We stopped going to this particular store for a few years, even though we live in Quakertown and we generally like Wendy's food. A few years back, we went in and observed that the staff had not a clue as to how "fast food" works. They would take an order, get the money, then go back and make the entire #1 order while Customers #2-10 just stood there like ornaments, then bring it up and hand order #1 to the customer. Took maybe 5 minutes. Per customer. THEN they would take the order of Customer #2, and repeat the process. They could MAYBE process the first dozen people inside of an hour.
Not how it works in every other fast food place, where they run overlapping order-taking/food prep, so that by the time #1 gets his order, the next 5-10 people have ordered and paid.
So we left and didn't go back for a few years, figuring they just had a bad batch of employees, or a manager who only recently arrived on Earth. Fast forward to this week. We felt daring, so we skipped the McDonald's across the street, the Burger King just past the McDonalds, the 5 pizza places in Quakertown, and all the other places that sell ready-to-eat food. We went back to Wendy's. We ordered 9 burgers, paid, got some change and were told to "wait by the trash can, your order will be right up". Pulled forward, counted our change, which was $4.83 from a $20 bill for a $14.17 order. Since machines do the math for clerks these days, this was inexplicable unless it was just theft.
After 5 minutes of waiting with no food "right away", I went inside. They didn't dispute the shortage, the guy I assume is the manager got me the extra $1, and a promise that my burgers were almost ready. I went back to wait outside by the trash can.
ANOTHER 5 minutes go by. I went back inside. The clerk asked what I was waiting for, I told him, they all shouted messages around (there was literally nobody else inside the restaurant, no other customers at dinner time, which I now understand). Some guy said "it's sitting in the bag". Yep. All 9 cold burgers were just sitting there with nobody at all paying attention. Didn't get a receipt, either.
Look, we got home and microwaved the burgers and they are tasty, but I don't expect this level of abysmal performance on a main highway with at least a dozen other restaurants within sight of the intersection. I also have to question their dedication to proper food storage and hand-washing if they act like drunken weasels in the visible areas of service. And the lack of any receipt is a red flag in several ways. read more
