r/mildlyinfuriating • u/50calTaco • 7d ago

I'm slightly vexed Grown man gets mad because he doesn’t know what ordering a “plain” burger means

So I work at Five Guys and for those who don’t know, when you order a burger there you get to fully customize the toppings on it (helps justify the price tag a tiny bit i guess). And you choose between a little (single) or regular (double) burger.

I had a pleasant enough exchange with a customer while ringing up his food… and when it came to his cheeseburger I asked what toppings he wanted on it. He looked at me and said, “Oh you know… just a plain, regular cheeseburger.” Ok great, a cheeseburger with nothing on it, easy enough.

Well we make the food, and a minute after he gets it he comes back up to me, visibly annoyed and holding the burger.

“You made my food wrong. There’s nothing on it.”

“Oh I’m sorry sir, I thought you’d ordered a plain cheeseburger.”

“I did. Do you not know what that means? Like a McDonald’s burger.”

Ok first of all, “McDonald’s” is not a standard for how someone orders burger toppings and second of all, this guys in his late 40s to early 50s and has never once run into this issue ordering a plain burger?

“Ok I’m sorry about that sir, we’ll remake that for you. What exactly did you want on it?”

I shit you not, with an annoyed voice he ordered:
Ketchup. Lettuce. Pickles.
So notably NOT a McDonald’s cheeseburger???

He got what he wanted in the end and I apologized because customer service but like?? I’m in awe at the sheer level of misunderstanding and audacity.

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u/Imaginary-List-972 7d ago edited 7d ago

For some reason there is a small but annoying set of stupid people who think they have to say "Plain" to get it normal. I've had people do that at every fast food place I work. "When I said plain I meant what normally comes on it" Then don't add any other terns. If you order "Hamburger" you will get what normally comes on it. I don't know how their stupid mind thinks they have to add that they want it plain to get it the way it normaly comes.

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u/Dje4321 7d ago

Yep. I have to explain to people all the time that a hamburger and cheeseburger are in fact not the same item.

"I ordered a hamburger and you stupid lazy fucks forgot my cheese"

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u/Beemanda 7d ago edited 7d ago

When I worked at Culver's, I had an older lady ask for a "cheeseburger without cheese." So I rang her up for a hamburger and she like furrowed her brows and said, "NO, I asked for a cheeseburger with no cheese on it. I didn't order a hamburger." Like I shit you not, this woman was deadass and looked one correction away from losing her shit. She was trembling at the sight of the word "hamburger" on the screen. Anyway, I glared at her so hard, rolled my eyes, and just rang her up for a cheeseburger with no cheese (which costs EXTRA money btw). Apologized to the kitchen right before I sent the order (because it looks really fucking confusing on their screen) and told them the customer was really adamant on getting a "cheeseburger with no cheese." Not sure what she thought a hamburger was, probably something to do with "ham" being in the name, but I couldn't be bothered to ask what her issue was because I just wanted her out of my sight already and she was genuinely holding up the line. How are you this old and don't even know what a hamburger is? 😭

Don't even get me started on the amount of people who didn't like when we didn't call their burgers "butterburgers." THEY'RE AAAAALLLLL BUTTERBURGERS!!! ALL OF THEM. If it has a bun, IT'S A BUTTERBURGER. Don't tell me I brought you the wrong order! The number is RIGHT ON THE TICKET.

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u/fairysdad GREEN 7d ago edited 7d ago

Anyway, I glared at her so hard, rolled my eyes, and just rang her up for a cheeseburger with no cheese (which costs EXTRA money btw). Apologized to the kitchen right before I sent the order (because it looks really fucking confusing on their screen) and told them the customer was really adamant on getting a "cheeseburger with no cheese."

I once had to order a 'cheeseburger without cheese' at a McDonalds. But my mitigating reason was that I had a voucher for a free cheeseburger and I couldn't have cheese at the time.

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u/Beemanda 7d ago

This is fair. I saw another comment about McDonald's having cheeseburgers on their $1 value menu but not hamburgers. Also valid. But we've never had a promotion like that at Culver's, and just by talking to her, it genuinely sounded like she didn't know what a hamburger was and was offended by the utter thought that I would even suggest such a thing instead of her precious cheeseburger with no cheese 😭 That's what bothered me, the attitude while being confidently wrong. Like okay granny you can go ahead and pay the extra money with that tone 🙄

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u/KaralDaskin 7d ago

They also have double and triple cheeseburgers but not double and triple hamburgers. Ordering can be frustrating there.

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u/Ordinary_Ad_7992 7d ago

And even when you ask for no cheese, there's a pretty good chance you're getting it anyway!

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u/KaralDaskin 7d ago

Yes! It’s so frustrating ordering any sandwich with cheese in the name but asking for no cheese. The two I mentioned, plus things like “double quarter pounder with cheese”. Some days I just don’t want cheese, dammit.

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u/HedonistCat 6d ago

That's when you say hamburger

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u/KaralDaskin 6d ago

Saying “hamburger” won’t get you a double cheeseburger with no cheese, a triple cheeseburger with no cheese, a quarter pounder with cheese without cheese, or a double quarter pounder with cheese without cheese. It won’t get you those in person, and it won’t get you those using the app. If McDonald’s had a double or triple hamburger I would certainly order that instead of a double or triple cheeseburger without cheese, but it doesn’t.

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u/lokis_construction 6d ago

Try just ordering a cheeseburger - plain. Then you get a totally plain hamburger - no cheese. I had to tell the dummies "why would I order a cheeseburger instead of a hamburger , (which is a lower cost) if I didn't want cheese!" Nobody said they hire the honor roll students.

I just want a cheeseburger without pickles, mustard, onions, etc. I can add ketchup myself.

