Minor things that bother you

[webny99]

I despise restaurants that charge extra for condiments.

Meanwhile, I despise restaurants that don't give customers the condiments they order much more than I despise ones that charge for them. Condiments have value just like everything else on the menu. I would much rather see a price assigned to that value - even if it's a petty and arbitrary one - than have the employees pretend the value doesn't exist.

As soon as Arby's started charging extra for sour cream to go with a baked potato, I stopped asking for it ahead of time.  The first time they went ahead and rang up a fifty-cent ticket to give one to me later, we stopped going to Arby's.  We later resumed going to Arby's, but never ordered another baked potato there.

I would suggest that Arby's stepped out of their lane by offering condiment-free baked potatoes to begin with. They should either sell them with standard condiments to compete with other restaurants that sell baked potatoes, or just not sell them at all.

[kphoger]

I would suggest that Arby's stepped out of their lane by offering condiment-free baked potatoes to begin with. They should either sell them with standard condiments to compete with other restaurants that sell baked potatoes, or just not sell them at all.

IIRC, the one my wife used to get came with one thing of sour cream, but she always requested an extra one.

[thenetwork]

I despise restaurants that charge extra for condiments.

Meanwhile, I despise restaurants that don't give customers the condiments they order much more than I despise ones that charge for them. Condiments have value just like everything else on the menu. I would much rather see a price assigned to that value - even if it's a petty and arbitrary one - than have the employees pretend the value doesn't exist.

As soon as Arby's started charging extra for sour cream to go with a baked potato, I stopped asking for it ahead of time.  The first time they went ahead and rang up a fifty-cent ticket to give one to me later, we stopped going to Arby's.  We later resumed going to Arby's, but never ordered another baked potato there.

I would suggest that Arby's stepped out of their lane by offering condiment-free baked potatoes to begin with. They should either sell them with standard condiments to compete with other restaurants that sell baked potatoes, or just not sell them at all.

I can understand if you order something inside a fast food restaurant that they don't put napkins, straws or utensils in your order if youre planning to eat it there or if it's a To-go order and there is area in the lobby to take what you need.

But if you order to-go food at their drive thru, and they don't put napkins, straws or basic condiments (complimentary or not) in to your bag then send you off.

I've even noticed the few times I do the McDonald's drive thru they never do the trademark "double fold" of the top of the bag anymore.  And that was part of the job requirement when I worked for the clown as a teen!

[webny99]

I would suggest that Arby's stepped out of their lane by offering condiment-free baked potatoes to begin with. They should either sell them with standard condiments to compete with other restaurants that sell baked potatoes, or just not sell them at all.

IIRC, the one my wife used to get came with one thing of sour cream, but she always requested an extra one.

If one is already included and you just want more, I have even less of an issue with them charging for the additional ones.

But if you order to-go food at their drive thru, and they don't put napkins, straws or basic condiments (complimentary or not) in to your bag then send you off.

Yep, exactly. One one hand, it seems petty to hold up the line to inspect for these things before pulling away. On the other hand, if they forgot something, I'd much rather ask for it now than be annoyed later.

[Scott5114]

The Burger King I worked at got a new store manager who wanted to charge for extra condiments. It ended up being a mess; it slowed down the drive through because nobody would either just hand over the money or decline, they'd sit there and argue about it and hold the line up. The amount we made from people actually paying ended up being a few dollars over the month or two that we tried that, and who knows how much we lost from people like Kyle who just rolled their eyes at the tightfistedness and stopped coming. By the end of it I was just like damn the rules and chucking six barbecue sauces in every bag just to avoid all the bullshit.

That store manager didn't last very long.

[kphoger]

If one is already included and you just want more, I have even less of an issue with them charging for the additional ones.

If I were to order a baked potato at a sit-down establishment, such as Longhorn Steakhouse or Cracker Barrel or a more-upscale local place, and ask for some extra sour cream, then would you expect them to charge me extra for it?

I wouldn't.  I don't appreciate being nickeled-and-dimed as a customer.  And that's true at Arby's just as much as it is at non-fast-food restaurants.  To me, a condiment is just a normal thing that should be available upon request to eat with your meal, like salt or a knife, not an additional menu item.

[Plutonic Panda]

Out here in LA, we now have bag fees. Oh, you wanted a bag with your McDonald's order? That's an extra $.10.

Related to this a couple other things are bother me a bit, paper straws, being charged for condiments, some locations now removing the refill stations for beverages and are no longer offering free refills.

And on the contrary when I go to a place like Chick-fil-A and I ask for only one Chick-fil-A sauce packet and maybe a Polynesian sauce, they throw like five or six each in there. I know it sounds weird one minute I'm bitching about being charged for condiments the next I'm complaining for getting too many free ones. But I hate being wasteful. Man I'm not ever gonna use those things or remember to take them with me if I decide to go back to Chick-fil-A. So I just end up throwing them away.

[Max Rockatansky]

I think the only thing the current President has done that has had near universal support was to come out strongly against paper straws. 

https://apnews.com/article/trump-plastic-straws-pollution-oceans-packaging-e64e2671bbf7f8a8abaec0d5a491f7de

FWIW I'm in agreement that paper straws have pretty much been universally fucking terrible. 

[kphoger]

And on the contrary when I go to a place like Chick-fil-A and I ask for only one Chick-fil-A sauce packet and maybe a Polynesian sauce, they throw like five or six each in there ... I hate being wasteful. Man I'm not ever gonna use those things or remember to take them with me if I decide to go back to Chick-fil-A. So I just end up throwing them away.

1.  Take extra sauce packets home with you, to use on chicken at some point in the future.
2.  Store them somewhere in your kitchen, probably where they keep falling out onto the floor later.
3.  A long time passes.
4.  Amazingly, one day, you actually want to use one of them.
5.  Can't remember how long they've been in your fridge, no expiration date.
6.  Play it safe, throw them away.
7.  Go back to Chick-fil-A the following week.
8.  Repeat steps 1-6.

[hotdogPi]

I think the only thing the current President has done that has had near universal support was to come out strongly against paper straws. 

https://apnews.com/article/trump-plastic-straws-pollution-oceans-packaging-e64e2671bbf7f8a8abaec0d5a491f7de

Near universal support? I don't agree with the decision.

[1995hoo]

....

Related to this a couple other things are bother me a bit, paper straws, being charged for condiments, some locations now removing the refill stations for beverages and are no longer offering free refills.

....

I've sometimes wondered whether part of the issue with that is that you have people who carry reusable cups or mugs (e.g., a travel mug when on a longer road trip) and who fill them up without paying.

[Max Rockatansky]

I think the only thing the current President has done that has had near universal support was to come out strongly against paper straws. 

https://apnews.com/article/trump-plastic-straws-pollution-oceans-packaging-e64e2671bbf7f8a8abaec0d5a491f7de

Near universal support? I don't agree with the decision.

I did say "near."

I mean look, I don't agree with the man on much.  But the current market of paper straws are horrible in every way.  Maybe some company will make an iteration that isn't awful someday? 

[wanderer2575]

I think the only thing the current President has done that has had near universal support was to come out strongly against paper straws. 

https://apnews.com/article/trump-plastic-straws-pollution-oceans-packaging-e64e2671bbf7f8a8abaec0d5a491f7de

Near universal support? I don't agree with the decision.

I did say "near."

I mean look, I don't agree with the man on much.  But the current market of paper straws are horrible in every way.  Maybe some company will make an iteration that isn't awful someday?

Take a number.  I'm still waiting for someone to come up with a functional gasoline container with the current specs.

[webny99]

If I were to order a baked potato at a sit-down establishment, such as Longhorn Steakhouse or Cracker Barrel or a more-upscale local place, and ask for some extra sour cream, then would you expect them to charge me extra for it?

I wouldn't.  I don't appreciate being nickeled-and-dimed as a customer.  And that's true at Arby's just as much as it is at non-fast-food restaurants.

No, I wouldn't expect to be charged extra at a sit-down restaurant, because it's a different business model. You don't have to appreciate being nickel and dimed any more at Arby's than you do at Longhorn Steakhouse, but prepare to be disappointed by Arby's if your expectations are the same for both.

To me, a condiment is just a normal thing that should be available upon request to eat with your meal, like salt or a knife, not an additional menu item.

I agree with that for certain basic condiments, like ketchup packets. But I would not include sour cream at a fast food restaurant on that short list.

[webny99]

I think the only thing the current President has done that has had near universal support was to come out strongly against paper straws. 

https://apnews.com/article/trump-plastic-straws-pollution-oceans-packaging-e64e2671bbf7f8a8abaec0d5a491f7de

Near universal support? I don't agree with the decision.

Disagreeing with the decision is different than enjoying drinking from a paper straw.

[kphoger]

No, I wouldn't expect to be charged extra at a sit-down restaurant, because it's a different business model. You don't have to appreciate being nickel and dimed any more at Arby's than you do at Longhorn Steakhouse, but prepare to be disappointed by Arby's if your expectations are the same for both.

When it comes to the nature of the transaction, though, pretty much all my other expectations are the same between them.  At both, I expect to pay extra for refills;  free refills are a bonus, not an expectation.  At both, if a side item is listed separately on the menu, then I expect to pay extra for it;  if it's not listed as a menu item, then I don't expect to be able to get it at all.  At both, I expect to get extra silverware or extra napkins or even a cup of water at no extra charge.

Besides which, Chick-fil-A was mentioned, where you can get everything from mayonnaise to sweet & spicy Sriracha sauce at no extra charge, however many you'd like, no questions asked.  Both are fast food establishments, ergo the same business model—unless by 'business model' I'm to understand a difference between treating customers like guests and treating them like nothing more than a financial transaction.  As much as 'my pleasure' can get annoying after a while at CFA, it sure beats 'that will be fifty cents'.

[Plutonic Panda]

....

Related to this a couple other things are bother me a bit, paper straws, being charged for condiments, some locations now removing the refill stations for beverages and are no longer offering free refills.

....

I've sometimes wondered whether part of the issue with that is that you have people who carry reusable cups or mugs (e.g., a travel mug when on a longer road trip) and who fill them up without paying.

I do know that out here in Los Angeles in problematic area specifically where there's a lot of vagrants they have a behind the counter that turns the soda machine machines on and off. So generally, they'll keep the soda machines turned off and if they see you walking to it, they'll turn it on or if you go ask them if you've purchased a drink for a refill they'll turn it on.

[Plutonic Panda]

And on the contrary when I go to a place like Chick-fil-A and I ask for only one Chick-fil-A sauce packet and maybe a Polynesian sauce, they throw like five or six each in there ... I hate being wasteful. Man I'm not ever gonna use those things or remember to take them with me if I decide to go back to Chick-fil-A. So I just end up throwing them away.

1.  Take extra sauce packets home with you, to use on chicken at some point in the future.
2.  Store them somewhere in your kitchen, probably where they keep falling out onto the floor later.
3.  A long time passes.
4.  Amazingly, one day, you actually want to use one of them.
5.  Can't remember how long they've been in your fridge, no expiration date.
6.  Play it safe, throw them away.
7.  Go back to Chick-fil-A the following week.
8.  Repeat steps 1-6.

Yep, I was caught into the cycle until I just decided to lose my conscious and just throw all of them away with my bag so I don't get caught in that cycle.

[formulanone]

I think the only thing the current President has done that has had near universal support was to come out strongly against paper straws. 

https://apnews.com/article/trump-plastic-straws-pollution-oceans-packaging-e64e2671bbf7f8a8abaec0d5a491f7de

Near universal support? I don't agree with the decision.

Disagreeing with the decision is different than enjoying drinking from a paper straw.

By the second or third sip, I've largely forgotten it's a paper straw. Maybe because they were still a common thing when I was a kid.

There's people that throw out extra Polynesian Sauces? Until they started selling in grocery stores, I would have previously sent a self-addressed stamped envelope for any remainders.

[webny99]

When it comes to the nature of the transaction, though, pretty much all my other expectations are the same between them.

Except for tipping. That looms large. One could even argue that tipping is the full-service restaurant equivalent of 'nickel and diming', though it's more pleasant and less arbitrary.

Besides which, Chick-fil-A was mentioned, where you can get everything from mayonnaise to sweet & spicy Sriracha sauce at no extra charge, however many you'd like, no questions asked.

Probably not anything perishable, though. As I recall, they charge for cheese sauce, but you get a whole cup full for what you pay.

Both are fast food establishments, ergo the same business model—unless by 'business model' I'm to understand a difference between treating customers like guests and treating them like nothing more than a financial transaction.  As much as 'my pleasure' can get annoying after a while at CFA, it sure beats 'that will be fifty cents'.

Sure. Every service-oriented business policy falls somewhere along the spectrum between 'serving guests' and 'financial transaction', and some do the balancing act better than others.

[webny99]

Disagreeing with the decision is different than enjoying drinking from a paper straw.

By the second or third sip, I've largely forgotten it's a paper straw. Maybe because they were still a common thing when I was a kid.

More likely because you've forgotten it was ever a straw at all. 

[Max Rockatansky]

Disagreeing with the decision is different than enjoying drinking from a paper straw.

By the second or third sip, I've largely forgotten it's a paper straw. Maybe because they were still a common thing when I was a kid.

More likely because you've forgotten it was ever a straw at all. 

Even ancient paper straws were horrible.

[LilianaUwU]

Paper straws are such a shitlib thing. I heard so many complaints of disabled people who just can't drink from paper straws... but hey, turtles choke less, so that's good, right?

[1995hoo]

I don't understand why so many people use straws at all.

[LilianaUwU]

I don't understand why so many people use straws at all.

I hear people complain all the time about how cans are unsanitary. I don't give a shit about that, I'm already ruining my stomach with Dr Pepper, may as well drink straight from the can.