Service with a scowl, no spoons, and how am I supposed to eat this?

Here's a heads up ... just in case. When you're ready to leave the
drive thru - put the car in drive and then step on the gas - bet
Wendy's didn't help you with that one either...no need to thank me -
just send me a spork.

Work in a fast food place is not rocket science. Yes, everyone makes
mistakes. The problem is that mistakes are the norm in the fast food
industry. When someone orders a drink, they should get a straw.
Order a salad, and you get a pack of dressing. Chicken Nuggets, and
you get some sauce. Why it is so difficult for the people working in
these establishments to understand this I will never know. The best
advice has been offered up by many folks on this topic already...check
your bags before you leave.

I agree with rebecca on this one. Some things may not be able to go in
the same bags due to size, weight, temperature; but the food should be
hot, fresh and you have to have the spoons, etc.

The only question is "had a few extra dollars" so you went to wendy's?
Drive thru? Eat inside.

FYI: I used to work at Wendy's - they CAN'T put the chili in the same
bag as the salad/sour cream - think about it, cool salad, hot chili.
How do they know how far you're driving before you eat it? The hot
chili is only supposed to go on the salad right before you eat it, or
the lettuce gets droopy and wilted.

I agree they should have put straws and spoons in for you though, I
think fast food places take it for granted sometimes that people might
have that stuff at the place they'll be eating at, when that is not
always the case.

read more at: The day Nestle turned thier back on me...

Ok, honestly let us all gain some perspective here. It really is
irrelevant whether or not this meal was romantic or whether it was hot
or whatever, the fact of the matter is, this particular Wendy's
probably could improve upon their customer service. With that being
said also, the posters of the letter have to understand also that
their own personal issues really have no bearing on the situation
either. You are making the situation become way too personal with the
constant explanations and postings (it was hot, she had a long day and
was hungry, I was trying to surprise her) because quite honestly, this
Wendy's restaurant's lack of customer service probably isn't an
isolated incident. You have every right to complain about your bad
experience and the people on this site shouldn't judge you b/c of the
type of restaurant you picked but remember that not everyone is going
to agree with you and just because they have a difference of opinion
doesn't mean that this is because they are pro-Wendy's and
anti-consumer. Some people don't let things like missing straws and
spoons bother them as much. Its a difference of opinion, and that is
really what it boils down to.

Your guy is a big spender, isn't he? j/k

The chili is separate at Wendy's. The chili is the "meat" portion of
their taco salad.

Since everyone else is commenting on this I might as well too...

I do understand why they would put the chili seperate, so the salad
wouldn't wilt and get all nasty. That's why they don't assemble it
right away for take out orders too. Lettuce wilts pretty fast when it
gets hot and that wouldn't be yummy at all! It would be nice if they
told people that the chili was in a seperate bag.

Everyone says people make mistakes but at Wendys I never get utensils
with my take out order. I get the occasional straw but sometimes not
even that. It doesn't bother me because I usually bring it home and I
have forks there but they should include them automatically. You can't
eat a frosty without a spoon! Well, I suppose you COULD but it would
be pretty messy! LOL.

I don't agree with everyone who is coming down on the guy because he
got her fast food. Wendy's chicken nuggets are my favorite and I'd be
happy if I was surprised with something I really liked!

Yeah it's greasy, yeah it's bad for you. It's not going to kill you to
eat it every once in awhile and hey... he did get her a salad! :)

I think you are right. When you go through the drive through, it
isn't a FAVOR from the restaurant, it's a service. You shouldn't have
to pull around or bring a list of requests to make sure they did their
job like "did you remember to put ketchup in my bag? How bout napkins?
How about making the WHOLE sandwich?" Because if you have to do that,
then they'd surely be giving you the evil eye or worse. There should
be a small exchange of friendly words and communication to make sure
everything is there. Yeah sometimes they forget stuff, everyone does.
But it sounds like they really bombed that order.

Well... just so you all could see what we're really talking about with
this taco salad bit... We thought we'd show you what the sign said
we'd get via the photo and no other info, vs. the COMPLETE taco salad
you get for a FEW CENTS LESS at Carl's Jr/Green Burrito.

Check out this image link:

Wendy's Taco
Salad

YOU are part of the problem with the service industry today.

We came to PlanetFeedback.com to complain without ASKING FOR ANYTHING
AT ALL BUT THAT WENDY'S IMPROVE IT'S SERVICE.

We're not looking for money. We're not looking for payback. We don't
want freebies. All we want is good service for our buck.

We also don't need an opposing viewpoint (yes, this means YOU, Ms.
Iconophiliac.) Wendy's gets PLENTY of chance to say their piece
through the millions they spend every year on advertising their happy
smiling workers doing their jobs properly - which somehow doesn't
happen in EVERY restaurant in the chain in EVERY city in America. And
we know from experience that there are good and bad of most chains,
and here in Sacramento, we've managed to find both. But this
particular day was the single worst, most careless gathering and
execution of an order from any restaurant we've ever had. It was
terrible.