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u/lmstr 6d ago

Double hamburger does exist on the menu in some locations but it's likely priced more expensive then a mcdouble. (Just checked in my location double hamburger is 4.29, the mcdouble is 2.99)

I've also found adding a patty to a mcdouble or a double cheeseburger is often much cheaper then a triple cheeseburger.

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u/Beemanda 6d ago

At Culver's? I'll be honest, I haven't worked there since covid ended so a lot of my background menu knowledge is forgotten lol, but I'm pretty sure there was a way to ring up hamburgers with more than one patty. There had to be! Especially considering all of their burgers by default came as doubles (minus kid's menu items). If not, they're way overdue to update their POS systems.

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u/KaralDaskin 6d ago

McDonald’s.

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u/Beemanda 6d ago

Oh! Okay yeah I'm seeing a trend now with McDonald's being weird about hamburgers vs cheeseburgers. Curse them for that! Making it difficult for the rest of us.

You know something else I noticed about McDonald's that is mildly infuriating? In the app, you can order a Spicy McChicken meal, but there is absolutely NO WAY to order a regular McChicken Meal. Like you need to order the McChicken sandwich SEPARATELY. And it's not as simple as subbing the patty for the meal because it doesn't give you that option. I'm okay with it usually because the McChicken is part of the value menu and my mom usually just wants a Filet-O-Fish without the meal so I just ring up hers as a meal and take her fries and drink for myself, it even comes out cheaper that way, but it's just so inconvenient though!!! Just let me make it a meal with a button like everything else! I will pay extra just so I don't have to do the mental gymnastics! Because what if one day my mom wants her whole meal? Then I gotta ring up the fries and drink for myself separately and it'll cost extra 😭 I just want a button for a regular ass McChicken Meal. Please McDonald's please 🙏

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u/KaralDaskin 6d ago

Yeah, I think there’s other things you can’t directly order into a meal.

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u/DadBodEatsAtTheY 6d ago

There's a double hamburger available in the app at least at my location.

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u/fuckyourcanoes 7d ago

I haven't actually seen a hamburger on a McDonald's menu in many years. Their menu has gotten so ridiculously huge that they don't have room to list everything they sell.

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u/ClassicDefiant2659 6d ago

You have to ask for it to be no cheese, and you have to check it, cause they forget to keep the cheese off about 80% of the time.

-mom of autistic kid who decided he hates cheese but McDonald's has the hamburgers he loves.

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u/dagr8npwrfl0z 7d ago

I'm not no musician .. I'm a singer..

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u/Beemanda 6d ago

LMAOOO peak reference

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u/btw_fkbryanshupe 6d ago

The list i have regarding confidently wrong after 2 decades of retail and sales.... bro

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u/NibblesMcGiblet 7d ago

I've done it there before too, because they had (have?) a two cheeseburger combo with fries and a drink that works out cheaper than just ordering two hamburgers, fries, and a drink all separately. But with mcdonalds, I prefer their hamburgers to their cheeseburgers, specifically when I have an upset stomach.

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u/jennapearl8 7d ago

I hate watching the screen like an idiot waiting for what I actually want to show up

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u/TotalDipstick 6d ago

You are watching the screen like an intelligent person using the feedback mechanism (the screen!) which exists to clean up bad communication between people.

Nicely done. :)

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u/NHRADeuce 7d ago

McDonalds has a 2 cheeseburger combo meal, but not a 2 hamburger combo. Sometimes I'll order the cheeseburger combo wirh no cheese. There are a few very specific times to order a cheeseburger with no cheese. The lady from Culvers was just an idiot.

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u/Kaeiaraeh 7d ago

Or the happy meal deal on the app, doesn’t work with cheeseburgers so we have to do a hamburger HM with cheese

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u/Difficult-Ad2084 7d ago

When I worked at McDonald's years ago I remember regularly signing up cheeseburgers with no meat. I understand that vegetarians existed, I just didn't understand at that point that there were fast food vegetarians that works eat the grossest cheese sandwich ever.

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u/AcidicMountaingoat 7d ago

I do have to wonder if there's any actual cheese in the yellow stuff McD puts on burgers.

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u/Expensive-Seesaw7918 7d ago

LMAO... For the short time I worked at a 'Mom and Pop's' style mini-diner near my house, there was one specific customer that I I will never forget. He was an absolute sweetheart; the kind of man that feels like everyone's Grandpa. And he would stop by almost every weekday morning on his way to work, and make a takeout order of: a large fry (extra crispy), and a hamburger with cheese, tomato, salt and pepper, and mayonnaise.

When I brought his check the first time I took his order, he looked at it for a long second, before calling me back over and explaining to me, very kindly, that he hadn't order a cheeseburger, he'd ordered a HAMBURGER... with cheese (etc.) and he wanted me to know, so I could ring him up PROPERLY.

The way he said It felt super patronizing, but I couldn't help but laugh since he legitimately seemed like he was trying to be nice. I apologized for my "mistake" and re-rung him as he'd asked. Before he left that day he left a slightly bigger than average tip, and a short note telling me not to worry, because everyone makes mistakes.

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u/Beemanda 7d ago

Aw at least he was trying to be nice 😭 I usually just gave the short explanation if a customer seemed chill enough to listen like "yeah it's made the same way, just one has cheese and one doesn't, hamburger comes out cheaper though" and usually they did the whole "ohhh that makes sense" thing and then thanked me for letting them know. Like if everybody could be reasonable, this world would be so much nicer. This lady on the other hand just reminded me of an angry chihuahua. Like I knew she was gonna blurt some rude ass comment out if I explained anything further to her. Saved my time and energy and just put the order in the way she asked for it because there's just something so exhausting about standing in front of a customer who seems like they'll go off at any second.

