No Cheese

My absolute favorite part about your letter is that you totally
stated, "No pickles, no onions, no cheese and no french fries," three
times.

My other favorite part? WHO PUTS FRENCH FRIES ON A WHOPPER? If she
didn't understand no cheese, she sure as heck isn't going to
understand that you didn't want ANY fries, not just fries on your
Whopper.

I talk really fast, you may also have this issue. When you talk into
the microphone, you need to slow down, and not spit so many words out
at once. These are people, not machines.

I would have been frustrated at the cheese on my Whopper, too. You had
the option to exchange it. That was YOUR error.

I'm sure if you called the comment line, and explained, (nicely!) what
had happened, they might have sent you out a coupon.

Try that.

That's too bad I think many of us have had our fast food orders messed
up. In the past I've just exchanged it for the right item. They
don't mind and are very helpful.

A whopper, last time I checked, is a "cheeseless" sandwich. Thus, when
ordering one, there should be no mention of the word "cheese" unless
you are ADDING cheese. If you were ordering a sandwich that normally
includes cheese, like..um, a filet-o-fish, then if the associate hears
"cheese", it almost certainly means hold the cheese. After all, how
often does someone ask for a double cheeseburger add cheese? How often
does someone order a HAMburger and say "no cheese!"?

I work at a deli where we make sandwiches. All of our sandwiches are
completely customizable: type of bread, meat/or filling, cheese, and
condiments. To help minimize the errors, here's some helpful hints -

Do not say No anything! It's much faster and easier to say : Double
cheeseburger with pickles and onions only please, that's it.

Do not say Everything! There's a lot of crap in the store that can be
put on your sandwich. Don't assume that your everything is their
everything. Lettuce, tomato, ketchup, onion, pickles, whatever.

If you're not sure what comes on something, ASK! Don't assume that
you know, unless you've ordered it a million times. For example, a
Whopper has lettuce, tomato, onion, ketchup, pickle, and mayo. That's
exactly what I like and I know when I order a Whopper, if made
correctly, that is what I will get.

I feel for ya! I really do! I had a similar incident happen to me in
Taco Bell. I asked for a taco salad with no beans. The drama that I
witnessed over the employees (including the manager) trying to figure
out how to charge me or even how to put a taco salad without beans
together, still makes me chuckle! Needless to say, I haven't returned!
I don't want these folks to have recurring nightmares!

I have never worked at Burger King, but, I can imagine after a
gazillion million times of taking the same orders, a person can go
into into "auto-drive" and repeat the same things over and over.
Maybe, the person taking your order was having an extremely bad day
and had tons of things on her mind, as can happen in life.

The one thing I didn't see in your letter was what the manager said
when you complained IN the restaurant? That WAS the time to complain,
you know? Not after the fact. I bet it would have been resolved easily
and in a timely fashion.

Good luck to you!

"Whopper with ONLY ketchup and mustard, and a medium chocolate shake,
please."

(I worked at McD's through college and my first year after. I don't
stop at BK, so I'm not sure what else might be on a Whopper.)

Just like when you have a child. If you say, "Don't xxx", the child
may easily focus on the "xxx" instead of "Don't".

I order basically the same meal through McD's DT every day. I always
say, "Hi. # xxx with yy and Diet Coke, please." It doesn't cost me
any extra to greet the order taker and to say "please".

When I'm out doing errands and want a drink, I'll say, "Just a Diet
Coke, please."

I was trained to suggestive sell, or ask the customer if he/she would
like an item not ordered. A drink, fries, dessert. It's one way the
restaurant can add to sales. When I am asked, I may accept the
additional item, or I may say, "No thank you". It's just courtesy to
use the magic words. It's easy to do, and it can make you feel good.


To those who would like to denigrate fast-food employees as not being
MENSA candidates: Many people find that fast-food restaurants can
easily accommodate college class schedules and other schedules that
are not set in stone. I worked with a lot of people who are quite
intelligent but needed the flexibility of a BK or McD's schedule. We
don't always know exactly why someone is working at a particular
place, but we can always, always, use courtesy at these places.

First, if you were as snotty in person as you sound in your letter,
then I have to tell you that you probably should NOT have eaten that
sandwich. Chances are, it was snotty, also. Second, if having to pick
off cheese ruined your enjoyment, I think you probably need a hobby.
While it is irritating to have to repeat your self over and over, you
should have complained to the manager, and since you ATE the sandwich,
how can you justify getting your money back?

maybe when she asked "do you want cheese?" if you didn't repeat
EVERYTHING you didn't want on it..... lose the attitude also. No
business is perfect.

You didn't say anything about your burger having no cheese, so you can
forget about a refund. Why didn't you talk to a manager?

They should not have to reimburse you for the whole sandwich because
you ate it. But they should give you 50 cents back for the cheese
that they charged you for.

I like cheese.



I also like kites.

And you're writing a letter to corporate?!

Seriously, it's just cheese. Even if you're lactose intolerant, It's
not such a big deal that you need to write to corporate.

I feel for ya Lois.

I would state very clearly "plain hamburger" and I would get one with
everything on it.

I would say "large fries" and I would get a large Sprite.

I do think you should have gotten up out of your seat and made them
correct the error though.

If I had a dime for every "No Cheese" burger I've gotten with a big
sloppy slice of cheese on it! (& that stuff is like concrete - you
can't pull it off no matter what you do!)

I order my Whopper, no cheese, no onion, no lettuce, not a lot of mayo
- I'd say they get it right maybe 75% of the time, but I blame that on
myself because I ordered it "special." I know not everyone looks at
it this way, but I'm asking them to do something they don't normally
do. But I also have no qualms about POLITELY taking it back up and
asking them to make it right.

