I can't remember the last time I had a craving for a Whopper and onion rings from Burger King, but I can tell you this...I won't forget this last trip to the location at Clyde, NC.
First, in what can only be described as an act of mercy from the universe itself, the dining room is currently closed due to staff shortage. I had downloaded the BK app and placed an order for pick up and when I got to the location, the sign on the door telling me that only the drive thru window was open should have been all I needed to see to let me know this was a bad idea. Yet, being the unflappable moron that I am, I foolishly drove around to let them know that i was there for a mobile order. (My wife was warning me against this. Moral to then story? Listen to your wife...she's always right!)
When I got to the drive thru, I was scream-greeted by a gruff woman whose name I can't remember. She yelled her name and then said something like "How can I help you". It was a bizarrely gruff greeting and I shouldn't have been prepared to finish my transaction at that point. I already had reservations because the outside of the building looked unkempt.
Pulling ahead to the window, the grease and grime on the stainless steel and glass were pretty apparent. However once I got a look at the people working there, I should have canceled my order. The only accurate way I can describe this is by repeating what I told my wife, "It looks like Burger King has hired carnies to run this location". And these wouldn't be good carnies. These would be the kind that you would have genuine fear in your heart as you boarded the Tilt a Whirl because you know they assembled it. Their appearance was, much like everything else - filthy: clothes were covered in food and various stains of unknown origin.
While they did get the mobile order correct, the food was really bad. The Whopper would have been good had it not been stone cold and the onion rings would have been good had they been hot and not cooked in stale fry medium. I've worked in a few restaurants in my youth and I know what things taste like when nobody changes the oil in the fryers. It gets an unmistakeable stale smell and taste. There's no mistaking it and if this location isn't staffed enough to open the dining room (again, that's mercy in my opinion) then they surely aren't taking steps to clean their fryers or, probably, the kitchen. I got a bottle of water to drink and the plastic bottle was saturated with grease to the point that I could smell it as I raised the bottle to drink!
Later that evening, I paid the price for my indiscretion in more ways than one. Suffice it to say, I deleted the BK app from my phone and I won't be craving any Whoppers any longer. With the dining room closed, this should be the cleanest restaurant in town. Without all those pesky customers to serve inside, there's nothing to impede cleaning. It's clear that this location has the same problem as other fast food chains - getting people who will show up and actually work and take pride in the work they do. read more
