Wendy's Bashing

[TheFugitive]

I had not eaten lunch at Wendy's in quite some time as the location closest to where I work closed months ago.

They sent me some coupons, and the deals were just too good to pass up.  So I drove the extra ten minutes to what is now their closest location.

Last week it took me 18 minutes from the time I drove into the lot till the time I left the drive-thru with my food.  Granted, that was not all their fault.  Many of their customers apparently have no idea how to navigate a one lane drive-thru.  There were several near collisions. Even though the store has 2 drive through windows the first one was closed for some reason.  The harried employee at the other window, who was clearly overwhelmed, was having to take orders, take payment and distribute the food.  His work station was trashed as it looked like things were quickly getting away from him.

Today was worse.  There was only one customer in front of me in the drive-thru, but she took ten minutes to order her food using hand gestures.  (do these drive-thrus have cameras? can they see that?).  Again the first window was closed and one clerk was doing everything from the second one.  There were two employees on break standing out in the middle of the drive-thru lane in front of that staffed window.  The lady in front of me had to swerve way out of the lane to go around them in order to leave.  As I sat and waited those two employees began dancing in the middle of the drive-thru lane!   I got my food and asked if there was ketchup in the bag.  The kid at the window snarled at me, "No, ketchup is served ON REQUEST ONLY!", and then tossed a couple of packets at me.

I swerved around the dancing employees on break and pulled into a parking space. I bit into my burger and found it had mayo on it, which I had not ordered.  I took it inside the store to the counter.  The one good experience in all of this was that the girl working there was extremely apologetic and polite, and quickly made me a burger without mayo.

This Wendy's location is apparently having some major issues with staffing.

[giantsfan2016]

Yes. Wendy's is notoriously slow. I remember back in 2002 I was working as a board operator at the local radio station. (The guy who plays the local commercials during national talk shows an play-by-play). We stopped at the Southington Wendy's at about 1:40PM. The Wendy's is like a 10 minute drive straight down Route 10 from the radio station, so plenty of time to get me to the radio station by 2PM. There was like two people in line ahead of me. I didn't get out of Wedny's until 1:52! My mom sped down Route 10 and I'm scarfing down my burger, fries, and soda in the car. I ate all my burger and most of my fries. We got to the station at 2:03 as the national network newscast is airing and I get in the door of the station. I quickly wash my hands and apologize to the station manager and sit down in the studio at 2:05PM just in time for the syndicated talk show to begin.

[TheFugitive]

I think part of the problem with Wendy's speed of service is that the menu is
just too darned big.  The staff always seems to look confused.

[TheFugitive]

Went to Wendy's last night after getting my hair cut.
Walked in to eat in the dining room.

There was no cashier manning the counter.  I saw two credit card readers
and two LCD screens facing me.  I thought perhaps they had gone to a self-ordering
kiosk system.  But when I touched the screen nothing happened.

Two minutes later a thoroughly disinterested looking young man came out
to take my order.  He spoke in a whisper, did not make eye contact, and (once
again) struggled to give me correct change.  I ordered iced tea.  He did not ask
me if I wanted sweetened or unsweetened, and this store did not have a
self-service drink bar. So he handed me a tea.  Fortunately he guessed right.
Must have been psychic.

Took my tray over to get some ketchup and napkins.  The one ketchup dispenser
was completely empty (in fact the top was off).   I used the second one which
was nearly empty, causing the ketchup to come out in a violent SPLAT due to
air pockets, splattering ketchup all over my (relatively new) white shirt.

For some reason when you place your order this store is beaming it right
back at you on an LCD screen that is bigger than the one on the television which
sat in my living room for seventeen years.

[Loki]

My local Wendy's is a diaster. There's always a bunch of kids behind the counter staring at their phones not working, even when it is crowded (how they still have their jobs, I don't know). Most of the time the burgers are really pink inside, even the thinner JR. burgers. The orders are always wrong and the service is really slow. Only go once in a blue moon, and every time proclaim, "I'm never going back!"

[TheFugitive]

Had my first experience in a Wendy's on Saturday where the food was actually bad.

I had a coupon for a spicy chicken sandwich combo meal.
Got the sandwich and although it was perfectly seasoned, the chicken was rubber.

I mean, actually like rubber.  Like a piece of tire.  I could not manage to bite through it.
If I had had a knife I might not have been able to cut through it.  It was as tough and
rubbery a piece of chicken as I have ever encountered in my life.   I could not eat it.

I also ordered unsweetened tea, took one sip and realized I had been given sweet tea.
(I am not a diabetic, but someday these crappy drive-thru speakers and inattentive employees
are going to kill one).

Paradoxically the fries were perfect.  Hot, perfectly cooked and salted.

[M.R.CALDOR]

Had my first experience in a Wendy's on Saturday where the food was actually bad.

I had a coupon for a spicy chicken sandwich combo meal.
Got the sandwich and although it was perfectly seasoned, the chicken was rubber.

I mean, actually like rubber.  Like a piece of tire.  I could not manage to bite through it.
If I had had a knife I might not have been able to cut through it.  It was as tough and
rubbery a piece of chicken as I have ever encountered in my life.   I could not eat it.

I also ordered unsweetened tea, took one sip and realized I had been given sweet tea.
(I am not a diabetic, but someday these crappy drive-thru speakers and inattentive employees
are going to kill one).

Paradoxically the fries were perfect.  Hot, perfectly cooked and salted.

Fries are difficult to screw up. If you run a restaurant and the fries are dreadful, you have a problem.