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Last week, I decided to go through the drive-through line of Burger King at the Travel America next to the highway to pick up some fast food for the family as I was returning home from some errands.

I snaked my way through Burger King’s odd drive-through pathway, placed my order and proceeded to wait my turn to get to the window.
After paying, I was asked to pull forward and park behind a white SUV that had been in front of me in line. It appeared the white SUV had been asked to pull forward moments before I was.

Because there was no one behind me, I stated that I preferred to wait at the window for my order rather than pull forward. The guy at the window mumbled something before rushing off, returning less than two minutes later with my completed order.

I received my food before the person in the white SUV, which made me wonder if the person in the SUV had a special order that was taking a bit longer or if I got my food first since I refused to pull forward.

I have long had issues with being told to pull up in a drive-through line. The whole idea of fast food is that the food will be handed to you quickly.

It seems the only time you might have to wait is during nonpeak periods, when they are not serving as much food, because during peak times, food generally should be ready to go continuously.

During those nonpeak periods, when the restaurant is less busy, there should not be much of a backup in any drive-through line anyway.

Delays caused by various unforeseen circumstances should be the exception, not the rule.

Many times when I have obeyed and pulled forward in a drive-through, the order was wrong or missing items. By the time we noticed the mistake, the employee was already back in the building, unable to assist us. We then had to go inside anyway to have the mistake corrected, nullifying any benefit we tried to gain by using the drive-through.

Oh, I get the reasoning behind why we are told to pull forward. I know at times there is someone behind me who might have ordered just a single item, and for me to not pull forward delays that person.

But what about all those times that I order food and no one is behind me at all? Why pull forward then?

Employees at various local fast-food establishments are quite vocal about why they want you to pull forward even if no one is waiting behind you.

I have been informed several times (mostly after refusing to pull forward) that they are on a timer, which clocks how fast they complete each order after a customer pulls up to a window.

Taco Bell places a large digital counter on the wall, which records how long a customer has been waiting at the window. In an effort to make themselves look good, employees will routinely ask customers to pull forward as soon as they pay; making it appear that food is flying out the window.

If I pull forward, I am helping the employee cheat the timer. The employers aren’t getting a true vision of how long it takes the employee to process orders, and employees will continue to put out food at whatever pace they choose because you are no longer a priority.

Pulling forward puts you at their mercy because their promises to “bring it out in a minute” can turn into 10 minutes or more.

I like being able to sit at the window and watch my food being made. In doing so, I have at times been appalled as I watched employees go from sweeping or mopping to handing food without washing their hands. When this happened, I asked for them to wash their hands and remake my food, refusing to take the tainted bag they tried to offer to me through the window. Had I pulled forward, I would not have seen this.

Decisions about where to pick up fast food are often decided by how likely it is that we’ll be asked to pull forward. We try to avoid places that routinely ask us to pull forward regardless of what we ordered or if someone was behind us.

We will continue to choose eating establishments that serve drive-through customers one at a time, treating us as individuals rather than just another quota to be filled and shoved along.

Linda Vestal is a wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend living in Gibsonville. Contact her with comments or story ideas at lindavestal@triad.rr.com