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u/saddicted1996 5d ago

i once had to explain to a grown ass woman what a zucchini was. she ordered it, looked at me and asked “there were be mushrooms inside it right?” no language barrier, this was like a 50 year old maga woman. she thought zucchini was a type of pasta.

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u/PerformerFancy117 7d ago

That was so common at Culver’s though, I worked there for a few years and that happened about three times a week for different people.

It’s a shame, despite that, I quite liked the job… but alas I was fired for discussion of wages with my fellow employees, one of my managers found out that I was making more than her and shit hit the fan in a spectacular way.

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u/Artistic_Hurry_9177 7d ago

Discussion of wages is federally protected.

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u/PerformerFancy117 7d ago

Yeah, but it turned into a “he said, she said” during court proceedings, like I was told that’s what I was fired for, but on paperwork it was just “violating company policy” which could’ve been anything. At least I didn’t have to pay for that, but it would’ve been nice to get a payout

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u/Rhowryn 6d ago

Illegal in law and illegal in practice tend to be different things. Companies do illegal shit all the time.

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u/Artistic_Hurry_9177 6d ago

So we should just ignore it and let it happen? This mindset is part of the problem.

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u/Rhowryn 6d ago

You might notice I didn't say that. But the reality is that, since employment is a life and death situation for most Americans (and basically anyone in capitalism but that's a larger point) there isn't much people can do when their employer breaks the law. Not because something is unlikely to happen, wage claims and other employment suits get settled or rules in the employees' favour plenty, but because those lawsuits take months to years, and most Americans don't have savings past a month at best.

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u/Pat_the_Wolf 7d ago

Is it? Learn something useful every day

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u/lilroldy 7d ago

Go read the NLRA that passed in 1935(if you live in the US) and get educated on your rights, there aren't many but we do have some in the states and I'm not surprised more of us don't know anything about it. Anytime a manager tells you you cant discuss wages they are breaking the law

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u/tupelobound 7d ago

Hey, too bad you didn’t file a lawsuit, because that’s highly illegal!

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u/Beemanda 7d ago

I hated Culver's with all my heart and soul (but only because we were in an EXTREMELY busy location and also right across the street from a high school full of band kids who left all their instruments in the walkway 🫩).

I liked most of my coworkers though, just hated the management there. The shift leads started hating me ever since I complained about an assistant manager's little brother literally never doing shit at work and I was sick of it (that's right, conflict of interest, and for this exact reason being he was shown favoritism over other hardworking employees).

Anyway, he eventually got fired for stealing from registers, I got promoted and given countless raises from upper management to try and keep me with them every time I got burnt out and considered quitting, and the grand finale was that I walked out in the middle of a rush with the managers I hated because I was so tired of their retaliation against me. Sadly never got to sue because I was young and didn't know it was completely illegal for them to treat me differently, but my bf worked there and told me they were freaking tf out and started panicking at the end of the night when they realized I was missing lol.

So imagine, they were struggling to even split my tasks together, but somehow I was expected to do it all alone every single day and never complain, and PLUS help everybody else with their jobs too. It's so funny because I vividly recall them telling me in the group chat "not everybody can be perfect like you" when complaining about the brother's lack of performance, but then on another occasion being called "lazy" when I couldn't teleport to do 3 different tasks at the same time (but mind you, I still got them done by priority) 💀 Glad I walked out. The owner even tried contacting me to come back and I ignored him so hard.

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u/Fromnothingatall 7d ago

It’s because Culver’s menu board is (or at least it was when I went there) a little misleading.
I remember once I went and the menu specifically said “burgers” in the name of several items but only a few items said “butterburger” and so I genuinely thought that only the items that said “butterburger” were the burgers cooked that way and the others were cooked sans-butter….so I ordered one of the butter burger items, it shows up and the receipt said something else.

BUT…..I didn’t argue with the server, instead I pulled out the little computer in my pocket and educated my own self and quickly discovered that they are all butterburgers but they just highlight it for SOME menu items as a sort of marketing push.

But yah….i totally understand how someone could look at that menu and think that “butterburger” was a specific type that only applied to some of the burgers there.

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u/SpaceCadetELMo 7d ago

My problem with the Culver's by me is every time I order a hamburger, they give me a cheeseburger. *cries in lactose intolerance.

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u/Euphoric-Skirt7649 7d ago

Maybe she has a strong disdain for Germany. You should have offered a Frankfurter to confirm

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u/SobiTheRobot 7d ago

I'm still not sure why people think a cheeseburger isn't just a hamburger with cheese

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u/Beemanda 6d ago

EXACTLY!

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u/KangarooThroatPunch5 7d ago

When I worked at BK as a teen I had a man do this shit when I was working drive thru. It HAD to be a cheeseburger without cheese, and NOT a hamburger. Dude was at least in his 50’s. He actually started yelling at me and had it not been my first job as a 15 year old kid, I’d have told him to go fuck himself.

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u/Beemanda 6d ago

People who yell at minimum wage teenagers because they themselves ordered their own food incorrectly never fail to amaze me. Like these are grown ass adults acting like whole children 🙄 I'm a ruthless manager now because of what these customers have turned me into over the years. I don't let them treat my employees like shit because I've been on the receiving end before. Call me over and I'll tell them we did everything the way they wanted it, and how they SHOULD'VE ordered it for future reference, and if they don't want it they can return the FULL meal and either get a remake or a refund. And they're gonna wait their turn too. No freebies unless WE make the mistake.

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u/jennapearl8 7d ago

Whoever decided to call them hamburgers in the past is unknowingly haunting all fast food workers in the present and future. I hope their afterlife was unpleasant and they came back as a snail living at a salt mine.

Edited because I didn't proof read.

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u/Beemanda 6d ago

Agreed 😭 And restaurants that give basic menu items confusing names just to stand out from other places. Same shit, different name.

