I don’t order fries at any of the drive-thrus in my town much any more, but this night I had a hankering for some so I ordered a medium size with my burger. I asked the woman at the order kiosk if I could have some extra salt with that. If you’re going to eat healthy, never skip the extra salt.
There was a pause on the speaker and finally the young woman server asked me, “What kind of sauce do you want with the fries?”
“No, no,” I said, using two no’s in a row for emphasis. “I want extra salt with my fries.”
“Okay, drive up,” came the reply. I paid for my delicacies and picked them up at the second window. Then found a quiet place to park to enjoy my feast.
A search of the bag my food came in revealed no extra salt, not even one little paper packet. However, I was the lucky winner of seven plastic packets of ketchup. Seven. A couple more and I could have opened my own ketchup store.
I might yet do that anyway. I know a business opportunity when I see one staring at me from a junk food bag.
I suppose I could have gotten upset by this but for once, my empathy gene kicked in and I remembered being frazzled and making mistakes at some of my early jobs. (And at all of my later ones.)
I also had the benefit of knowing how quickly fast-food complaining can go badly wrong. In April of this year in Memphis, a 32-year-old woman was upset about the wait at a restaurant and after arguing with several employees at the joint, she grabbed a gun, leaned into the drive-thru window and opened fire. Fortunately, no one was injured.
This was not a scenario that could play out with me as I cannot fit through a drive-thru window any more, having picked up food at too many of them over the years. And secondly, I had left my gun at home on the kitchen table beside my hockey cards and am not sure I would have used it after being denied a small packet of salt. In fact, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have. I don’t think so.
As for the ketchup, I have put the seven packets on an Internet marketplace at a reasonable discount. With luck, I’ll earn enough for another helping of fries which I will generously salt with the shaker I now carry with me for such emergencies.
©2021 Jim Hagarty
