McD Rant

McDonald's is trying to implement something new in certain locations. They are having humans take your order when going through the drive thru instead of a little black box.

This is good in theory, but it sucks ass in implementation, and here's why.

1) There is no menu at the order window.

There's a menu one car space back, but if the cars are moving forward quickly, you may forget to even look at the menu as you drive on by. Good luck remembering what you were wanting, especially if it is a couple of items and there's more than one item on the board that are very similar.

2) There is no menu at the order window.

Yes, I'm mentioning it twice because it bears repeating, this time for a different reason. How often do you look at the menu and then suddenly see something on there that catches your eye, and you end up impulse buying said item? Well, McDonald's just got rid of your temptation. This is a bad thing for their sales, but probably a good thing for your pocketbook and your waistline. Sadly, though, if you were intending on buying said item and were relying on the menu to jog your memory while placing the order, guess who's going to get back home a little short in the sack? (pun totally intended)

3) They've gone backwards in the order confirmation process.

Most McDonald's locations I now go to have a screen monitor that displays your order as the attendant is inputting it. You can see all the errors in communication right before your eyes, and you can quickly correct them without issue. I applaud each and every drive thru location that has implemented this feature. The human drive thru - not so much. I'm preparing to get back more incorrect orders like I did "in the old days."

My recommendation: Combine the best of both worlds. Put a mini menu and a mini screen at the human window and the world will be a happy place.

Things What Mommy Wants/Gets

What Mommy Wants:

Noritake "Paris" platinum crystal stemware
Lenox "Firelight Platinum" crystal stemware
Noritake "Vendome Platinum" crystal stemware

Emily the Strange playing cards
Any one of these specialty Bicycle card sets
The Black Arcana Playing Cards
Stainless steel playing cards - I have no idea how you would shuffle them

Chevillotte (Very)Table
Expanding Round Table - seriously, watch this video
Harley Davidson poker table - not because of the H-D symbols, but because it is black and looks more comfortable than other tables I've looked at and played at

Skull poker chip set - cheesy, I know, and no where near comparable to the set I have now, but it's still cool looking
Zombie poker tour plaques
Egyptian poker chip set


What Mommy Gets:
Lenox "Debut Platinum" crystal stemware as a 36-piece set in goblet, wine, and flute sizes
Death playing cards - although I've had these for a while and posted about them before
Mohagany fold-up poker table - must change this to black felt or perhaps a burgundy wine:)
Mini acrylic(?) Euro poker plaque set in a leather-bound attaché case, with the whole set being similar to this - I cannot find the exact set online. Hell I was lucky enough to finally find this one.


Someone has way too much time on their hands. Yes, that's Shanghai built out of poker chips. Even more oddly intriguing is San Fransisco done with Jell-O. However, I think I must own RPM-1200 "Junk City" by Enoki Chu and Urville(Paperback), because those both rock.