This Baked Potato Order Is A Red Flag For Wendy's Employees
What does it take to be a chef? Is it all about culinary skill and a well-traveled palate? Or does it simply take patience?
From line cooks at the greasiest diner to the most revered chefs in Lyon, Paris, one thing is certain — it takes a great amount of patience and focus to juggle multiple orders and ensure the recipe comes out correct each time. While being a chef is stressful, there's a great level of pride and achievement in preparing an exquisite meal no matter how complex the dish. But there are certain dishes that, despite all the patience in the world, are enough to make even the most level-headed chefs flip into a Gordon Ramsay-type rage.
Fine Dining Lovers published a report on the 58 most bizarre food orders a professional chef had to hear, ranging from "well-done pasta and medium-well fries," to "a cheese plate with no dairy" and "diet water." Similarly, self-identified Starbucks workers on Reddit shared their grievances with making drinks from the company's so-called "secret menu," where the drink "recipes" differ, and customers may not know exactly how to order the customizations. Even at everyday fast-food chains, there are some things line cooks absolutely dread making, considering all of the customizations one can do with burgers, chicken sandwiches, and everything else on the market.
With that in mind, it's no surprise that some Wendy's fry cooks can't help but stifle a groan when they hear that a customer wants a "fully loaded" baked potato.
Wendy's employees are annoyed by 'loaded' baked potatoes
Ever since debuting in the 1980s, the Wendy's baked potato has had a reputation for being one of the fast-food chain's healthier options, per Reader's Digest. Although a baked potato sounds healthy on its own, customers can customize their tater with anything from bacon to sour cream and chives to chili and cheese, which may put a bit of a damper on the "healthy option" aspect. It's this customization option that has some self-identified Wendy's employees on Reddit fuming, arguing that some customers have no idea what "loaded" means.
Even though there are set menu options regarding what you can top your potato with at Wendy's, the common employee gripe is that customers believe ordering a "loaded" baked potato refers to a specific way of preparing a potato. "I usually tell them we don't have 'loaded potato' in the menu. They either get the bacon and cheese or chili cheese potato," wrote one Reddit user, adding, "If they still want to argue, I just put bacon and cheese."
"I just say 'So a bacon and cheese potato,' and they always seem like 'uhhh yes,'" another user stated, with others agreeing that it would be easier if the customers would just say which toppings they want.
While certain commenters admitted their exhaustion with dealing with these types of customers, one user stated that he tossed whatever toppings he could find onto the potato, and that, in his words, "no one ever complained."
Vague orders are red flags at Wendy's, too
If you thought baked potatoes were the only things that made Wendy's line cooks roll their eyes, you'd be mistaken. There are more than a few minor (if not pretty annoying) orders that make everyone from cashiers to cooks swallow back snippy comments. Self-identified Wendy's employees once again took to Reddit to air their grievances about everything from needlessly complicated orders to the "exceptional" customers who order them.
One Reddit user's pet peeves included customers who attempt to change the "4 for 4" value deal — a bundle featuring a sandwich, fries, nuggets, and a soft drink — into an order of four Junior Bacon Cheeseburgers. And then there's having to figure out just what a customer means if they order a "regular cheeseburger." Other users shared complaints about customers who have no idea what a "plain" burger is. And then, of course, there are the customers at the drive-thru who seem to have no idea why they're there in the first place.
Other self-identified fast-food workers were eager to share their complaints on Reddit, too. Comments included everything from a Starbucks employee advising against trying to make an incredibly complicated and embarrassing order from the "secret menu" to a Wendy's employee declaring the absurdity of ordering a so-called "T-Rex Burger" — a burger with nine beef patties. (The "T-Rex Burger" is, obviously, hard to serve.) When in doubt, it's best to order something that's actually on the menu; the employees will thank you.