It felt like I was the butt of a joke on a prank television show.
This is exactly how I felt while waiting for my fast food order at Fuzzy's taco shop on Central Avenue in Toledo Ohio. Hoping to grab a quick lunch on a busy workday, I stepped inside The Restaurant - which had an empty line ordering station upfront - which very cleverly concealed the rear, giving the illusion that your food would be Prepared quickly by employees eager for something to do on a slow day. Of course, I was excited And I ordered two tacos.
But then I walked to the back of the restaurant, where I saw a bustling waiting room of 15 people, all with the same tired, exhausted "how much longer do I have to wait?"-type expression on their face. As i entered, the room mockingly turned toward me in recognition as the next victim to the ploy. I sat down and figured no fast food service counter restaurant in the world Could make someone wait longer than 5-10 minutes for two tacos, right?
As time passed by, I kept looking to the faces of the other people in the waiting room, expecting some sort of developed queue to be observable, letting me know how close I was to my goal. But alas, they weren't getting their food either.
After 25 minutes, I eventually became disgruntled enough to approach the kitchen and inquire. As I reached the employee, I was careful to be courteous. I did not want to appear indignant or impatient, so I took the blame myself in the inquiry. I asked, "I'm sorry, I think I might have missed hearing you call my order number? Is it possible I wasn't listening?"
The employee looked at my service ticket and laughed out loud. "Man, we haven't even began your order yet. We have six orders ahead of yours."
Now, I understand that this quarantine and pandemic, as well as world full of stimulus checks has stripped the fast food industry of its workers, so I slightly feel like a jerk complaining about how fast food service has withered to speeds equivalent of me slaughtering the animal and preparing the food myself, but I do worry what this means for the entire industry. Honestly, if I ran that slow of a business, I would at least be greeting people at the front door and telling them that I was running behind before taking orders. Once I had made a credit card order, I felt I was past the point of no return, and hence tied down to staying at the establishment until I received the two tiny tacos. I felt like I was on a prank tv show- with a hidden audience secretly placing bets as to how long this idiot would be willing to wait for two tacos he could've ordered, paid for, and consumed in under five minutes at Taco Bell next-door. Surely, I had to be someone's joke.
At the half an hour mark, the manager, appeared to take note of my physical irritation. I was sitting in a booth, slumped over, looking like I was halfway between bored and emaciated. He came over, informed me that he put my order up immediately and of course, five minutes later, I had my two tacos at the 36 minute mark.
And yes, they were cold.
But surprisingly, the side of refried beans was piping hot.. Because I was now running exceptionally late, I inhaled the food and barely tasted it. So I can't even write about the Quality outside of the temperature itself.
While I will attest to the genuine professional nature of how the manager addressed me, I can't say much for this location of Fuzzy's Taco Shop. If I were a post millennial, I would accept the fact that I should be appreciative of any food regardless if I paid for the convenience of it. But considering that this establishment exists solely as providing quick, tasty food to people in a hurry, I cannot support it when it failed so miserably.
I apologize to Mr. Fuzzy or Mrs Fuzzy (i'm going with these names simply because I refuse to believe that anyone would willingly name their taco hut after an adjective that is associated with mold growth), But the truth is that I really wished someone would've warned me about the 36 minute wait for two of their namesake menu items. The free market capitalist within me felt the need to tell others.
My apologies to The Fuzzy family.
This review, including any grammatical mistakes, was voice texted by me, via stream of consciousness, through my iPhone, while waiting for my food. read more