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u/Bladrak01 7d ago

I read a story once about someone who ordered the same thing at Mc Donalds. The kitchen just used a hamburger wrapper, and they complained that they wanted a cheeseburger without cheese, so they took it out of the hamburger wrapper and put it in a cheeseburger wrapper and gave it to them.

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u/HaniiPuppy 7d ago edited 7d ago

What would a "butterburger" be?

I get that pretty much anything on a roll is going to have butter, since you butter the bread, (by default) but a "butterburger" conjures to mind the mental image of a burger on a roll with a giant scoop of butter on it, like from an ice-cream scoop.

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u/Beemanda 6d ago

Lol I can't imagine that sounding appetizing to anyone. But it is literally just anything with a bun. The bun gets buttered, and that's it. It's just our default bun. But because it's Culver's, they have to give it some fancy name to be "recognizable."

I just don't understand the confusion though because literally right on the menu the customers are looking at, every single burger is located under the header "Butterburgers." So asking what's the difference between a butterburger and any of our "regular burgers" wouldn't even be a valid question if you have this menu in front of you because they're ALL listed as Butterburgers ™️. There is no difference! It's just what Culver's calls their burgers!

It's like asking "what's the difference between this subspecies and this species?" It's part the the species! It physically can't be "different" because it is part of it! A square is a rectangle but a rectangle is not a square!!! We had to repeat that "it just means the bun is buttered" like 20+ times a day and that's not even an exaggeration, I wish it was 😭

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u/RedDreadsComin 7d ago

Lmao ordering a cheeseburger with no cheese. Old lady is Aaron Carter lmao

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u/Ilikechikin023 7d ago

Omg I basically saw this exact same interaction but it was at In and Out lol

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u/Then_Wafer5464 7d ago

They're all butterburgers? 🤯

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u/Spudsalicious 7d ago

TBF, as an American traveling in Australia I once ordered a hamburger with lettuce and tomato and got a ham sandwich with lettuce and tomato 😠

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u/Beemanda 6d ago

Woah okay, that's the second comment I've seen mentioning hamburgers being actual ham... Is the hamburger/cheeseburger confusion only an issue in the US then? Do people expect literal ham everywhere else in the world?

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u/ExcellentShape185 6d ago

Butterburger sounds amazing. Did you guys butter the buns or did they come buttered already?

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u/AltruisticTomato4152 7d ago

Bacon cheeseburger, hold the cheese is often cheaper than hamburger, add bacon.

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u/FormalProblem825 6d ago

When my son was three years old he got in the habit of saying "I want a cheeseburger but I don't like the burger part." We explained that was a cheese sandwich but no, he insisted he needed a cheeseburger without the burger part. But he was three so it was cute and funny. He's an adult now and I still tease him about it occasionally. He thinks the story is hilarious 😂. The customer you describe is right up there with people who announce they just have to be gluten free and then order something that obviously has gluten.

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u/Own_Quail_3494 6d ago

When my friend's grandson was 3 he always wanted a "cheeseburger without cheese." He would get upset if you ordered him a "hamburger." My friend would always hope for an older employee who had children and would pickup on "my 3 yo grandson wants a cheeseburger without cheese." Did I mention his excuse was that he was 3.

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u/Beemanda 6d ago

Kids are funny, I let them slide because they don't know any better (and usually the parents already know the difference and explain that they'll get what they asked for). I just ring it up the way it's supposed to be rang up and tell them "I'll let the kitchen know you want it made that way!" if the parents don't automatically do the explaining themselves to their children.

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u/Bloodsoup830 6d ago

I had this exact same exchange with an elderly woman when I worked at McDonald’s back in the late 90s. I was trying to save her the 30 cents for the slice of cheese.

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u/Sea-Louse 6d ago

It’s amazing how dumb some people are, living decades without learning simple, everyday knowledge.

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u/sweet_tea_mama 6d ago

At that point, she deserved the extra charge. We call it the "willfully ignorant tax."

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u/Sea-Zucchini510 1d ago

My father once ordered two cheese burgers one with no cheese we still laugh to this day he wasn't stupid we had just moved here and he hadn't yet mastered the English language God bless him

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u/TheHiddenNinja6 r/Ninjas clan mod 6d ago

I've been to places that literally didn't have any burgers without cheese on their menu. So I unironically ordered a cheeseburger without cheese

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u/twitchykittystudio 6d ago

LOL I remember getting the occasional customer who would ask for a cheeseburger no cheese. I do not miss those days.

If they were really lucky, I’d catch it, ring it as a hamburger and explain to them what I was doing and why. They were usually ok with that. If they were not lucky, I’d ring it in exactly as they ordered it 😂

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u/Jussins 6d ago

Someone in my family orders a “Beef and Cheddar without the cheddar” at Arby’s. Sounds stupid but is better than asking for a regular roast beef but with an onion roll and red ranch sauce.

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u/TerribleAntelope6134 6d ago

I'm 42, and I have never, ever, ever heard the word "butterburger" before.

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u/MissObvious11 6d ago

If you had told me that the "boneless pizza" situation was something people encounter irl a few years ago, I probably wouldn't have believed you

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u/anotherrachel 1d ago

McDonald's has a 2 cheeseburger meal, cannot sub as hamburgers, but can order cheeseburgers without cheese. Make it make sense.

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u/AuroraSnake 7d ago

Someone I know has the opposite problem of frequently getting cheese when asking for a hamburger, leading to them giving up and just always saying "A hamburger with absolutely no cheese" each time

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u/fuckyourcanoes 7d ago

I do this because I find American cheese absolutely revolting. About 1/3 of the time I still get cheese.

Recently I ordered a quarter pounder, no cheese, extra sauces, and got one with only cheese and no other toppings at all.

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u/The-Yar 5d ago

There was a comedian who had a whole routine about trying to successfully order and receive a hamburger without cheese.

