The cone is there for a reason!!!

[Chazzie]

This morning at work we were expecting our truck, and our drive thru is kind of squished into a small area, so unloading the truck requires us putting a cone out to block the drive thru so that the truck can drive through a back entrance and go behind the store. Inconvenient? Absolutely. End of the world? Also absolutely if you ask some of my customers.

So I go to the drive thru and put out a small orange cone in the path of drivers to show that the drive thru is closed. As soon as I step through the back door on the way back in I hear a coworker on the headset: "Chazzie someone just ran it over, can you go put it back and put the big orange marker on it?" Which is literally a giant drive thru marker that usually goes over the cement poles that line the drive thru path. We've been putting one on top of the cone, making it about 5 feet tall rather than 1 foot. So I step back outside and grab the big marker just as a car is coming through the exit (As they often do) and cautiously stopped in front of my poor knocked over cone. This lady watches as I put the cone back up and put the giant marker over it. As I turn around to walk back to the back door again I hear on the headset "CHAZZIE TURN AROUND CHAZZIE TURN AROUND!!"

I turn around and this woman is pushing my cone and marker out of the way with her car, while smiling sheepishly and doing a quick wave as if to say "Sorry!"

I do my best not to show a reaction that might get me in trouble as I pointedly put the cone right back up behind her car and come back inside. Not 5 minutes later our truck is in the drive thru, and a new customer knocks the damn cone over AGAIN, realizes there's no where for them to go and parks, coming inside and throwing a fit because "You guys should have a sign" and "I didn't see the truck there!"

[EricKei]

For some reason, this reminds me of the recent total remodel of a local burger joint (they of the square patties on the round buns). By which, I mean, they tore the whole thing down, dug up the foundation, and started fresh with a redesigned store, ostensibly because they wanted to "update the look/modernize it". While it really does look damn pretty now, in my experience, a procedure such as this screams "they found one too many rats in the food storage areas while the health inspector was present" >_>

Anyhoo. Their drive thru has a design I've never seen before -- namely, it's completely surrounded by a low concrete barrier for its entire length. There is no way to leave the line once you're in it (it begins on the far side, near the front, and wraps around) without risking severe transmission damage, and perhaps a decorative tree through your windshield...I really have to wonder how wise this is...Even if it effectively eliminates people leaving the line midstream after placing an order, it also prevents people from easy egress in the case of an emergency, by any means short of abandoning their car.

"You guys should have a sign"

They do...

"I didn't see the truck there!"

If he can't see something the size of a delivery truck in a small parking lot, he probably shouldn't be driving >_>

I hear on the headset "CHAZZIE TURN AROUND CHAZZIE TURN AROUND!!"

~~ Tuuurn around, Briiight Eyes... ~~

[Argabarga]

For some reason, this reminds me of the recent total remodel of a local burger joint (they of the square patties on the round buns). By which, I mean, they tore the whole thing down, dug up the foundation, and started fresh with a redesigned store, ostensibly because they wanted to "update the look/modernize it". While it really does look damn pretty now, in my experience, a procedure such as this screams "they found one too many rats in the food storage areas while the health inspector was present" >_>

Actually, they just did the same to the square burger joint in my town too. It hadn't had a facelift since the 90's either. They seem to be doing it to update the look of all their stores, doubt there's anything sinister behind it.

Probably because the golden arches did the same thing about 2 years ago, and now everyone else is in ketchup mode. Er, catch up.

[EricKei]

Yeah, you're right, it could most certainly be a redesign (tho it makes me wonder, why not just gut the place and redecorate? Would likely be cheaper)...

Tho, in this case, word on the street was that it may have had an infestation problem ~ working at a newspaper does have its advantages . Also, I have had inside sources at a handful of places back in NOLA, as well -- in each case where they basically took the nuclear option on the site, it was due to bug/rodent issues, and always called a remodel. One of them was the tiny little drive-thru with the checkered flag and the awesome fries (SM was an old friend) -- they rebuilt it exactly as it was before. Another, ironically enough, was a Golden Arches - which DID really remodel and looks much, much nicer now (done in "cafe" style).

Funny you should mention the House of Clown, tho -- there is one directly across the street from this SquareBurger. Its parking lot is in such bad shape that you can literally see half a dozen of the the tire-munching potholes from a GoogleMaps satellite image. It's been that way since long before I moved here, from what I can tell. Planning to drop Corporate a note about it, actually, complete with said satellite image. I figure I can guilt them into at least pestering the landlord about it, because the "new" Squareburger is making them look bad by comparison; I figure that ClownCo itself is likely powerless to do anything about it without the Landlord's go-ahead, as they probably lease the property. (Only their lot is like this, the adjoining lot looks fine, the streets are fine, just the private property section is bad). A shame, as their workers are really friendly, and that crap has got to be hurting their business/bringing in pissed off custys. The drive-thru accuracy there sucks, but there's nothing odd about that

[NecessaryCatharsis]

Their drive thru has a design I've never seen before -- namely, it's completely surrounded by a low concrete barrier for its entire length. There is no way to leave the line once you're in it (it begins on the far side, near the front, and wraps around)

Most coffee shops I've seen have either this or a concrete island with a 4-6 curb around the drive thru lane. More than preventing people from leaving it prevents people from cutting line, and most importantly attempting to cut in line from a random spot, blocking traffic all around for 10 minutes until someone decides to give and let them in.

