He’s Flipped About The Burgers Before The Burgers Have Flipped
(At the fast food chain where I work, we have several types of chicken sandwich, chicken wraps, and various other chicken items. We also used to have Angus burgers, which were recently replaced with quarter-pound burgers with similar toppings because Angus was becoming too expensive. As a result, we often get questions about the new sandwiches from customers expecting the Angus burgers. Normally, this isn’t an issue. Not so with this customer, who can’t even manage to tell me what kind of sandwich he wants!)
Me: “Hi, welcome to [Restaurant]. How can I help you?”
Customer: “Yeah, I need a crispy chicken sandwich.”
Me: “Okay, sir, which of our sandwiches did you want?”
Customer: “Crispy.”
Me: “All right, but did you want the club, the BLT, the classic…? We also have chicken wraps you can get crispy, and dollar chicken sandwiches which are small…”
Customer: “Is that crispy?”
Me: “Well, yes, the chicken is crispy, but it’s small—”
Customer: “No, I don’t want the small one; let me call my wife.”
(He proceeds to call his wife, which isn’t uncommon when a customer is ordering take-out and the person who sent them was too vague. He comes back after the call to finish ordering.)
Customer: “Well, I guess the number fourteen—” *basically chicken with pickles and butter on a bun* “—would be the closest thing to crispy…”
Me: *trying to be helpful and make sure that’s what he wants* “Yes, sir, that sandwich is crispy; is that what you’d like? We can put crispy chicken on any of our chicken sandwiches or wraps for you.”
Customer: “Yeah, I’ll just have the number fourteen.”
Me: *as I punch in that combo* “Okay, sir, anything else?”
Customer: “Yeah, I want your bacon cheeseburger.”
Me: “Oh, you mean our new bacon quarter-pound burger?”
Customer: *getting annoyed* “No, I want your half-pound burger.”
(I’m extremely confused; there has NEVER been a half-pound burger at this fast food chain, ever.)
Me: “I’m sorry, sir, you meant the bacon and cheese quarter-pound burger?”
Customer: “No, I don’t want no quarter-pound burger. I want the half-pound one. You gonna tell me there’s no half-pound burger up on the menu? The big one?”
(The customer demonstrates how big with his hands by making a circle, and I look up at the menu to check. There isn’t a “half-pound burger” anywhere on the menu, but I want to make sure he is looking at the right thing. I assume he means the recently discontinued Angus burgers.)
Me: “Oh, you mean the Angus burgers? Sorry, sir, but we discontinued those about a month ago. Now, did you want the bacon and cheese quarter-pound burger?”
Customer: “Look, all I want is a crispy chicken sandwich and a half-pound burger.”
Me: *getting sick of the whole thing since he’s obviously being stubborn* “Um, sir, would you like me to get my—”
Customer: “—and make the combo a large. Can you do that?” *glares at me like I’m stupid*
Me: “Let me just get my manager.”
Customer: “All I’m trying to do is order food and you don’t understand half of what I’m saying!” *continues glaring at me*
(At this point, I think, “No, sir, I DON’T understand what you’re saying, because you A) only indicated the TYPE of chicken you wanted on your sandwich but didn’t specify toppings to me like a NORMAL, POLITE CUSTOMER, and B) tried to order a menu item that doesn’t exist, assuming it was the same thing as a menu item that NO LONGER exists. So, no, I don’t know how to help you today sir, because you are being stubborn and expecting me to read your d*** mind.” Of course, I don’t say this, since that would cost me my job, but I do try to explain what is going on.)
Me: *calmly* “Sir, I apologize. I am just doing my job. All I want to know is if you would like the quarter-pound bacon and cheese burger or not, because that’s the largest sandwich with bacon that we have. I don’t understand why you’re so angry at me for doing my job.”
Customer: *continues to glare*
Manager: *walks over* “Something wrong?”
Me: “Could you please help this man? I’m really not sure how to help him.”
(I walked to the crew room, upset, while my manager tried to decrypt what the customer wanted. I am still not sure what this man wanted, but he sure was angry that I couldn’t get it for him.)