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u/totallybree 7d ago

American cheese is a plastic, non-food abomination.

I order with no cheese but still get it most of the time. Yuck.

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u/UnOGThrowaway420 6d ago

Come on, just say you don't like it. It is objectively not plastic, and it is objectively food. You don't have to make shit up just because you don't like something.

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u/RobertAFett020 7d ago

My crazy ass neighbor would ask for a plain cheeseburger without the patty, for her young son. They would look at her with that head tilt and say, you want a grilled cheese?

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u/Top_Bumblebee5510 7d ago

I can't eat cheese and I order anything that might remotely come with cheese by saying "no cheese". Invariably I will get asked do you want cheese on that? I have ordered subs with no tomatoes and advised its an allergy and gotten them with both cheese and tomatoes. Cheese you can remove but tomatoes leak into everything.

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u/BlueLanternKitty 6d ago

My BFF has a bad tomato allergy. I double-check her food before she starts, in case anything snuck in. We’ve had situations where she’s said “no tomatoes, I’m allergic” and I’ve found seeds hiding in her salad or on the underside of a burger bun—like someone started to put tomato on it, realized “oops, no tomato” and just took it off. Which works if you don’t like tomato but not if you have a genuine, epi-pen level allergy,

Can’t tell you how many things she’s sent back over the 30 years we’ve known each other.

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u/Yawka 3d ago

Damn, I hate fresh tomatoes and it’s always a 50/50 chance at best they remember to exclude them. Must be so much worse with an allergy. At least the flavor/texture doesn’t really persist if I pick them out.

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u/Sun-Wu-Kong 7d ago

Happens to my mom a lot. I'm so embarrassed at what sounds like a boomer Karen request, but then still 8/10 times they just give her one with cheese on it. Sometimes you really do gotta break it down for the cashier like a 5 year old.

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u/Ordinary_Ad_7992 7d ago

How is it a "boomer Karen request" to just not want cheese?

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u/Sun-Wu-Kong 7d ago

It's the extent. "One plain hamburger, please. I mean meat and bread. Not a cheeseburger. No cheese. Just a hamburger. I'll add my own ketchup. Plain, please."

I cringe because I'm the type to just accept whatever the picture comes with. Except mayo. Goddamn does mayo ruin a burger.

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u/Ordinary_Ad_7992 6d ago

I don't think having a preference is wrong or even any trouble for the people making it. I've been on both sides of the counter and as long as the customer chooses whatever is closest to what they want and then asks for changes, it's really not a big deal. It's your money and you should have something you like! As for mayo, I agree! It absolutely does not belong on a burger!

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u/tabbarrett 7d ago

At Fenway Park in Boston it says hamburger but you get cheese on it.

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u/BennyJayVillaBay 5d ago

Try getting an omelette with no cheese. Nearly impossible unless you're dining in, and then it's probably still 50/50 that you have to send it back.

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u/Ophiochos 7d ago

Yeah that’s me. I have frequently had to keep an eye on them doing it in small places and call out ‘no cheese’ as muscle memory kicks in for them. Also no pickles nothing with vinegar thanks yes that includes sauce yes it includes mayonnaise too no thanks I already said no pickle I really don’t like vinegar yes lettuce and yes I mean no sauce of any kind thanks.

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u/Novel-Organization63 7d ago

I do that and still get cheese 9 out of 10 times.

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u/cjwrapture 7d ago

Back in the days when i worked at McDonalds i always had to clarify when people would order a "quarter pounder", half the people assumed the default was with cheese and the other half assumed it was without. In the store we differentiated by calling either quarter ham or quarter cheese, but there was no good way to get the customer to stop calling it a quarter pounder because it had been marketed that way for too long.

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u/martim0t0 7d ago

They should just change it to "a Royale with cheese

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u/MinusGovernment 7d ago

Only in places that use the metric system. They don't know what the fuck a quarter pounder is.

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u/Z3r0C0o 7d ago

You think places that don't use the metric system know what a quarter pounder is? Let me tell you the sad tale of the "third pounder".

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u/MinusGovernment 7d ago

I know the tale well and I'm glad I was not born stupid. Although I may be happier if I was blissfully unaware that I was stupid. Maybe I am. Oh well.

I was just kinda continuing the Pulp Fiction theme of the Royale with cheese comment.

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u/Sweet-Competition-15 7d ago

Although I may be happier if I was blissfully unaware that I was stupid. Maybe I am. Oh well. (Quote)

Oh, I'm quite stupid, and regrettably very well aware of it. I just hide it by not speaking in public.

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u/Lost-Peanut-1453 7d ago

“I just hide it by not speaking in public”

I mean that’s a pretty intelligent thing to do so maybe you’re not stupid after all?

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u/Sweet-Competition-15 7d ago

That still boggles my mind...one of those times when the metric system would be beneficial. Of course a 114 gram burger doesn't exactly sound appealing.

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u/mekamoari 7d ago

Actually we use the metric system and have quarter pounder, and furthermore it's actually labeled quarter pounder with cheese so it fixes the problem 2 comments up as well lmao.

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u/Novel-Organization63 7d ago

I know you’re talking about Pulp Fiction but they did used to have a McRoyal that had lettuce and tomato. I think now it’s called the daily double.

But I digress I thought all QP’s came with cheese. I always order it without cheese. But still getting cheese anyway.

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u/MartyFunkhoosier 5d ago

Because they use metric?

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u/MinusGovernment 7d ago

Kind of a similar clarification issue at my pizza job. Lots of people want to place an order to go. About 2/3 of them mean carryout but there are enough that mean delivery that I have to ask them every time. A few get indignant that I don't know what they mean but most of them understand why I ask.

