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/dirty_cuban]

The problem is businesses in America cater to this stupidity. OP apologized and made the burger again for free.

Here in Spain they would tell you if you want a different burger you need to order and pay for a new one. They definitely would not give you another meal because you didn’t order correctly

[u/Arkeyr79 → u/dirty_cuban]

I'm from Spain and I worked on a fast food place a few years. One day an American kid (18-20 years maybe) ordered a burger without certain toppings on the kiosk.

He comes back with the food a few minutes later saying that the burger was missing toppinps. I check the ticket, I check the marks in the wrapping. All correct. I go to check the burger, also correct. And I tell him so. He kept insisting it's wrong, I said that the burger was made exactly as ordered and as he was the one who made the order I can't do anything about it except selling him a new burger.

He asked to speak with a manager, so I get a manager. And we repeat the whole conversation (mind you he was speaking English the whole time so I was translating for the manager). The kid wants us to make him a new burger with the correct toppings for free. The manager tells him the same I said, you ordered it wrong and we made it as requested so if you want another you will have to pay again.

His face of no ever experienced someone telling him "No" made me feel for the American food workers.

[u/diyandmc240 → u/Arkeyr79]

These experiences are actually why it’s so important for Americans to travel. About 2/3 of Americans have never left North America. They haven’t experienced it, that shocking experience may have changed that person’s perspective over the rest of their life.

[u/onthenextmaury → u/diyandmc240]

It's because we're poor, dude. You think my number one dream in life isn't traveling?

[u/Snoo_11836 → u/onthenextmaury]

It's because we're poor, dude.

I guess you lot shouldn't have voted for the Orange Man then, huh?

[u/Fun_Initiative_2336 → u/Snoo_11836]

Hate to break it to ya but most of us couldn’t afford it even BEFORE the orange man. 

[u/Snoo_11836 → u/Fun_Initiative_2336]

I'm not having that. The UK is certainly not in a better economic state, nor has it ever been, than America. Yet, only around 7% of Brits haven't been abroad and experienced other cultures. A holiday abroad need not be some incredibly expensive ordeal.

The fact is that Americans in general are wilfully insular.

[u/Hour-Hovercraft-3498 → u/Snoo_11836]

But an overseas trip from the UK could literally be an hour’s flight, right? With a commensurate cost? (Looks like about $150?). You’re so close to other parts of Europe. If you compare it to Missouri in the US, a flight to Mexico or to Quebec is several hours long and over $1000.

I don’t live in either the US or the UK and have no horse in this fight, I’m just not sure it’s quite as simple as you suggest when the geography is so different.

[u/cokami66 → u/Hour-Hovercraft-3498]

I'm just gonna interject add that I'm an American who actually does travel abroad occasionally, and although it is expensive, it doesn't have to $1000+. I just booked a flight to Amsterdam for less than $500.

And most Americans could reasonably save up enough for that given some time (not all, but most.). But honestly a lot of people either don't really want to travel abroad that badly, or they think it's dangerous.

I'm from a small town and every time I go anywhere everyone is telling be careful and not to get murdered, kidnapped, ect...

[u/Hour-Hovercraft-3498 → u/cokami66]

Oh it varies for sure! But still more expensive than the UK. $500ish one way is still around $1000 return. And I imagine it varies somewhat depending where in the US you’re flying from?

I know that small town mentality yeah! I’m from a relatively small island and I know people my age who have never been to the mainland of our country (which cost about $90 return when I was a young adult so most people who wanted to could). Often it’s people whose parents and grandparents have also never left the island.

To some extent I get it, you do you, if you wanna go fish and camp and go up the lakes every holiday then sure rock on, but also…..never not even one time? I kind of don’t get how you can have no desire to see anything different or do anything different, but I was raised by people who loved to travel, so 🤷‍♀️ of course I see it that way. Travel was instilled in me as a desirable thing to do and as achievable, and I got to practice it as a child so it didn’t seem confusing or overwhelming or scary.

[u/Snoo_11836 → u/Hour-Hovercraft-3498]

Sure, but an American saying that they can't go abroad because they're poor, yet to do so would be their "number one dream in life".

As though your average American couldn't save up enough money to go abroad across their entire lifetime, despite it being their "number one dream in life".

I'm poor and yet, over 4 or 5 years, I could save up enough to have a holiday to America, but it's just too darn much for the Americans to do likewise and visit Europe? Not having it.

[u/Hour-Hovercraft-3498 → u/Snoo_11836]

I expect that out of the 2/3 of Americans you referenced there must be some people who could afford to do so who have chosen not to, that seems like a pretty reasonable assumption!

I also think there are many people for whom it’s genuinely out of reach, and more who would be resoundingly criticised for making bad financial decisions if they did splurge their limited funds on international travel. Less than half of US adults have enough emergency savings to cover three months of expenses. Ideally nobody in that situation would be spending thousands of dollars travelling just to broaden their cultural horizons (ie not for emergency reasons).

[u/TheVelvetBearcade → u/Snoo_11836]

Is this a joke? Your country is tiny - you can hop on a train, go through a tunnel, and visit half a dozen other countries in hours.

