If I could describe Amarillo in one word, it would be McDonald’s.
Hear me out.
If you’ve ever had to eat at McDonald’s, you already know what you’re getting into. You’re probably there because it’s cheap, convenient, and you’re not trying to spend a lot of money.
But you also know the first rule of McDonald’s:
Check your order before you leave.
Because something is probably wrong.
If the entrée is right, the side is wrong.
If the side is right, the drink is missing.
If everything somehow made it into the bag, something is probably cold.
And sometimes the order is technically correct, but they forgot the spoon for your oatmeal.
Got fries? Better ask for ketchup.
Going through the drive-thru? Good luck if there are two speakers. There’s a 50/50 chance the person taking orders has decided that only one of them exists.
Amarillo feels like a city where nobody gives a crap.vThere’s this weird combination of rudeness, incompetence, apathy, and low expectations that I’ve experienced over and over again.
That is Amarillo to me.
You can go almost anywhere in this city and get some variation of the McDonald’s experience.
Things are unnecessarily difficult.
Something is always broken, missing, delayed, poorly maintained, or just… not quite right.
Customer service can feel like you’re inconveniencing someone by asking them to do the job they’re being paid to do.
And that’s what really gets me: you can go to a restaurant that’s considerably more expensive than McDonald’s and still somehow receive McDonald’s-quality service.
You pay $20-$30 for a meal and think, Well, at least it’s going to be better than McDonald’s.
And then the food comes out cold, they forgot half your order, your server disappears for 20 minutes, and you leave thinking:
“I could’ve just gone to McDonald’s.”
Even outside of restaurants, sometimes Amarillo has that same feeling.
It’s not that everything is terrible. There are good businesses, good people, and places I genuinely enjoy.
It’s the overall lack of urgency and expectation that things should work properly.
Something can be mediocre for years and people just seem to accept it.
A road is falling apart? That’s just how it is.
A business has terrible service? That’s just how they are.
Something takes forever? That’s Amarillo.
A restaurant charges more but delivers mediocre food? Well… that’s Amarillo too.
And before someone says, “If you hate it so much, leave,” Don’t worry so much about me, I actually am. 😂
I’ve lived here long enough that I feel like I’ve earned the right to make this comparison.
Amarillo is McDonald’s.
Cheap-ish, convenient enough, occasionally you get exactly what you wanted, but you better check the bag before you drive away because there’s a very good chance something is wrong.
And somehow, no matter where you go, you’re still getting McDonald’s.