It's Okay to Know What You Want!
It's ok to know what you want. It doesn't make you a snob or difficult or picky. In fact, there are businesses that pride themselves on being able to offer personalized orders. In-n-Out Burger and Starbucks are among them. When I worked at each of these establishments, the employees actually enjoyed getting 'weird' or 'complicated' orders. It was like a game. Sometimes it showed that someone was a true fan because they knew about the secret menu.
I find I often apologize while making requests to tweak my orders. I guess it's an attempt at being polite or sensitive in case I'm causing extra work for someone, but in reality, if you're paying for a product anyway, why not be able to get it just the way you would like?
Have you experienced this yourself? Or maybe you have someone you know who always tweaks their orders? Does it make you feel uncomfortable? Why is that? I'd love to read your thoughts!
▶️ DTube
▶️ IPFS
Thank you, this thought makes me comfortable now, i have always feel that asking a favor from establishment makes me a demanding consumer.
And yes, soo right. Don't sweat the small stuff. Love that. Xx
It's a fine line sometimes, isn't it? Certain establishments pride themselves on training their employees well. I will say, there have been times when my requests have been met with an eye roll, but then I don't return to those businesses. We vote with our pocketbooks!
Thanks for stopping by!
You're just a perfect version of you, and i really appreciate your courage and efforts; I'ts great to know someone with such great personality.... Keep rocking dear.
Thank you for your kind words. We are each an example of perfect imperfection, aren't we? Each on our own journey!
Sure we are
Hey, Matthew here.
I used to feel a little awkward customizing orders but lately not so much. I'm not really sure why I felt that way. Maybe because most other people I knew didn't?
I do it all the time now. If you are paying you should get what you want and it usually isn't that much of a bother to people.
Yes, I think that can be part of it. My husband will now request a few changes to his orders, but he asks me to do it for him! Lol! He won't even try to place my orders. I try to call ahead if it's a local establishment. But I certainly agree with you that I'd you're paying for it you should be able to get what you want, and omitting an item, or adding something usually only takes a few extra seconds. Thanks for stopping by!
I feel a lot more comfortable with it now than I used to. I think my resistance was around extra work for servers who are usually so underpaid, but if you say what you want upfront it's nothing extra, and like you said, you're paying for it! I will say I think there's a limit. My MIL will try to completely change an item to where it's something wholly different - even in a fast food place. She's special.
@solarsupermama. You had me giggle with your MIL!
I will say, because of my daughter's allergies we have had to completely create a dish that wasn't offered on the menu. Like maybe their GF bread has sunflower seeds so she can't have that, and their fries are coated in flour, so we order a plain burger Patty, then add white rice and steamed broccoli. With her restrictions we don't do fast food though. 😉
Well, allergies are a whole different thing. You have to do that to keep her healthy. My MIL is just ridiculous. Don't let me get started.
knowing what you want and then being surprised is even better! :)
Surprises are great! Especially as we get older, it seems there are fewer and fewer of them.
Yes! Surprises become fewer as we age, so the occasional happy surprise is quite a treat.
absolutely! :) 100%
I feel uncomfortable if I have a special order (and with a wheat allergy I often do) for the simple reason that I'm not that good at talking to strangers. It's some kind of block in my brain, when I'm faced with someone I don't know, coupled with the pressure of a queue of people behind me, my mind goes blank. Even if I've rehearsed what I want to say in my head, as soon as the server's attention turns on me, I suddenly can't remember what I was going to ask for. Living in Austria, there's an additional language factor to take into account. Sometimes I skip ordering anything fancy for the sake of an easy life!
I have to say that like the touch screens in McDonalds for that reason. No pressure to talk. Just a shame that I try to eat healthily so I'm not in there that often. :D
Another concern I have with special orders is that the server will forget it or mess it up. Sadly, it's happened to me a few times that the supposedly wheat-free order actually wasn't. It can be hard to trust a busy and stressed server with your stomach's wellbeing.
Yes, that is certainly a valid concern. We had one occasion at a local Italian restaurant and they were very busy. The woman taking our order was not a usual waitress. She may have even been the owner's wife, she certainly carried herself like she owned the place, rather snobbish. Anyway, she was obviously annoyed with all my questions about ingredients in their dishes. I in turn felt like a nuisance and settled on a dish I was unsure about. For some reason hers was the last dish to come out and they ended up adding cheese even though I emphasized no cheese. When I brought it up she snapped that it would take 20 Minutes to remake the dish. My daughter cried because everyone else was eating but her. We've never gone back and I share my experience with anyone who asks for local recommendations. Unfortunate that she couldn't show some compassion for a child.
I think people are getting more used to the idea now that it is being offered at more places. I guess it has been ingrained in us in the past not to make a fuss. I am amazed at how many people say sorry all the time, I try to never say it unless I have done something that really merits it. In the UK when I go to a super market , I can't walk 10ft with out someone apologising for something lol
I am so guilty of the "sorry" habit!! I'll catch myself saying it when all that warranted is a simple excuse me! It's a very difficult habit to break, but at least I'm aware of it now and catching myself in the moment , so I add excuse me. Eventually, my brain should catch it sooner and I'll replace the sorry with excuse me. 😉