You also get much more vacation time - most Americans are lucky to get 1 - 2 weeks, a year, if they are lucky. There is no minimum - many get none at all. UK gets a minimum of 4 weeks, and often more. And we often have to use ours for things like kids, scheduled medical procedures, etc. Actually having the time to travel anywhere is a luxury.

It's also a lot more expensive in many cases for Americans to travel out of the country. Besides the fact we have to fly over oceans to go anywhere but CA or Mexico, it's a lot cheaper for people from the UK to visit the US than vice versa in many cases. You guys get all kinds of travel deals that aren't available to us, for various reasons. The tourist economy likes you because your currency is strong, you often travel for 2 weeks at least at a time, and at different times of the year than are popular seasons elsewhere, so you get much better package deals.

The idea that Americans don't want to travel more is willfully ignorant.

[u/onthenextmaury → u/Snoo_11836]

Suggesting I ever voted for trump is really offensive. Glad to know that brings you so much schadenfreude.

[u/Snoo_11836 → u/onthenextmaury]

Hey, I'm getting just as much schadenfreude from the morons over here in the UK, who voted for Brexit. The country deserves what the majority of morons voted for. You reap what you sow.

[u/glennis_pnkrck → u/Snoo_11836]

He didn’t create shitty PTO policies, gut pensions, make healthcare dependent on enduring your shit job, or shred the starter safety net put in place by FDR in favor of yeehaw libertarian “but mah bootstraps” prosperity gospel horseshit.

All he did different was say outright that only white men should have nice things. Oh, and not pretend to hide or feel bad about corruption.

[u/zon5string → u/diyandmc240]

It doesn't matter if they travel or not. Americans, in general, have gotten away with feeling entitled to be "right" at all times, and even when they are wrong, they expect to be catered to and have this "wrong" thing corrected in their favor.

[u/ZealousidealDish1500 → u/diyandmc240]

It's also because the USA is absolutely massive and just going to another state is different, there's also the fact that a lot of states take hours or even days just to drive through. We have so many different cultures here that it'd be hard for someone to experience all of them in one lifetime. I'd love to go to other countries as well, don't get me wrong, but I don't feel as though I'm missing out too much because there's so much HERE. We have gorgeous landscapes, outdoor activities, museums, all types of music, good food and wonderful people who come from all walks of life in virtually every city. However we also have a lot of ignorant folks who are unwilling or afraid to step out of their comfort zone, I know too many people who scoff at other people's opinions and are quick to call each other names, but I also believe we have more good here than bad. It's just the bad voices are much louder.

[u/AmIFromA → u/dirty_cuban]

Yeah, I‘m wondering how the US approach is supposed to lead to any kind of feedback and learning?

[u/Z3r0C0o → u/AmIFromA]

It doesn't, most Americans take very unkindly to any kind of public corrections or implied imperfections from strangers. It's so fucking weird.

[u/DullahanShotFirst → u/Z3r0C0o]

Because so many Americans are so insecure. Yeah, it can be embarrassing when you screw up in public. But either it's a learning experience, an isolated incident, and maybe even a funny story - or you need to revisit how you go about things in general, if you're frequently in such situations.

In any case, it isn't cause to get indignant and throw a tantrum. Everyone makes mistakes. We should just learn and move on.

[u/DullahanShotFirst → u/[deleted]]

How dare you try to correct meeee! 😜

Seriously though, it seems like you're going into more detail about what I said about insecurity, rather than disagreeing. I wouldn't base my analysis on comparisons between Americans and Europeans (or Germans in particular). I would base it on contrasts between Americans who react to being wrong poorly and Americans who don't. I wouldn't claim that it's necessarily a mental health, but it's definitely a personality/behavioral issue.

But your mention of the American wealthy does bring up another detail. A lot of Americans think that wealth defines a person's worth as a human being, and many of those people make it a point to mistreat food service workers and many other service workers because "Their job and income make them beneath me." It gives Americans who are far from being wealthy the opportunity to act like they're superior to someone.

[u/Leolainen → u/Z3r0C0o]

It's like a video I saw on insta yesterday, a person literally only said that the shopping cart shouldn't be left on the handicap walking area after she went into her car and was going to drive away.

And people in the comments defended her assaulting him over the with the literal excuse that he "came up to her" and talked to her unsolicited, I shit you not.

[u/Atys1 → u/Z3r0C0o]

And a lot of them have guns, so, like.

[u/Z3r0C0o → u/Atys1]

Yes a lot of us have guns, it's weird that that is impactful to this conversation

[u/tweetlebug2010 → u/AmIFromA]

It creates a society of demanding assholes that need their hand held. It's incredibly frustrating.. nothing mild about it!

[u/fitnfeisty → u/AmIFromA]

It actually enables shittier behavior. I used to work in fast food as a teen and people would take advantage of this all the time. They’d eat half the food, then bring it back because it was “wrong.”

If it was so bad, why did you finish your plate and now you expect more free food?

