Please Tell Me Your Code!  

(I am in line during the middle of the lunch rush during summer so it is crazy busy; the line is all the way to the door. Right after I get in, a guy with a boy about five years old comes in.)

Kid: “I’m gonna go get the salt so we can get hot fries.”

(The guy nods and the kid walks off to the condiment stand.)

Me: *knowing what he is about to do and knowing how much the staff here is going to hate that* “You know there is an easier way than ordering with no salt, right?”

Guy: “What? I’ve been ordering that way for years now and I always get them fresh and hot; ain’t no other way to do it.”

Me: “Yes, there is. Trust me; I used to work fast food. There is a code you use to let the staff know you are a former fast food worker and they always give you freshly salted fries.”

Guy: “Really?”

Me: “Oh, yeah, super-secret, but if you listen in while I order, you’ll hear it. Sometimes you have to wait a few minutes, but you have to wait for the no-salt ones all the time, right?”

Guy: “Yeah, we do, and then the salt don’t taste right.”

(The kid returns and the man tells him that they are about to learn an insider trick to getting fresh fries, with the salt already on them. The kid gets really happy and keeps asking, “Really? Really?” So, by the time I next in line, at least a dozen people are watching and listening to hear the “secret code.”)

Me: *to cashier* “I’ll have an [order], and I’d like fresh fries, please; I don’t mind if I have to wait.”

Cashier: *smiling hugely* “Of course you can. That’ll be [price]. Your number is 42. We’ll call you when the fries are ready.”

Guy: “Wait, I missed it. What was the secret code?”

Me: “Asking for them and saying, ‘please.’”

(Several other people in line started snickering and I’m pretty sure I got extra fries with my order that day.)