Well. I got to the Taco Bell, placed my order (chicken quesadilla and chicken baja gordita), and waited. And waited. And waited. And watched the drive-thru girl sit and gab with her co-workers and the person in the car at the window and otherwise not really do much. Twenty minutes later (I was watching the clock, because every minute I was there was a minute I wasn't getting paid) I finally got up to the window. The girl at the window mumbled something like, 'sorryforthedelay' and gave me my food. I think we all know where I'm going with this, and yes, I stupidly didn't check the bag, but instead sped back to work.
Once inside, I went to eat, and discovered two crunchwraps and one of those potato burrito things inside the bag. Most definitely not my order. I tried to call the restaurant (twice) but the phone just rang and rang with no answer. I was starting to get really irritated at this point, and work was slow, so I went back. I figured I would just go inside, talk to someone, get things straightened out. However, the lobby was locked. It was 10:30, and the sign said the lobby closed at 11. There was an employee leaning against one of the booths inside and I asked why the doors were locked in gesture-speak, to which he just gave an apathetic shrug.
So, I got back in line in the drive-thru. Once at the speaker, I asked why the lobby was already closed, and after a pause the female voice in the speaker was replaced by a male voice who introduced himself as the manager. They were short-staffed, he explained, so he had closed the lobby in order to only have one line; he thought that would speed things up a little. I explained the situation and everything, and he asked me probably three or four times what my original order had been. (To recap: chicken quesadilla and chicken baja gordita.) He assured me that they would "take care of it".
Another ten minutes later (still watching that clock) I got up to the window. The manager came up and asked me what my order had been (again) and (again) I repeated it, and he called it over to the people making food. After a few minutes he handed the back with a weak smile and half-hearted apology; I checked inside, saw a quesadilla and a gordita, and figured everything was all better.
Of course not. I ate the quesadilla first, and that was fine and tasty. Then I took a big bite of the gordita - and immediately spit it out again. It was most definitely not baja sauce in there, it was plain sour cream. And lots of it. I hate plain sour cream. And I didn't look too close, but I kind of suspect that with that much sour cream there might have been something else in there too.
So, to recap. The first time they took horrendously long and screwed up the order. The second time, they took not quite so horrendously long and screwed up the order. I don't think they get another chance.
Later that night I wrote an annoyed email to corporate. The next day I found two missed calls from that Taco Bell location on my cell, but they didn't leave a message. And a few days later I got a form letter with a coupon for two free Taco Bell items. So I guess I've been paid back, but I will definitely be redeeming that coupon at a different location.