Food lottery
Tricia Segobia, Emporia
Monday, March 23, 2009
WHAT DOES that phrase mean?
It simply means that we have learned to accept the odds of getting fresh and correctly fried french fries. I cannot count the number of times I have reached into that bag and pulled out soggy, old, cold, or under cooked french fries. Why we have become accustomed to playing the odds of good or bad fries? We paid for this item yet we accept it and move on. Our fast food restaurants have replaced fresh with faster. Their drive-through times are more important than quality. They have forced the consumer to accept less than fresh just to ensure that their drive-through times are acceptable to the management’s requirements. If they don’t have your order ready you must then pull up to stop their clock but not yours. Why is their 60 seconds more important than ours? Good service and food is no longer a requirement, just fast.
How many of you would rather wait that extra minute or two to get better service and what you came for in the first place? I used to appreciate the efforts of the employee who would tell me that they are making it fresh and I was a valued customer. Now I get to pull up and wait. To be pushed out of line like I am a inconvenience to their timed requirements.
Does the quality then improve? I would like to say yes, but this is when the undercooked fries shows up. The rest of the order has been tossed together so fast that it falls apart when the wrapper comes off. You then get to your destination and find part of your order is missing. Do we go back and make them correct it and get what we paid for? No, it takes too much more of our time. But if you do, they look at you sideways and then apologize for the your trouble. Maybe they should have done it right the first time?
Is our society in that big of a hurry that 60 seconds has become to much to bare to wait for fresh food made right? Is 60 seconds really that valuable to the establishment to serve less than quality food and forget about good service? A thank-you goes a long way, but how often is this replaced with bags stuffed in our faces to get us off those timers?
Faster isn’t always better. Quality and a thank-you is.
create (anonymous) says...
May I suggest a sack lunch from home? A good ole pb&j doesn't even need to be refrigerated. There's only one way to convince these timer terrorists to stop timing your grub -- go elsewhere. Ever try that little tortilleria down on East 6th? Really great food, and fast too. No soggy fries there. No fries at all. Fries are bad for you anyway. Try their burrito. You can share it with a friend and it will still fill you up. Ole!
March 23, 2009 at 4:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hottopics (anonymous) says...
Back to the subject at hand. My money and my time is valuable. But when you do go through the drive thru, they practically throw the food at you when you are still trying to get your money out. SLOW DOWN already.
I got bad fries again, yesterday. But thats not the point. Its not just the fries and whether or not they are good for you, its the quality and service that should be addressed with these fast food places.
March 23, 2009 at 8:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hottopics (anonymous) says...
Mr.Who, you are just being sarcastic because you can. Read the article, it isn't just about soggy fries.
March 23, 2009 at 10:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
josiesbar (anonymous) says...
"Good service and food is no longer a requirement, just fast."
My counter-argument to this is three characters:
J's
March 23, 2009 at 10:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
josiesbar (anonymous) says...
Create:
+1 on the Mexican place on E 6th. AWESOME food! The Mexican place across from the skate park on South is good too!
March 23, 2009 at 10:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oh4theluvof (anonymous) says...
I have to add Bad Ol Berns--they are the best. They are so good that I don't care that they don't have a drive thru. Great service, the best smoked meat ever! There are a few fast food places around here that I will not go to any more and the top of the list is the one housed in the Prairie Port Plaza. My last experience there involved service so hateful and horrible that I was afraid to eat the food. That was over a year ago and I will never go back. There is alot of good service on the "not west" side of town at some places that value the customers.
March 23, 2009 at 11:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
josiesbar (anonymous) says...
mrwho,
If you ate one of those burritos from the Mexican place on 6th in one sitting, my hat is off to you sir. Those things are HUGE!
March 23, 2009 at 11:41 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hottopics (anonymous) says...
Something positive after all. Hearing about the restaurants that do go the extra mile for their customers. I agree, Bad Ol Berns has the best fries along with the best BBQ. J's Carryout has the best service, hands down and the food presents itself the same way. The larger franchises should take note to these places we actually don't mind driving out of the way for.
Now i'm hungry.
March 23, 2009 at 11:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
josiesbar (anonymous) says...
Not really fast-food per se, but I'm going to put Bobby-D's in there too. Awesome food (cheesy potatoes anyone?!?), great service, and pretty quick too, for carry-out especially. I do have to add a +1 to Bad Ol Bern's too! Man, now I'm hungry too! Here's my top choices for what I consider fast food:
Best Burger-- J's
Best BBQ-- Bad Ol Bern's
Best Mexican-- Place on E 6th (anyone know the name? haha)
Best Francise Fast Food-- Taco Bell on 6th ( REALLY fast and accurate)
Best Franchise Burger-- Braum's
Finally, Best Fries-- Arby's Curly-Qs
This has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with this article, but I just noticed that none of these places allow smoking. Not that this means anything, I just wanted to point out that most of my favorite places to eat in town don't allow smoking, for anyone who might complain they can't find a place to eat that doesn't allow smoking.
Matt
March 24, 2009 at 1:20 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
admireed (anonymous) says...
Where on East 6th? I can not place it in my mind.
March 24, 2009 at 3:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
neighbor (anonymous) says...
6th and Sylvan Northside of the street, excellent huge burritos for around $5.
March 24, 2009 at 4:24 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Pingeon (anonymous) says...
Agreed. Burrito place on E. 6th is awesome. The burrito is HUGE and very reasonably priced.
March 24, 2009 at 5:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
neighbor (anonymous) says...
Here's a novel idea for Tricia and others who are tired of soggy fries at the fast "food" joints. Check your purchase before you pull away from the window or take the time to go inside, order at the counter and inspect them before you leave. You can only be taken advantage of if you allow it.
March 24, 2009 at 9:26 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
roger (anonymous) says...
Jay used to make a killer burrito when he was a track dog. lol
March 24, 2009 at 9:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bdprotheroe (anonymous) says...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V168xo...
March 24, 2009 at 10:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hottopics (anonymous) says...
The comment at the end of that first video part was dead on.
Take Care of your customers and your business will take care of itself......quoted by Ray Croc, McDonalds founder?
And maybe we should all stop and take the time to look in our bag before we leave the window. If more people made them remake it right they will run up those window times and have to get it right the first time.
March 25, 2009 at 5:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )