i know when i'm getting screwed over...

all places of personal employment are pseudonyms.  however, proper names of businesses will be used becos i am extremely pissed off.

Dear McDonalds,

i don't know if it's part of your business practice, or if you just hire inbred peasant half wits.  but each and every time i go to one of your restaurants, my order gets shorted.

today i ordered 6 hamburgers, 3 fries and a soda.  i was handed 2 handburgers, a cheeseburger, 2 fries and my drink.  not only was my order shorted, but totally incorrect!  

this is why, every time you hand me my meal, i open the bag(s) and check for accuracy.  usually i'm shorted a fry or a burger.  once i got a diet instead of full leaded.  my apologies to the people behind me in line, but damned if i'm not sick of getting down the road, only to find that my order is incorrect.  

this always happens at the shamokin dam mcdonalds.  

however, the mcdonalds in lewisburg is not exempt.  a couple weeks ago i got supper for my family, and while i distinctly remember ordering 2 hamburger happy meals, i only got one, then had to wait a minute plus pay for the meal becos someone was asleep at the wheel.  

not only do your employees know how not to fill a correct order, they can't count chicken nuggets.  yes.  i ordered a 6 piece nugget meal for the boy, and only got 4.  and yes, there is a big difference in price (like, a buck.  trust me, they add up.).  

i wish i could say that this is a recent thing but your shortchanging orders has been occurring since you sold chicken fajitas (btw, you brought back the mcrib, how 'bout the fajita?).  it used to piss me off to no end that i would order 3 fajitas, and only find 2 in the bag.  

i realize i got my meal over the lunch hour.  i know the restaurant was very busy.  but no matter what time i go to your restaurant - lunch hour, 3pm, 7pm - my order gets hosed.  

i used to think it was becos you didn't hire very smart staff.  now i think your business policy is to deliberately screw over the consumer.

no love,

divamcknitster

dear burger king,

you're no angel either.  how come i can order a big ass frozen coke in danville but can only get a medium in sunbury?  i pay the same price either way.  either way, i'm getting screwed.  

oh yeah.  you've skimped on a burger now and then too.  

booga booga,

diva mcknitster

dear K&D pizza,

et tu, brute?  seriously, you can't count to freakin' 3?

last week i ordered a small cheese (for the boy) a medium bacon and pineapple (for me) and a large meat lovers (for hubby).  you brought only hubby and the boy's pizzas, and was almost in your car when i realized you didn't bring mine.  half an hour later you brought my pizza, said "it was back at the restaurant - they forgot to put it with the order" then you had the balls to charge me for it and take my tip (actually, giving you the tip was my fault - i was too busy picking my jaw up off the pavement when you didn't offer me a free pizza).

we love ordering pizza from you - you're cheap, you deliver, and i can get wings from you.  

i can forgive you for forgetting my pizza - but you could have at least comped me a free pizza for my bother (yeah, i was really hungry that night.  hadn't eaten since late morning, and we got the pizzas close to 7).  or at least a free pizza/sandwich/whatever for a future order.  and learn to count!

shame on you,

diva mcknitster

dear star garden,

thank you for being a wonderful chinese restaurant.  your food is fresh, simple and delish.  i delight in ordering from you nearly every week, and make a point of recommending you to everyone i know.  

thank you for never screwing up my order.  that is probably becos there is someone in the back of the kitchen, cracking the whip at your employees.

i love you very much,

diva mcknitster

i would also like to point out that i understand that the employees at these establishments probably work very hard at their jobs.  i'm sure i probably couldn't do better than they do.  i do believe that an occasional mistake might be due to rushing to complete an order or multitasking.  but these mistakes are consistent, and it makes me wonder if the owners of the establishments, either restaurant level or higher, tell their employees that it's okay to forget a burger or fry here or there, becos either the consumer will not notice or be too annoyed to return and place another order, or skimp on a pizza becos for a family of 5, a large and small pizza are more than adequate.  but that's not good enough.  i paid for that burger or fry, and i paid for and really wanted that pizza.  sure, you get some extra money in your very deep pockets, but it's at the expense of the consumer, and i for one am sick of it.

i spent (no spend) my entire working life multitasking.  i worked for medical clinics, checking out and rescheduling patients sometimes 5 feet deep, answering telephones, doing work for doctors and therapists.  i made mistakes sometimes, usually becos i was in a hurry and didn't take my time.  i've also had bosses (or their lackeys) scream "schell!  schnell!" over my shoulder while i was scheduling those patients, or answering a multiline phone,  then got yelled at becos an appointment got double booked or was never completed.  this happened a lot more than i would like to admit.  it goes to show, tho, that with speed and multitasking, work doesn't get easier - it just becomes more complicated, and increases the likelihood of mistakes to occur.

i still think "the man" is screwing us over.  and i've learned to remember to accept the receipt when they offer it to me.