[u/IronicMnemoics → u/AmIFromA]

Americans are taught very consistently that "the customer is always right" which some people very obviously construe as, "I'm always right and you must cater to my demands." It's exhausting to be retail or service industry workers when some people take this mentality to the extreme.

[u/PuppyJakeKhakiCollar → u/AmIFromA]

It doesn't. It leads to dumbing down of things instead. 

[u/W_Silver2356 → u/dirty_cuban]

Spain has the right approach to that kind of situation.

[u/-GoodNewsEveryone → u/W_Silver2356]

Used to be that way in Canada up until about y2k, back then if it was a customer ordering issue you paid for it if it was made.

[u/bumpy713 → u/dirty_cuban]

Well, it was a five guys so he already paid for like four burgers.

[u/Nooms88 → u/dirty_cuban]

Not American, British, but I was in Marseille over summer with my Polish wife.

We went to a cafe, I had a beer, she ordered a coffee.

Coffee was a bit strong for her liking so she went back and asked for a dash of milk.

"did you order a Latte? No, so no milk!"

I found it hilarious.

Much better approach than the customers always right imo

[u/Loraelm → u/Nooms88]

I was gonna say, if you think it's a bit strong you ask for water, not milk. Of course they won't give her milk for free

But again, I'm French so not choked at all. Like, I don't wanna sound too harsh, but it's kinda audacious to ask for milk when you've paid for a regular coffee lol

[u/Nooms88 → u/Loraelm]

She offered to pay for some milk, that wasn't acceptable either.

[u/Loraelm → u/Nooms88]

Oh that's different then. I'd have done it had I been the barman. But yeah we're not renowned for our accomodability when it comes to these sorts of things

[u/Lonely_Nebula_9438 → u/dirty_cuban]

I’ve been a fast food manager in the US before and OP’s response isn’t really about catering to customers, it’s a cost-benefit analysis. Is it easier to make a new burger than it is to argue with a middle aged man about a burger? 90% of the time the answer is yes, it is easier to just make a new burger than argue with them about it. For whatever reason coming to a fast food restaurant legitimately turns some people insane, and it simply isn’t worth it to fight every crazy person. 

Also sometimes people do just make mistakes when ordering. If someone was sufficiently penitent and polite when asking me, I’d say yes. They aren’t trying to scam you, they just want their lunch to be how they like it. Though if someone was rude and it was entirely their fault, then that’s too bad. Get better at ordering bozo. 

[u/DCRBftw → u/dirty_cuban]

Appeasing paying customers isn't solely an American thing. I'm glad you think this never happens in Spain, but that's just not true.

[u/girldrinksgasoline → u/dirty_cuban]

If you did that in America it would devolve into a situation where the police need to be called about 80% of the time.

[u/Fromnothingatall → u/dirty_cuban]

Yah but even if you get the wrong food in Spain, it’s still going to be GOOD food. See, that’s the difference.

[u/Particular_Maize6849 → u/dirty_cuban]

"The customer is always right."

[u/MartyFunkhoosier → u/dirty_cuban]

And let me guess that people in Spain don’t end up screaming violent slurs at minimum wage employees every time they are slight inconvenienced, either, huh?

[u/EquipmentAdorable982 → u/dirty_cuban]

That only works if the word "plain" is actually written on the menu as an option. If it isn't, the customer is not obligated to be familiar with fast food lingo that isn't explained anywhere.

[u/dirty_cuban → u/EquipmentAdorable982]

See that right there might be the mindset difference that explains it.

You’re describing that if the customer doesn’t know they just make an assumption and if that assumption is incorrect the store/restaurant is liable to fix it.

Here if you don’t know how it works, you need to ask because you’re responsible for what you order. Any assumptions are your responsibility, not the stores.

[u/EquipmentAdorable982 → u/dirty_cuban]

The customer made just as much or little of an assumption as the store clerk.

The customer did order a cheeseburger, which is on the menu.

The clerk referred to the word "plain", which I guarantee isn't on the menu. And the error here is with the clerk for not confirming what the customer meant with "plain regular".

If this would turn into a lawsuit for some reason, the customer would 100% come out on top here.

[u/dirty_cuban → u/EquipmentAdorable982]

As the OP explains, at five guys a cheeseburger as listed on the menu has no toppings at all, it’s just bread, meat, and cheese. All the toppings are free extras added to the burger, but the customer must order each topping individually.

If a customer doesn’t order any toppings then they don’t get any toppings and plain isn’t a topping. In fact, plain specifically means “lacking extra elements” according to google so it’s not much of an assumption to understand plain as “I don’t want any toppings”

In OPs case, the customer for exactly what they ordered.

[u/ikkiyikki → u/dirty_cuban]

Wait, you mean in Spain if they get your order wrong, too bad so sad?

[u/dirty_cuban → u/ikkiyikki]

I’m not sure where you’re getting that understanding because that’s not at all what I said.

[u/angelbelle → u/ikkiyikki]

you mean in Spain if they get your order wron

The scenario is when the customer is wrong

[u/Klutzy_Brilliant6780 → u/ikkiyikki]

The most American response on the internet.