& I hate to say it, but most of the people working behind the counter
at BK and McDonald's aren't exactly what you'd consider MENSA
candidates. While I totally get that you were trying to AVOID the
problem by providing them all that information, ultimately it appears
you just confused them further.

It's also quite possible, as others suggested, that the fault was with
the person behind the grill who never heard your exchange with the
cashier.

Next time, keep it simple - instead of repeating the WHOLE THING over
again, wait for them to prompt you. That way you know they are paying
attention and ALWAYS aske them to repeat it back to you.

I don't know if you have noticed this but most fast food workers don't
have to worry about Mensa breaking down their doors anytime soon. But
then, i don't think that's a problem you'll have either, because you
can't get off your keister and make them pony up the correct burger.
You made your decision when you opted not to correct the situation.

Lois,
A little patience would go along way.
As you state "I said I want a Whopper with no pickles, no ohions, no
cheese, and no French fries. "
Leave out telling them about the fries until they have your burger
order personalized for you.
Also, considering the problems you and your family members have with
your orders you might review your whole approach to ordering or maybe
submit your order in writing.
Your jab at the associates' intelligence is a low water mark in letter
writing.
No Soup for you!!!!!
Bill R.

In fact, I don't mind it at all. What I do mind is how she chose to
phrase her order. What she wanted was a Whopper with no pickles and no
onions with a medium chocolate milkshake. Were I to order the same
thing, I would phrase it as such: "I'd like a Whopper with no pickles
and no onions and a medium chocolate milkshake," not "I want a
Whopper, no pickles, no onions, NO CHEESE, NO FRENCH FRIES," repeat
the entire shpeal twice more when asked for simple clarifications, and
then have to be asked if I wanted anything to drink and what size I
wanted.

My point was that she was being too clever by half. She thought she
was being specific, but all she was doing was confusing the clerk and
she ended up getting the wrong order because of it. If she'd been more
concise, and if she hadn't felt the need to be so insulting in her
response, maybe I wouldn't have needed to give her a hard time. But as
it is, I just call 'em like I see 'em.

She added too much unnecessary detail.

Eesh. you could have easily solved the problem by going up and asking
for another, no cheese.

BK messes up my order, very rarely... on one occasion I ordered a
'Whopper Cheese, nothing but EASY MAYO."

And that's what I got. Bun, meat, mayo! I didnt get angry though. I
found it hilarious and we still laugh about it, myself and the guys
working there.

I suggest though perhaps not insulting in your letters. They will be
taken more seriously.

It seems that people in those positions have a tendency to get into a
groove sometimes. When you say "No X", you really have to stress it,
and speak slowly if you have a list (like you did). If you run off
quickly (because you always order it that way) a list, while it makes
perfect sense to you, it may not to the CSR. I wouldn't guess the
average person would want "No X, No Y, No Z, No etc."

You really blew your argument out of the water when you described your
unwillingness to correct the unforgiveable mistake someone made. You
couldn't drag your butt off the stool to point out there was an error,
which you know they would have fixed. All you had to do was yell
sarcastically at the person "Why don't don't you drag the dust bunnies
out your ear, dearie, I said I DON'T WANT CHEESE!"

Yeah, that's the ticket. PAY ATTENTION, you idiot!

I feel the same way Lois. Whenever I go to Burger King I order the #11
with no #1, #2, #3, no onion rings, no Big Macs, with a Sprite. They
always get my order wrong!

If only they would pay attention...

I am glad you are perfect and never make a mistake at your work.
By the way, did the same person that took your order make your burger?
So I think you owe her an apology.

Then count yourself lucky. For the love of God, you're ordering food
in a fast food restaurant. And if it really bugged you, you'd have
taken it back to the counter and had them re-do it. But you didn't,
so why are you complaining? I really don't see the point of your
letter. Do you want someone fired? Do you want free coupons? Do you
want a free franchise so you can sell cheeseless hamburgers? You
didn't really have a point. So knock it off already!

Sounds to me like the manner in which you placed the order was
confusing to the employee. You wanted a Whopper with no pickles or
onions and a medium chocolate shake. Why didn't you just say that
instead of talking about cheese and french fries?

The fact that you didn't take the time to address your issues with the
manager at the time it happened tells me that it just wasn't that
important.

There's no way you deserve to be reimbursed.

ordered, she had not gained any more intelligence in the intervening
minutes. And I did not want to stand in line to talk to her anyway>

How rude! She didn't make your burger, someone in the back did. Did
you expect her to open it and check for cheese?

You had a chance to correct this at the restaurant. You don't need to
wait in line to correct an order, just go to the counter and explain
your problem.

So, no reimbursement for you!

Reply

Hmmm - you didn't complain at the time, didn't point the error to
anyone, yet expect freebies?

Not.

Gonna.

Happen.

This is fairly common practice at most fast food chains. They are
trained to "suggestive sell" to try to move as much product as
possible. It may be from habit to ask, and I agree it IS frustrating
when mistakes happen after repeating the order.
I don't think writing to corporate after the fact for reimbursement
for a meal one actually ate is as effective as bringing the receipt
and the product up to the cashier. The whopper with cheese is a
seperate line item, and if I recall correctly, it's a bit more
expensive.

Employee comprehension aside...
If all you wanted was a Whopper with no pickles and no onions, why
didn't you just say that?
They don't normally come with cheese unless requested.
Same with the fries.
If you had just said, "I'd like a Whopper with no pickles or onions
and a medium chocolate shake", chances are that's what you would have
gotten.
Maybe?