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 How is Burger King out of sweet tea at 8 p.m.?
Posted Thu September 24, 2009 12:00 pm, by Toby E. written to Burger King
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This is concerning BK store 07957 on West Franklin Blvd. in Gastonia, NC.
I am writing this quickly because I'm still on my supper break and I'll be blogging about this later.
This is not the first time I have had issues with this particular store. I had stopped going to any Burger King at all, in fact, for much of the year. It was a trip to the store on the other side of town that soured me on Burger King earlier in the year. The alleged great new tea was horrible and I figured I didn't need to have Burger King in my rotation.
On Tuesday night (09-22-09), I went to this particular Burger King on my 30-minute supper break. I got the Original Chicken Sandwich, the 2 for $3 special, and forgot how good that sandwich was. I remember when it came out back in 1979 (along with the steak sandwich, which I still miss). I eat them plain (who needs anything on chicken?) and had to wait for them, but it was worth the wait. They were hot and juicy, to steal someone else's old slogan (THEIR hamburgers haven't been juicy in years). I also got onion rings and sweet tea. The rings were great (they are the only onces I eat anywhere) but I was hoping the tea would be better than it was the last time I ordered it months ago. Nope. It was Nestea. I would put money on it ... I know what fast-food Nestea tastes like (I used to get it at a Central Park location. They had great burgers and fries.).
Great meal .. so I went back at supper Wednesday night to get the same order. Sandwiches, rings, tea. I kept asking the person on the orderboard if the tea was brewed. He kept telling me it was. I asked three times and he kept telling me it was.
Background: I am a copy editor, page designer and blogger at a daily newspaper. I am also a kidney dialysis patient. Protein is good for me (meat, chicken, etc.) NO French fries or baked potatoes or brown drinks (Coke, Pepsi), because of the phosperous contained. Also, water and BREWED tea. Big difference. Chick-fil-A, Bojangles, McDonalds and most other fast food restaurants have brewed tea. Nestea in bottles and in dispensers HAS phosperous and I can't drink it.
End of background. So, my bill rings up at 7.74. I pulled forward, had to wait about three minutes for the truck in front of me, then pulled up. I paid, and about two minutes later, the window opened and I thought he was going to ask me to pull forward as I had Tuesday night while my food was prepared.
Instead, the kid who insisted that the tea was brewed informed me that the restaurant was out of sweet tea. At 7:59 at night. Stunning. And weak. I told whoever was nearby that I can't drink green tea (it's on the can't-drink list), unsweetened tea, brown colas, anything without caffeine (I'm here at work until 12:30 a.m.) ... and I was exasperated by now. Someone inside asked if I wanted my money back and noting Chick-fil-A is next door, I answered in the affirmative.
I didn't get 7.74 back. I got a couple of ones and a dime or so. I got stiffed ... but I didn't feel like going back. Thirty minutes goes fast, especially when you have driven half the time to the place you want food from. A girl opened the window and gave me some money back and told me that the tea comes in a box (very weak). Kidding, right? I knew the kid was telling a fib because I know what fresh brewed tea tastes like. But I got stiffed, too.
This ... is not customer service. Clark Howard would csll it customer no-service. I have worked in customer-service intense organizations before, and something like this would be something close to grounds for dismissal or probation.
It looks like I will have to drive halfway actoss town to go to BK. It's amazing there's no location near Westfield Eastridge mall; there used to be and you can still see the architecture of the building where a Chinese restaurant is now.
I expect better from Burger King. I have been eating the chain's food since the 1970s when a location opened in Columbia, S.C.
Sorry it ran long ... but I write for a living and can put more that two words together to form a sentence.
Are you kidding? Tea from a box? EVERYBODY serves fresh brewed tea these days ... everybody, that is, who wants customers. I may still go to Burger King for the food ... but I sure as heck will go somewhere else to get the tea. Just watch me.
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by Anonymous A. Posted Tue September 29, 2009 @ 3:28 AM
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Lol,..sadly, every fast food is not how they used to be. Everything
comes pre-packed in bags or boxes. You want some good brew tea? Maybe
try starbucks or a coffee shop.
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The tea is most likely BREWED off-site at BK's distribution/processer
(whatever) and is then bagged/boxed and shipped to the store. So, the
employee was technically right. He was not lying to you. Lying would
be telling you it is brewed when they really serve nestea made from
concentrated syrup-like soda. So I don't think this case is even
close to grounds for being put on probation or fired as you think.
And as we have all said before, restaurants can and do run out of
items on occasion.Which is unfortunate and a pain if the item they are
out of is the item you wanted to order. I usually give them a break
the first time they are out of something, but if it is a consitent
issue on my visits, there is a problem there.
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by Zara M. Posted Fri September 25, 2009 @ 7:12 AM
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Quick question to clear up some confusion. You said you can't have
Unsweetened Tea. To me, that seems a little strange that you can have
Sweetened Tea but not Unsweetened. The chemical constitution of both
teas would be the same except for the addition of sugar so I don't
think it would affect your condition.
Just curious.
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by PepperElf Posted Fri September 25, 2009 @ 12:22 AM
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everyone serves fresh brewed tea?
If you're ordering a cup of tea and a cup of hot water and a tea bag
arrive then yes...
but many of the mass-produced teas aren't as "fresh" as you think.
and yes, many food service industries use boxed forms of beverage.
My first Navy ship switched to coffee concentrate in a box, instead of
making it fresh. They attached a hot water line to the machine, and
it it pulls a bit of water and a bit of concentrate out and gives you
a cup of coffee.
on the pro side it's consistent flavor and texture.
personally i hated it but that's just because i like my coffee
stronger than the average bear.
and for tea there are some brands that taste pretty good. Oregon Chai
is omg yummy.
anyway for fast food.. i'd be surprised if they *weren't* doing that.
it makes things faster and you can serve more people at once than you
can if you are making it the old fashioned way. (especially since
there are those who would be offended if they had to wait for some new
tea to be brewed)
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