To be of service....part 2

In case you didn't already know, Loop 288 in Denton TX is (still) a nightmare! I believe the last I heard was that construction would be completed in 2011! So, you can imagine how busy it gets over there during the lunch hour rush. Since I work very close the Loop, I frequent the fast food chains that are located there. For the most part, its quick and easy.

Today I went to Chick Fil A. I had to swing into Target and get a birthday gift, so I thought I would drive through there on my way back to work. I have eaten at this particular location, with my friend Courtney, more times than I can count. (Especially when I was pregnant! I CRAVED their "ice dream" cones!) However, I had never been through their drive thru. Each time we would go we always noticed how busy their drive thru was. The line is always wrapped around the building during the lunch hour. Something else we noticed was that they had a couple of employees standing outside with clipboards taking customer orders as they drove up. Courtney and I didn't understand how they kept everything organized. You all know how a drive thru works, right?! You go to the speaker, you place your order and then you go to the window, pay, and they give you your food. After several visits, and watching their routine, we noticed that they would take the customer's order, write it down on a special ticket, and then give that customer their ticket (order). We were still confused by this. I just didn't see the point?? I just didn't know how they were keeping all the orders straight??!! Having worked at a fast food joint in high school, I was very familiar with the drive thru and how it worked! During all of our drive thru observations at this Chick Fil A I would always joke with Courtney and say, "One of these days I'm going to walk over to one of those guys with a clipboard and ask them how exactly they are staying organized!"

I wiggled my way out of the chaos that is the Target parking lot and drove over to the Chick Fil A. As always, the line was LONG. When I pulled up a little high school boy approached my window and said, "Hello there! What can I get for you today sir?" I could tell that he was trying not to sound rushed, but he had a job to do and he was trying to do it as quickly as possible. So I ignored the "sir" and told him I would have the, "#2, no tomatoes, and a diet dr. pepper." I then also explained to him that I had never played this drive thru game and needed him to tell me what to do. And so he did. He told me that they feel that it is a better way to service their customers by doing so face to face. He gave me my ticket order and told me to proceed forward to the manager, who was standing by the speaker box, and he would give me my total. I could tell that he was in somewhat of a hurry to take the next customers order, so, still confused, I drove forward. The manager approached my window and politely asked for my ticket. What happened next clarified everything for me!! He had on his little headset, and pushed the button to talk to the person inside. He told the person my order and they gave him my total, which he then gave to me, and told me to drive forward to retrieve my lunch. That was it! I understood it! To avoid all the confusions and hassles of ordering your food at the speaker, you are able to talk face to face with an actual person, like you would if you went inside, and then they have someone who is verbally capable relay your message to one of the people inside who then punch it into the computer. Genius! I really thought that this method took more time than doing it the "old fashioned" way, but NO! It was so fast!! I was totally shocked and very glad I finally learned about the Loop 288 drive thru at Chick Fil A!