And by the way, young'un... You'll learn one day when you're 30 or 40
and for the 20th time, you've gotten something other than what you
paid for and had every right to expect, that things aren't always so
nice that you can sit and defend those giant corporations who don't
really need your help at all - you'll be too busy trying to survive
the reat of what life has to offer to want to deal with idiocy on the
level of what we found that day at Wendy's.

So to those commenters that want to pick nits and find fault with us
for making a complaint on a system MADE FOR MAKING COMPLAINTS - Why
don't you find some other cause that makes more damned sense to chase
after.

Some of the commenters here seem to think that we are trying to "put
one over" on Wendy's for some reason. *BUZZZZZZZZZZ* Wrong.

We asked for nothing. We run a business, and our first job is MAKING
THE CUSTOMER HAPPY. THAT'S CALLED SERVICE, FOLKS. IF YOU WORK IN A
SERVICE-RELATED FIELD, MAYBE YOU SHOULD TRY IT.

Nuff said.

The drive-thru is not the place to make a customer complaint. What was
Wendy's supposed to do: summon the manager to the drive-thru window
and have him talk it out with Drew until he was satisfied and make
everybody in line behind him wait for their meals? Not exactly good
for business.

As for the "finger in the chili" incident, that was found to be a hoax
and the perpetrator was convicted and sentenced to jail time. So I
don't see how that is indicative of poor customer service on Wendy's
part.

There's basically two choices here. My ignition goes off. There's a
line and frustrated people are either leaving or parking or trapped
and going in and complaining about the wait. OR a manager comes to the
window to diffuse the situation in a civil, courteous and respectful
manner. It's a win/win situation for me. I'd pick the second if I were
the manager. Having a customer arrested for trespassing is not good
for business either. Especially if the media and law enforcement sides
with the customer. Been there too.
You're one hundred percent right on the finger incident. I guess
wendy's huge multimillion dollar PR campaign and advertising push was,
like, a waste of money????? It could have happened to another chain,
and one would kind of expect a bit more educashion on the service end
of the business. I was totally wrong and I'm not afraid to admit it.
My humble apologies.

When I worked at Hardee's, I think I did a really good job, but we had
great managers who really instilled a sense of "pride of workmanship."
If I messed up someone's order, ESPECIALLY at the drive through, and
the person returned with their bag or tray of food, I felt really bad,
apologized, and did what I could to make it right. I apologized even
if it wasn't my fault, and often did so when it was the customer's own
fault.

We weren't allowed to say "screw" as in "I screwed up their order,"
because some customers may be offended by the use of that word.

These days, I can go to McDonald's in downtown Minneapoolis and watch
employees give each other the finger and tell each other to "F off."
Lovely.

Mistakes happen, get over it. It's amazing how many people think they
are entitled to getting things free. Sometimes they forget the straws
it happens. They didn't do it on purpouse, they didn't set out to make
your lunch break horrible. They are very busy and are packing many
orders at one time. The simple solution" check your bags to make sure
everything is their before you leave. As for the bone in the chicken
nuggets, that shouldn't happen you should get your money back - but
just for the nuggets.

Please, please, please start checking your bag before you leave the
drive through.

Chickens have bones, yes bones!!

Search all of your bags before jumping to conclusions.

And lastly, again, check your bags before you leave. You would have
avoided alot of your problems had you looked. You have eyes for a
reason.

I also visited my hometown Wendy's for take-out and ordered 3
sandwiches. On arriving home, I found only 2 so I headed back to the
restaurant took my bag and receipt inside. I was told that ALL items
had been put into the bag and I must have taken one out and was trying
to cop a free burger.....the price of gas to drive back was more than
the burger was worth. However, I did not count on being called a
LIAR!!! I did not get a replacement and left and will NEVER go back
there.

Good clear letter that raises some legitimate concerns. I agree that
Wendy's seems to be sliding downhill in customer service. Their
chicken items are "cheaped-out" compared to the stuff they sold before
the "improvements" and the new menu. And it really makes me angry when
to-go orders are bagged without obvious items like napkins, straws or
even a spoon.

Maybe the management at Wendy's corporate just doesn't care anymore,
and if that's the case, we should all spend our money somewhere else.

chili is hot, salad is cold

That is why it is bagged seperately otherwise the customer would
complain "my salad is wilted"

There are some complaining customers that are not polite and treat
the workers with rudeness right off the bat, ie, how dare you mess up
MY order you forgot this .....

straws are not given for frosty's unless requested

This is a very well written letter and I'm impressed that you didn't
ask for coupons or something.

I agree wtih everything you say about training. I hope they listen to
you.