A rotten visit to Taco Bell

Published on September 26, 2004 By Jamie Burnside In Misc

Today while I was watching the Vikings' game, I became hungry for Taco Bell. With five minutes left in the second quarter, I decided to run down to pick up some tacos for the second half.

So I get there...

The entire crew was in the back screwing around. Eventually I heard, "Hey, you gotta get that guy." So some girl finally came up to the register.

I ordered a chili cheese burrito, four tacos, and I wanted something else. I asked the foggy-eyed cashier, "What's a Meximelt?"

She answered, "I don't know..." Then she asked another kid behind her. He responded with an "I 'unno..."

I decided to go with something else.

So I put in my order and waited...

A couple of people who came after me placed and picked up their orders. And a few of the drive-thru customers came in to say that their orders were wrong.

I waited...

Three of the guys came out of the back to get a look at a "chick who was hot." The manager went ballistic on the crew. And I noticed a lot of sarcastic behavior from the kids towards subsequent customers.

Eventually I became mad enough to ask for my money back. Once the manager found her keys, she said that my food was up, and that I could have it for free.

I declined the offer. I told her "I'm not so confident that it'll be any good." She apologized, but it seemed like she understood.

I'll have to scratch that place off of my list for places to go to get food.

Moving out to the outer suburbs, it is so obvious how un-motivated suburban white kids are. (I worked with a lot of them when I was in high school!) I felt like I was visiting "Burger World" (as featured in the "Beavis and Butthead" cartoons.)

I'd much rather visit a fast food restaurant in a larger city where a lot of the employees are working to support their families, and apparently take (at least a little) pride in their work. They make up a better staff than a group of kids who are working to buy the latest Korn CD. (No offense to hard-working Korn fans. That's just the only newer group that I could think of.)

Comments

Janders

on Sep 26, 2004

the suburban comparison is very true.... My food always gets messed up at the McD's by my parents and by my mall, but the one downtown near our house, They do a good job.

Dusk411

on Sep 26, 2004

I went to a McDonald's one time, where this young girl is talking to someone ahead of me in front of the register. I thought it was my turn, but then she said she was on break. Then this young guy comes up to the register, yells at the girl and tells her "you only have 2 minutes left of your break" and is a snot to me. He heaves a huge sigh and looks ticked to be working at all, because apparently he wasn't supposed to be working that night at all. Everything I asked for seemed to be like a huge ordeal for him to do.

I don't think the kids you were talking about are not even ready for the working world, it's just something that's impeding their social life but paying for their cars. I don't think their parents instilled a work ethic in them, though. I think that's where it starts. If they hear or see their parents talk about how much they hate work, etc, the kids are going to think "work isn't something valuable or something I have to take pride in."

chiprj

on Sep 26, 2004

That is a crappy Taco Bell. That's too bad.

I ordered a chili cheese burrito

I miss the chili cheese burrito. They quit making them in the Taco Bells in Hawaii, California, and Korea.

Locamama

on Sep 27, 2004

I think some of it has to do with management too. Our TB in MD was great. There was a manager up there who was really on the ball and when he left service and quality went totally in the crapper. I remember my two weeks of being a fast food employee at Hardees back in the orange and brown plaid shirts and newsboy cap days. It gave me a whole new appreciation for the crap you have to put up with working in those places. It wasn't a pleasant place to work that's why I went to work at the Krogers that paid $1 more an hour and now brown newsboy hat required. Of course, that doesn't mean that those who work in fast food shouldn't do their jobs.

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