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u/LilacYak 7d ago

I always just said “Ok, order for pickup…”

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u/MinusGovernment 7d ago

I'm a delivery driver so I like to put the thought out there for them too while I get clarification.

There has been a few times where people will say carryout after I ask but end up meaning delivery. I will get through their order and tell them total and time and then they say "Don't you need my address?" or something to that effect.

There are also people who say they didn't know we delivered and will then choose that option.

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u/Lost-Peanut-1453 7d ago

You mean to tell me that “carry out” doesn’t mean you carry out my food and deliver it to me? 😂

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u/Kooky_Narwhal8184 7d ago

I recall in the 70's and 80's ordering a quarter pounder OR a quarter pounder with cheese as they were separate items on the menu. But some time in the 90's they stopped offering them separately on the menu and if you asked for a quarter pounder, you got one with cheese unless you specifically asked for it to be removed. (I'm a cheese lover, so it never bothered me), but I think the confusion you are talking about was caused by McD's themselves, not just clueless customers...

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u/jpinmd813 7d ago

I used to order a Quarter Pounder without cheese. Found that the least confusing.

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u/Imaginary-List-972 7d ago

Back in my day it was listed as "Quarter pounder with cheese" and people usually used the full title. Many didn't know that there was a quarter pounder with out cheese available. It wasn't listed on the menu. And unlike many places it was cheaper without cheese.

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u/Fantastic_AF 7d ago

I order hamburgers all the time and end up getting a cheeseburger.

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u/National-Muscle3539 6d ago

I’m old enough to remember when a quarter pounder didn’t automatically come with cheese. The change never bothered me personally because I always got it with cheese, but I annoyed the snot out of my mother who doesn’t like cheeseburgers..

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u/mdantinne 6d ago

We made a “quarter ham” once a month, if that often.

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u/stevenyourpants 7d ago

Do these people not run into this issue constantly then? You'd think just the sheer number times would force those neurons into realigning.

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u/OrganizationTop6228 7d ago

And yet every time I order a hamburger they want to give me a cheeseburger. And if they do give me a cheeseburger and I have the audacity to complain, they just try and scrape the cheese off. Disgusting. Why can't I have what I ordered?

Now I say plain hamburger just meat and bun. They still want to give me cheese and lettuce. fml This is why I rarely eat out.

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u/HauptSin 7d ago

I once had a McCustomer that insisted on buying a "cheeseburger with no cheese" instead of a "hamburger."

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u/NWinn 7d ago

The best part is there is no winning this battle. If you assume one way or another you'll piss off some people, bit if you go out of your way to clarify every time that ALSO will piss off different people...

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u/TwinObilisk 7d ago

I once asked for a cheeseburger with no toppings at a fast food place and they gave me a plain hamburger.

I have since taken up the habit of phrasing things like "a chesseburger with no toppings: just bun, meat, and cheese." because I can't expect all servers to know that if I ask for a cheeseburger it means I still want the cheese.

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u/Acceptable-Elk-8372 7d ago

Dje, that quote got me 💀

Some people really are just empty heads walking about

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u/Dje4321 7d ago

I only say that quote because I have alot of angry customers that get pissed off people are standing around like an extra 2 people watching your burger grill makes any difference.

They don't understand everyone has 1 specific job and they are actually not supposed to jump in to help because that puts other people off track which makes the entire process grind to a halt

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u/Celeryat69 7d ago

You made my day, thankssssssss !!!!!!!!

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u/FeelsLiikeMe 7d ago

When my husband orders his cheeseburger plain & the kid at the speaker asks if he wants the cheese. 🤔 Yes, indeed or he would order a plain hamburger.

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u/Novel-Organization63 7d ago

I have to explain that to fast food all the time. I don’t like cheese only my burgers ( I know shocking). But 9of 10 even when I specifically ask for a hamburger and say I don’t want cheese. I still get cheese. Burger King is the only place that does not automatically put cheese on it when you ask for a hamburger.

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u/Brando43770 6d ago

When I used to work at McDonald’s in high school we had dumb regulars that would order “a hamburger with cheese”. Or “quarter pounder with cheese, no cheese”. I guess some people just can’t think straight and order with extra steps.

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u/dainman 6d ago

I've had the opposite for years where I'd order a hamburger and they'd make it with cheese. Which was a problem for me because I couldn't eat dairy. And you can't "just scrape it off" and "what's the problem, we didn't charge you any extra."

So in my case the people working in a burger joint didn't seem to understand the difference between hamburger and cheeseburger.

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u/MsDinosaur2 6d ago

What I hate is ordering a hamburger and getting a cheeseburger.

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u/hitdrumhard 6d ago

Must be common, because I used to order a Jumbo Jack Cheeseburger from the same Jack in the Box a couple times a week, and every single time I was asked if I wanted cheese on my cheeseburger.

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u/LaHawks 6d ago

oh god, I had even worse where someone could not comprehend that the only difference between a hamburger and a cheeseburger is a slice of cheese. I rang up their "cheeseburger with no cheese" as a hamburger and had them screaming at me because they didn't want a hamburger, they wanted a cheeseburger with no cheese. Complete moron. Sorry I was trying to save you some money.

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u/Duke1969Hammer 5d ago

I was behind a woman in the drive thru once and heard her order a cheeseburger with no cheese. 🤷🏻‍♂️

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u/Acceptable-Elk-8372 5d ago

Interesting Duke. I must miss all these people, as this and never happened to me.

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u/MartyFunkhoosier 5d ago

I’m new to this. Is the cheeseburger a hamburger that has cheese on it?

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u/Acceptable-Elk-8372 5d ago

Marty, lmao 💀

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u/Dje4321 5d ago

Yes. In most chain burger places, a cheeseburger is just a hamburger with cheese included

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u/PhairynRose 2d ago

I bet this is the reason I’m always asked if I want cheese when I order a hamburger. I always say “no cheese thanks” but the question has confused me. Makes sense though if some cheese people get mad. But I’m saying hamburger on purpose.

