But it's Friday. And, it's Lent. I love cheese pizza, but never order it as I usually opt for hawaiian when ordering by myself as NOBODY else likes it, and when ordering with others most people aren't fond of cheese pizza. Thus, I usually indulge myself during Lent.
Seeing as I hadn't yet had my Lenten indulgance, and seeing as it's been a particularly exhausing week at work and I didn't want to wait for a pizza, I opted to get a personal pan pizza from the Taco Bell/Pizza Hut. I knew I'd be in for a wait, but I also thought I knew what I was getting myself into.
When I pulled in, the drive-thru had at least 6 cars waiting to get to the speaker. Being a fast-food employee in a former life, I figured my better bet would be to go into the almost empty lobby as the orders are put in order in which they are placed regardless of whether they are inside orders or drive-thru orders, thus allowing me to 'cut' in front of the cars still waiting to get to the speaker.
Yeah, wrong. There were two people in front of me when I got inside. I placed my order, filled my soda, and sat to wait. Two guys came in behind me to order, a family came in after them, and a lady with her daughter came in shortly after the family.
By the time the lady and her daughter placed their order, I'd been waiting nearly 15 minutes. Granted, I expected a wait of at least 10-15 minutes, so, though irritated, I was not upset quite yet. Lady and daughter sat at a chair near mine. And we wait. We wait so long that it's now been 10 minutes since lady and daugher sat down. Then we wait some more. At this point I realize I'm an idiot, because not only has every car in the drive-thru that was there when I arrived already been served and left, they've cleared out quite a few cars since.
At one point I notice the manager *almost* take charge by yelling at the counter girl who was sending text messages to "put that up!". Followed by the drive-thru girl, a perky girl with a loud mouth (I sat fairly far back from the counter and could hear everything she was saying the entire time I was in the store) asking for a change, with a response from her manager of "what the hell you need?". All of it in plain view of anyone in the store.
Lady with daugher looks at me at some point and comments on the wait. We both agree that it seems as if they aren't making the food for the inside customers in the order they were recieved compared to drive-thru. I hang on, now having waited nearly 30 minutes and realizing at this point if I demand a refund I'll just go home hungry on top of being angry, and knowing I'm the next person in line. Lady with daughter and I chat occasionally about the wait, and as I'm passing 30 minutes total time waiting, she storms up to the counter with her receipt.
I was rescued right then as they called the number for the men before me, and my own order. The one positive - my cheese pizza did actually have to be made (Lent and all - lots of orders for them) so I at least knew I wasn't sitting that long waiting for something sitting in a heating cabinet as the pizzas usually do. Content in that knowledge I grab my food and bolt, meanwhile hearing the beginnings of an exchange between lady with daughter and loud mouthed drive-thru girl that was quickly turning into dualing
bad_service and customers_suck.Considering I've walked into many pizza places on a Friday night and placed much larger to go orders, I still can't fathom what on earth took a little over 30 minutes. More than that, I can't fathom what the people before me, and lady with daughter behind me who ordered off the actual Taco Bell menu could have been waiting for. What I do know is inside orders were completely ignored for drive-thru ones - something I know happens anywhere since drive-thru times are monitored, but that I've NEVER seen happen to the extent where the person who's been waiting the least amount of time inside, with several people behind them, has been there at least 20 minutes.
Taught me a valuable lesson about why I'm so much happier now that I avoid fast food. Next time I want pizza for one, I'll call ahead to Imo's on my way home.