking space and wait like the employee asked you. Pretty rude not to do that when they ask you to.

I once waited quite a long time to order INSIDE, but I had my "patient panties" on and was actually rewarded with a free dessert simply for being patient and not causing a stink about it.

I think I may have waited 10 minutes or so in a drive-thru, no big deal.

And getting angry because it's "taking too long" and driving somewhere else seems pretty stupid to me. By the time you get to the other place and order your food, you probably could have already had your food at the first place you went to. We had that happen at the restaurant where I worked. On busy nights when the lobby was full and we were taking names to seat people some would ask how long it would be, most people waited but occasionally someone didn't want to wait 15-20 minutes to be seated so they left, said they were going somewhere else. Well, the restaurant where I worked was in a tiny little town with no other restaurants for at least 10 miles. By the time they drove somewhere else they could have been seated already. It just amazes me the lack of patience some people seem to have these days.

THIS!! Apparently, those impatient people have never worked a drive through and had their managers punish them for the drive thru times. I worked at Burger King as a teen and our times had to be under 3 minutes. Now, a chicken sandwich took just over 2 minutes in the fryer so if there weren't any down or if a customer wanted one dropped fresh (happened all the time even if we had just dropped them) that took longer and we asked that picky person to pull forward to spare our times.

If you are that picky, go inside! Front counter times are only expected to be 5 minutes or less and managers are much more lenient! I'm a picky person. I don't like onions on my sandwiches or lettuce in most cases. I hate mustard. I prefer onion rings to fries. So I go inside to order. Also, if you have a large order ( I frequently do with a family of six) go inside! It takes a shade more time to park and waddle your butt inside to get your Whopper or Big Mac.

Cut those poor drive thru people some slack. They are just trying to do their lousy paying job!

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[AverageDiser]

I consider myself a relatively patient person, but if I wanted to wait 20 minutes for food, I wouldn't go to a "fast" food joint. That having been said, if I see a drive-thru with more than 5-6 cars in line, I'll usually just go in and nine times out of ten, I'm in my car and on the way home before the last car in line has left.

 

[Minnie_me]

Yesterday, I was behind a guy at the McDonalds drive-thru, and I heard him say, "You know what? I'm sorry. Cancel my order. I shouldn't be doing this."

And he pulled out and drove away. LOL!

 

[DawnM]

And many here are reporting waits of 20-40 min.

8-10 min isn't a huge deal, but if the lines has not moved even one car length in 10 min and you are behind 6 cars, well, I don't consider that lack of patience.

That is lack of good customer service.......it is called FAST FOOD for a reason and if it isn't at least somewhat fast, they are doing something wrong.

Like I said, lack of patience these days. If I was so crunched for time that I couldn't wait 8 little minutes for an order at a drive-thru I would have grabbed a granola bar from home on my way out the door.

 

[Janepod]

We waited about 20 mins at Boston Market last year during the aftermath of Sandy, but they were pretty much the only place in town that was open. Other than that, I don't think I've been in a drive thru in 10-15 years.

 

[JakeJenna]

And messed up their timing on every order after yours.

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I'm supposed to care about their times? If they cared about mine they would hurry the hell up.

And when they ask you to pull over and wait for your order it's only to keep things moving along. If you refuse and sit there and wait and wait and wait for your order, you're holding up the line. Maybe the person behind you only ordered a Coke. They could have had their Coke and been on their way, if you'd only pull up to a parking space and wait like the employee asked you. Pretty rude not to do that when they ask you to.

I think it is pretty rude of them to serve other people before they serve me. Ya know first come first serve has obviously worked in the past why stop it?

And for someone who refuses to move out of the drive thru when asked to, that's just rude (and very selfish) to everyone behind you. There is a reason they ask people to move out of the line and that's because that order is delayed for some reason. So, in doing that the pp was thinking only of themselves.

My wife managed a BK for three years and a McDonald's for one. She says at McDonald's they train you to pull people up just to get them off the clock, catch your times up with everyone else in line and then serve the person you had pull up. Is that acceptable business practices to you? It isn't to me. If I have a big order I'm more than willing to be patient but if I order two double cheeseburgers and two small fries I should be in and out.