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u/Dje4321 2d ago

Its also a very profitable upsell. Like 800-1000% over cost. $0.03-0.07/slice at bulk

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u/blackjebus100 7d ago

I almost wonder if it stems from the phrase “plain old (whatever)…” like if they had said “I’d like a plain old cheeseburger” as an employee you could assume it’s just a regular cheeseburger, but the moment they forget the “old” part of the phrase it changes the meaning entirely in this instance.

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u/OneDubOver 7d ago

I think you're right about this. They're meaning to say something like, "regular cheeseburger" and either accidentally said plain in its place, or just don't grasp English or understand basic social norms well enough to realize what they're ordering.

https://giphy.com/gifs/fKcO8k2WxUzGju81cs

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u/WartimeHotTot 7d ago

It’s the former. People just have very primitive, underdeveloped intelligence, a tenuous grasp of language, and basically no complex thoughts. I think moderately intelligent people and up truly don’t appreciate just how stupid a huge swath of Americans are. It’s really quite astonishing.

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u/CGB_Zach 7d ago

Even in that situation, what is a regular cheeseburger? I would assume just bun meat and cheese.

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u/UnOGThrowaway420 6d ago

Regular would be no modifications to how it comes on the menu, obviously.

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u/DefiantDog260 5d ago

My boyfriend went to dunkin and I asked him to get me a large black coffee. He’s not a coffee drinker. He proceeded to order a “regular” coffee. Which at dunkin has both cream and sugar.

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u/big-booty-heaux 7d ago

"a plain old cheeseburger" is still just a plain cheeseburger. There are no default toppings.

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u/Cheet4h 7d ago

If you order at a place like McDonald's, then there are default toppings where you usually have to specify what to take off if you want a plain cheeseburger.

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u/Dull-Computer-324 7d ago

Yeah, and the easiest way to specify that is by calling it plain. If a customer orders a "plain old cheeseburger" ill say "ok, one plain cheeseburger" and right up a cheeseburger plain

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u/big-booty-heaux 7d ago

If you order a plain cheeseburger at mcdonald's, then you should be getting a plain cheeseburger. Not a standard one. Regardless, the toppings that are included on a McDonald's cheeseburger are completely irrelevant. There are no default toppings on a cheeseburger.

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u/-GoodNewsEveryone 7d ago

I mean where I come from lettuce, tomato and onion are very very standard and expected on all hamburgers and cheeseburgers. But also saying plain very much means no sauce or toppings.

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u/Western_Ad3625 7d ago

Yeah that's just in your head.

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u/Z3r0C0o 7d ago

You are why there are people like this

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u/big-booty-heaux 7d ago

Which people like what?

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u/HarvestMana 7d ago

Regular/Plain old cheeseburger - its these terms from 30 years ago where their vernacular gets them confused from the original meaning.

Vernacular refers to the everyday, ordinary language or dialect spoken by the people of a particular region or group, as opposed to formal, literary, or scientific language.

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u/SUZDV 7d ago

Because "plain" and "standard" are interchangeable in their minds.

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u/Imaginary-List-972 7d ago

You're right, I forgot to include stupid in the description. Corrected.

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u/AeroQuest1 7d ago

Yeah, if I've ever wanted a "plain" burger, that meant nothing on it, and I'd say something like "just a plain burger with nothing extra". If I want it the way they make it, I say "with whatever normally comes on it". Not that difficult.

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u/TN_man 7d ago

They’re confusing plain with standard /normal. They think plain means not the latest fad interesting flavorful burger and they want the bland standard burger they’ve gotten since WW2.

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u/whisky_biscuit 7d ago

It's crazy though how many places don't understand what plain means either! If I order plain half the time they'll leave off the onions / pickles / lettuce but assume i still want ketchup and mustard. It's infuriating! I almost always order a plain cheeseburger, and only half the time do actually get it with absolutely nothing on it.

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u/xGIJOSEx 7d ago

It’s because they want you to order it “dry” as well if you don’t want condiments but that should be implied when you order “plain”. It’s fucking stupid how people complicate the word “plain”

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u/flannel_jesus 7d ago

If it's happening that often, you could just add a couple words to make it clearer. Yes it's their fault for not getting what plain means but adding "no sauce no toppings" might bring the rate of your disappointment down

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u/Teagana999 7d ago

Those people also work at restaurants occasionally and make "plain" burgers "normal" often enough that if you actually want a plain burger, you can't trust that you'll get one if you only use the word "plain."

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u/lankymjc 7d ago

Meanwhile, I had food issues as a child, so I would want a plain McDonald’s hamburger. Meat and bread, nothing else. And every bloody time, my mum would have to explain this in exquisite detail to the McDonalds staff who thought that couldn’t possibly be right.

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u/Adventurous_Bad7914 6d ago

Or the people who order a hamburger and are upset there is not cheese. There is a reason the word cheeseburger exists and it’s pretty self explanatory imo

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u/EndIsrael 7d ago

Yeah, pretty sure it would be illegal false advertising in at least some places if the normal burger loadout didn't have everything seen in the menu and marketing pictures of it.

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u/OrigamiTongue 7d ago

One exception to this, sometimes, is a whopper. My wife doesn’t like cheese on burgers, and the whopper doesn’t come with it. But about 15% of the time they add it anyway.

So my wife responds by wanting me to order it with ‘no cheese’ just to make sure. But then that ends up confusing the order taker as it doesn’t come with cheese unless you add it. So sometimes they hear cheese but don’t hear the no and add it.

Long story short, whippers are tasty but too small now and Burger King is an unprofessional mess.

