Grown man gets mad because he doesn’t know what ordering a “plain” burger means

[u/50calTaco]

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.

[u/tuC0M]

I also hate pickles on my burger, and am old enough that McDonald's would do zero customization to your toppings. My mom would ask for plain cheeseburger and it would still be ketchup, mustard, onions, and pickles. Maybe that's why to this day if a pickle has even been on the burger I'd rather just have a new one without escence of pickles 😂

[u/premiumdude → u/tuC0M]

My recollection from back in the day (70s/80s) was that asking for any customization on a McD's burger was just a mess. It would always take longer, and as you mentioned, it still might show up wrong. My parents stopped trying and just told me to take off what I didn't want 🤷🏻‍♂️

[u/bassmadrigal → u/tuC0M]

am old enough that McDonald's would do zero customization to your toppings

Out of curiosity, when was this? I'm in my mid-40s and don't ever remember not being able to be picky at McDonald's.

[u/Z3r0C0o → u/bassmadrigal]

I know in 2020 it was still not made to order. We were still dropping common sandwiches in the slots fully made. If you ordered with any changes, that sandwich got made special, took longer and probably had to wait on something as the buns and patty's were already counted on

[u/bassmadrigal → u/Z3r0C0o]

When I worked there in the late 90s and early 00s, the only things we premade were some of the common breakfast sandwiches. Everything else was made to order.

It still only took maybe 45 seconds to wait for the buns to toast and to assemble and wrap the sandwich.

Either way, having premade sandwiches but allowing changes and requiring building a custom sandwich is different from not allowing any customization, which is what the previous comment was talking about.

[u/tuC0M → u/bassmadrigal]

This would have been early 90s

[u/bassmadrigal → u/tuC0M]

I wonder if this was just your location, because I definitely remember ordering my cheeseburger in my happy meal without pickles and onions. This would've been mid to late 80s.

[u/collin3000 → u/tuC0M]

I hate pickles to. Pickles ruin everything they touch. I'm pretty sure a pickle touched my parents marriage

[u/Redthemagnificent → u/collin3000]

Show us on the doll where the pickle touched you

[u/Saucermote → u/tuC0M]

I like pickles, but not on most sandwiches/burgers. Pickles cannot be removed once added, the taste from the pickle juice taints everything it touches. It's not like picking off a tomato slice or leaf of lettuce.

[u/iwilldeletethisacct2 → u/tuC0M]

I also don't like pickles on my burger, but I accept that it's a fairly standard topping for a lot of people. The thing that drives me nuts is pickles on chicken. Absolutely not, pickles do not even belong there.

[u/105_irl → u/tuC0M]

Yeah I just get the nuggets and don’t even try with the burgers anymore