 

[runsandjumps]

I only go thru the drive thru if my kids are with me.
I have pulled out of the drive thru at Starbucks before ordering. I am usually one of those people who has a picky order. I am happy to pull up and wait for them to finish.
Ana

 

[Lorelei Lee]

I'm supposed to care about their times? If they cared about mine they would hurry the hell up.

I think it is pretty rude of them to serve other people before they serve me. Ya know first come first serve has obviously worked in the past why stop it?

My wife managed a BK for three years and a McDonald's for one. She says at McDonald's they train you to pull people up just to get them off the clock, catch your times up with everyone else in line and then serve the person you had pull up. Is that acceptable business practices to you? It isn't to me. If I have a big order I'm more than willing to be patient but if I order two double cheeseburgers and two small fries I should be in and out.

Yes it is acceptable business practice to me. Whatever keeps the line moving so that the maximum number of customers get served in the shortest amount of time. If I were behind you and you refused to move up when told to do so, I would be furious at you for screwing up the line. Your refusal to move up helps no one, not even yourself. How does it get your order done any faster?

Sounds to me like you're just being spiteful.

 

[DVC-Don]

One of my aunts had her Honda Accord totaled in a drive up lane. It was at a bank and the line was long and slow. The driver of a pickup truck behind her got impatient and pulled out of the lane. Problem was there was a snow plow on the front of the pickup and it caught the rear of her car and opened up the trunk and ripped out the right quarter panel like a can opener.

 

[tvguy]

I'm glad they added those spots. If they had those where the OP was, they could have had the van pull up and park while the OP got his order.

I love when I go to McDonalds for chocolate chip cookies and they ask me to pull into one of those spots. It means the cookies are just coming out of the oven!

I haven't seen the spots actually used before, but when they just had folks pull forward before the spots, it appeared that they complete people's orders in the order they received them. I never actually saw someone later in line get their food and leave while others were waiting, which made me wonder, why not just let them wait in the drive thru.

 

[mom2rtk]

I haven't seen the spots actually used before, but when they just had folks pull forward before the spots, it appeared that they complete people's orders in the order they received them. I never actually saw someone later in line get their food and leave while others were waiting, which made me wonder, why not just let them wait in the drive thru.

Hmm. I see them used for people who have a larger order, maybe a special order item, something like that. I usually see a couple cars finish and pull out before that car finally leaves.

If Sonic has someone delaying things at the window, they will send a car hop out to deliver orders to the car or two behind them, but there often isn't enough room to pull around the car in front of you.

 

[MIGrandma]

Yes it is acceptable business practice to me. Whatever keeps the line moving so that the maximum number of customers get served in the shortest amount of time. If I were behind you and you refused to move up when told to do so, I would be furious at you for screwing up the line. Your refusal to move up helps no one, not even yourself. How does it get your order done any faster?

Sounds to me like you're just being spiteful.

I agree with you. And if someone is told to move over to a parking space to wait for their order and they refuse, they just might find an "additive" in their food once they get it. You just don't mess with people who are serving your food. Seriously.

I haven't seen the spots actually used before, but when they just had folks pull forward before the spots, it appeared that they complete people's orders in the order they received them. I never actually saw someone later in line get their food and leave while others were waiting, which made me wonder, why not just let them wait in the drive thru.

I've had to move up out of the line when waiting for an order occasionally and I have seen other cars behind me leave with their food.

I think it is pretty rude of them to serve other people before they serve me. Ya know first come first serve has obviously worked in the past why stop it?

Wow. If you have a large and/or more complicated order than those behind you, and they ask you to move up and you refuse, and the poor guy behind you only ordered something to drink and they could give it to him immediately why shouldn't they serve him first? Makes much more sense to get people out of the way who have ordered less items, or that have a less complicated order than to make them wait simply because you refuse to move when asked to. Wow. Just....wow. Pretty selfish if you ask me (and even if you didn't ask ).

Do you feel the same way if YOU are the one with the small order and the person AHEAD of you refuses to move up? You could have your order and be on your merry way if they'd move. But you're okay with the fact that they WON'T move up?