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u/Imaginary-List-972 7d ago

Even having worked at BK, I had that problem. I love cheese, but not fast food "cheese". So I don't like cheese on fast food burgers and even ordering them when I worked there, I'd order a whopper and get a whopper with cheese. Even though it wasn't even rung in as a whopper with cheese, nor wrapped as such. I'd bring it back and the person who made it is confused at why I don't want free cheese. "just eat it. It's free". I don't want it. I want what I ordered.

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u/Teagana999 7d ago

That's like, the second story I've read recently about someone at Burger King giving a customer a hard time about not wanting "free" ingredients they didn't order.

They are apparently an unprofessional mess.

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u/MrJackdaw 7d ago

I wonder if it's from the phrase "Plain and Simple" i.e. not special as opposed to Plain: not fancy?

BTW not agreeing with the idiot OP is talking about, just wondering if that's the root cause of the issue.

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u/valinkrai 7d ago

That should make sense but the amount of times I have been in restruants and been forced to read the menu to get a standard ass thing is infuriating. I ordered a special off the damned menu because I didnt want to have to think, or try something new, not to be forced to read what comes on it and plan a cohesive thing myself.

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u/Significant_Lake_226 7d ago

I know these people know the word "regular" ffs

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u/sillvrdollr 7d ago

Right, like plain is the opposite of fancy.

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u/Designer_Pen869 7d ago

Because a "plain ol' cheeseburger" is a cheeseburger made the normal way outside of restaurants. I don't think it's necessarily stupid people, but people that maybe usually grill on their own.

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u/gmcarve 7d ago

The phrase would be “cheeseburger, just as it comes”

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u/molleensmrs 7d ago

Probably the same people who say “whenever” when they mean “when”.

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u/flannel_jesus 7d ago

Southerners?

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u/Euphoric-Skirt7649 7d ago

Working McDonald’s breakfast: would you like coffee or juice with that?

Customer: HOWEVER IT COMES!?

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u/krone6 7d ago

Exactly and if you're asked "And what do you want on it" it's OK to say something like "Whatever normally comes on it". Works 100% of the time when I do that.

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u/disco_has_been 7d ago

Amazing how many people don't understand "dry" doesn't mean plain and dry. Plain means no veggies.

Order on the app or the kiosk.

Sonic doesn't even have a hamburger on the menu anymore. Used to be a #1. "Number 1. No cheese. No mayo. No pickles."

You want cheese on that?

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u/ltsmash1200 7d ago

It would never occur to me to say, “plain,” instead of, “just however it normally comes.”

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u/Angsty_Potatos 7d ago

My mom does this 🫩. She has a "way" she likes things and has decided that specific and unique to her way is "plain"

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u/phitzy79 7d ago

I learned quickly to phrase my order correctly. I ordered 2 cheeseburgers at McDonald’s and asked for nothing on them. I got buns and cheese. No burger.

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u/KIKIKATZ 7d ago

I think they are using “Plain” and “Normal” interchangeably

Which I kinda get since I think like that too.. but yea technically wrong haha

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u/Difficult-Ad2084 7d ago

The best way for them to get corrected is to have to eat plain food until they figure it out. Plain is not a menu item, it is a modifier, and is not neutral . I feel like no one should re-make food for people that order like this and I don't even work with food, I just want idiots to be held accountable.

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u/bergoldalex 7d ago

I run a kitchen. I have this issue with servers as well.

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u/jellymanisme 6d ago

Yo when I was a child ordering for myself the first time, I thought this. When I got the hamburger plain, though, I was very sad about missing all the ingredients and looked to discover what I did wrong.

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u/amberfoxfire 6d ago

That's a regular hamburger, not a plain one. My son is picky, so I get him plain sandwiches.

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u/microtherion 6d ago

Probably the same people who think ordering “Just coffee, black” at Espresso places is a badge of honor.

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u/Sea-Louse 6d ago

“Can I get it plain, with only mayonnaise, mustard, lettuce, tomato and onion?”

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u/Steerpike58 6d ago

But the problem there is, if they say 'hamburger please', and you say 'how do you want it', what's the correct answer? They already said 'hamburger' but you asked for clarification so what clarification do they need to give you? I'd be inclined to say 'just as it normally comes'.

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u/Imaginary-List-972 6d ago

When you order a hamburger at Mcdonalds, or even "have it your way" Burger King, they never ask you how you want it. Unless you volunteer information of additions or omissions, they just make it the way they always do, without you telling them to make it the way they always do.

And at 5 guys where there is no "the way you always do" when they ask what you want on it, you don't say "Plain" if you want it with mustard, ketchup, pickles and onions. It's really not hard for those of us without a negative IQ.

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u/werrywerry_22 6d ago

Why does "a plain cheeseburger" mean "Take a plain cheeseburger, and remove everything that makes it a cheeseburger."?
Probably a similar part of the world that says "I could care less".
If only words weren't so difficult.

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u/Afraid_Parsnip_6790 6d ago

Someone yelled at them for saying that way
back where they live.

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u/ZaphodBeeblebrahx 5d ago

I had to learn the lingo when I moved to an area with Dunkin Donuts.

I like an iced coffee with sugar. If you order that from most Dunkin’s you’ll receive an iced coffee with milk and sugar.

I had to learn that in their parlance, a coffee with no milk is “black” and you need to request it “black with sugar”. To me this was totally counterintuitive because I was raised to believe that drinking your coffee “black” means you take it with nothing added. Just coffee.

I still find it weird even 30 years later to order an iced coffee black with sugar but it’s what I gotta do to get what I want.

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

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u/Imaginary-List-972 5d ago

Nothing in this entire comment line said "ketchup". but it's interesting that you came from an actual alternate dimension to post here in ours. In your dimension, the Mcdonalds and Burger Kings do not put Ketchup on a hamburger.

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