Top 10 Most Irritating Things that Happen When Ordering at a Drive Thru
While we've had several lists about drive-thrus, they've been mostly comical and usually not realistic. Here's one that is.
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They forget to give you something you specifically requested
Kind of an obvious irritating thing here because it happens so often. You say "no onions on my burger" and they still give you a burger with onions. Or you say "add ranch dressing," then realize the bag has no ranch dressing.
This is why people tend to wait before driving off to make sure they have everything they need.
Definitely. I hate when I ask for no tomatoes or no onions or something like that, and they just completely forget not to put it.
Me: No onions or tomatoes please
Attendant: No problem
*Couple of minutes later*
Attendant: Here's your food, thank you for coming!
Me: Ok thanks
*Driving out from the drive-thru*
*Checks food*
Me: Ahhh man, they put onions and tomatoes.
*Tries to scrape it off*
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The person in front of you takes forever to order
And it's always the person in front of you, every single time. Who are they feeding, a huge family?
You can never tell, but this kind of leads to long lines that prevent people from getting where they need to go.
Amen. I don't get too mad, but it is annoying when someone in front of me takes forever.
THIS IS SO ANNOYING. It's like, come on, I just want to eat. And then you start wondering how many people they're going to feed. A whole country?!?!
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The line is super long
Rather obvious, but it ties in with the #1 pick because the lines are long thanks to those people who take forever to order.
That being said, sometimes the restaurant is just that popular. Chick-fil-A, Chipotle, and McDonald's in particular are always loaded with customers.
When you wait in a line for a really long time: "Really? If I wanted to wait in a super long line, I would've gone to Disneyland!"
This might be my least favorite. Or whenever you go to Sonic and every booth is filled.
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You're told that the restaurant is out of a certain product
That sucks. I remember that happened with my Oreo Blast once.
Speaks for itself.
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The attendant tells you to wait at the marker/parking spot and then bring it out to you
Several drive-thrus tell you to wait at a certain parking spot or marker, and you end up waiting a lot longer.
It makes even less sense if your order isn't even that big.
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Someone honks at you because they think you take too long
Maybe you do have a large order. Maybe you were prepared to order it well before (honestly, this is my main problem with my #1 pick: they go up but then don't remember why they came or something).
But I do remember this happening sometimes, where someone even more impatient than you has to honk their horn as if I can help the line move any faster.
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The restaurant doesn't accept cash
I can't speak for a lot of places, but I remember going to one where they strictly said they would not take cash.
It was awkward for me since I usually don't trust someone else holding my card for purchases (unless it's a gift card), and I usually pay for fast food with cash.
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You can barely hear the attendant from the speaker
Yeah, this is so annoying. Some fast food places should just fix their intercoms. Good list.
Either their accent is difficult to understand, or they just speak too quietly.
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"One moment please"
It occurred to me that one of the main reasons the drive-thru line is long isn't necessarily the customer's fault.
It's the cashier who starts with, "Hi, what will you order today?" but then says "One moment please" or "We'll be right with you," and it takes eight minutes. Meanwhile, a bunch of other customers get angry, and worse yet, they get angry at the customer trying to order. All because the cashier is either busy with someone else, or in the worst cases, on their phone.
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The cashier forgets to input your coupon to change the total
This has happened to me a few times. Usually, coupons weren't used at drive-thrus before the pandemic, but now you basically have to tell them you have a coupon so they'll remember.
This causes a problem with the total you have to pay. Sometimes you need to remind them that it should be lower because of the coupon.
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They no longer serve what you wanted
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You get a flat tire in the middle of a really long line
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People ordering drive thru while hauling trailers, boats, etc.
These things take up more space for other cars in drive-thrus and contribute to the headaches of long lines. I get that some people are hauling things, but would it kill them to unhook the trailer and go through with just the car?
It's a minor irritant, but it's still valid.
I don't get why people do that. You know it's going to be a tight squeeze, so why would you even try?