Taco Bell is Never Prepared for Opening

A chicken sandwich is not something many people order at 10am. They
have to control costs in order to stay in business and, therefore,
don't want to make a lot ahead just in case YOU happen to darken their
doorway with your presence. Do yourself a favor and either fix some
food at home that's more healthy, or sit patiently until they can make
your food fresh and hot instead of luke warm from under the heat
lamp.

They don't know yhour schedule and for the most part, people don't
want dinner 1 hour before bedtime is not generally thin, and therefore
casts a large shadow. I worked the graveyard shift for awhile, and
realized I was in the minority and if I wanted a steak at 7am, I'd
have to wait for it.

I don't know how anonymous you can be. You're the first person in
line every morning when they open their doors. They probably even
have a nickname for you.

As time goes by, I've noticed the issue with chicken at faster food
services too.

I know uncooked and improperly cooked chicken has a HIGH rate of
developing bad things, like salmonella. What about cooked chicken?

Is this maybe a health issue?

Or is it just a freshness/waste issue?

Not disputing the claim at all, I'm just curious why I see this so
much now. I don't frequent "fast" food much anymore, but I do notice
I have to wait a lot longer for chicken items.

I hate this too. This happened at Arby's recently. My dad ordered a
chicken sandwich of some kind and the kitchen had NO chicken cooked
and ready to go. My dad waited 20 minutes for his sandwich! I hope
you get some sort of feedback on this!

I do believe the other person meant "older" as in persons who were
older than the typical high schooler, but, not the senior trying to
supplement their social security.

With that distinction, I happen to agree (generally) with both of you.
People in their 30's and 40's who are working the job, probably have
screwed up in life, and not had the ambition to go further (or, have
had a hard time and any job will do) and the motivation is just not
there.

On the otherhand, older senior employees are "old school" and know
what customer service used to be, and they know how to provide it--
usually.

I agree completely. When the doors open, every food item on the menu
should be available. This store either is poorly managed/supervised,
or they aren't allowed to have enough people there in the morning to
get everything ready (to save money on wages). Good for you for
letting them know.

Great letter.

former taco bell crew member here...we had to get there 8:30 or 8 am
to prep.

This is excellent feedback for Taco Bell and you have every right to
be upset.

It would be one thing if this were a one time situation however it
appears to be a consistent thing.

Taco Bells have an opening prep list however no matter how low it
might be, they are still supposed to open with a full prep line. That
means, at a minimum:

5 pounds of cooked beef
1 pound of cooked chicken
1 pound of cooked steak
full container of refried beans
containers of all the sauces
container of cooked rice
a full line of lettuce/cheese/tomatoes etc.

I suspect the reason they have chicken and potato nuggets available at
open is because these take much less time to prepare than the beef.

What it sounds like is they are strangling the open meaning they dont
bring their people in early enough so they can properly set the line
up. Instead, they get the quick stuff up first while the other stuff
is cooking and hope no one comes in during the first fifteen minutes.

Or it could be bad management. Or both.

Here's hoping you get a successful resolution which, in this case,
doesn't really mean a free meal as you've already got one of those.
Instead, here's hoping this store gets its act together and starts
opening on time properly.

I think that's the problem. Just as you can't suggest how much to
prepare to cover the odd morning customer, it would be difficult for
them to know. I suspect they already have what they consider is
enough, based on the sales history for that location.