When I worked nights at a coffee shop I had to go push a few cars out of drive thru lane that suddenly died and had no other way out.

[Pagan]

More than preventing people from leaving it prevents people from cutting line, and most importantly attempting to cut in line from a random spot, blocking traffic all around for 10 minutes until someone decides to give and let them in..

Should have done that with the Jack in the Box near me. The first week it was open, there was a stabbing because someone tried to cut in line.

[Deevil]

The King of Burgers that I worked at as a teen (and for a few years in my mid 20s) has a U shaped drive-thru. There was often a rut in the grass on the inside of the U from people taking the turn too sharp and driving over the curb. One night we had to close the drive-thru early and not reopen in until the next day because somebody got high centered with their right tire in the rut and could not move After that, there was a large rock to block people from driving over the curb. (which is no longer there judging from this google map picture)

(http://goo.gl/maps/j5FTM if I messed up posting the picture)

[Argabarga]

Yeah, you're right, it could most certainly be a redesign (tho it makes me wonder, why not just gut the place and redecorate? Would likely be cheaper)...

Because when you come right down to it, your average chain burger-place on the side of the road is not a very substantial building and is mostly empty space, when you add it all up, I'd be surprised if the bulldozer approach to renovation WASN'T cheaper than trying to strip it down and retrofit it.

As counter-intuitive as it sounds at first glance, knocking down a building costs less than trying to save it.

[BrenDAnn]

The golden arches closest to me just did a total tear down and rebuild, too. I thought it was extreme, but then that particular location is a few decades older than I am, too. It looks really nice now that it's rebuilt and open. The square patty place nearest me just built a brand new store next to their old one and tore the old one down. This must be a trend with the burger joints right now. As for the OP... How do you not see a delivery truck? Also... I've found that going inside is, most of the time, faster than the drive through anyway. Well, it seems like it's faster anyway. I could be wrong.

[Chazzie]

Also... I've found that going inside is, most of the time, faster than the drive through anyway. Well, it seems like it's faster anyway. I could be wrong.

It is indeed faster. When I first started working here, there was a sign in the back that showed the average times that corporate wanted us to manage. For Drive thru it's 2 minutes. For front counter it was something like a minute to a minute and a half. Obviously the goals don't always reflect the actual times, but I find drive thru to be slower because people tend to come through drive thru and order 25+ dollars of food, rather than coming in for larger orders. If there's more than one car in a drive thru, I will insist on going inside.

I kind of wish we DID have a sign... "CAUTION: THERE IS A TRUCK IN FRONT OF YOU. IT'S NOT GOING TO MOVE."

[wolfie]

I wonder how long it will be before you get a customer who not only ignores the sign, but refuses to back up to let the truck out. "He's going the wrong way through the drive-thru, HE should back up!". Never mind the fact that to get to the unloading point, the truck needs to back into the drive-through, and the only way it can get out is by going the "wrong" way.

[mjr]

putting a cone out to block the drive thru

I wonder if installing a gate would work...

[Jetfire]

Actually, they just did the same to the square burger joint in my town too. It hadn't had a facelift since the 90's either. They seem to be doing it to update the look of all their stores, doubt there's anything sinister behind it.

Probably because the golden arches did the same thing about 2 years ago, and now everyone else is in ketchup mode. Er, catch up.

Golden Arches did their big rebuild of their main store in my city 4 years or so ago.

Red Headed Girl updated one of their stores (left the other alone, but it really needs an update now too), as well, but they just upped shop, tore down a Tim's and built a new restaurant. Their old restaurant's building is still standing and after a short stint as a local restaurant, is now a Second Cup.

The Colonel's stores here in the Maritimes are getting a chain wide renovation. Most of them haven't been touched since they were built. Many are getting new buildings, or a total gut and expansion and rebuild. What's strange is they seem to randomly decide to open the store in the middle of the renovation. At times when their main store was being done, their sign would say "Drive Thru Open" or "Dining Room open" even though most of the place was boarded up. Don't think I'd be that eager to have fried chicken with a side of sawdust.

[Chazzie]

I wonder if installing a gate would work...

We already had to put a chain up where the truck comes in at the back because people were going through the drive thru backwards or skipping the sign entirely and pulling right up to the window. We could put up a chain in front of the sign too but I get the feeling that day one it would be broken.

Don't know if we could get a gate, I don't think so...

[dalesys]

We already had to put a running chain saw...

In my dreams...