For the love of everything, just put the red flag on the order!
I stopped by a Chick-fil-A where I'll be starting again in a few weeks to check on my uniform status and decided to grab some food. I worked at this location several years ago, and for context, I've worked in BOH for six years across four locations. I'm pretty familiar with how items are assembled and packaged, to say the least.
I ordered a lettuce-wrapped CFA Deluxe and asked the employee to add a red flag requesting a bowl. He insisted it already came in a bowl and didn't need one. I explained that it normally comes in a sleeve inside a clamshell. He insisted he knew what he was talking about. I told him I did, too. As far as he knew, I was just a regular guest until I mentioned my BOH experience at the end. Low and behold, my food came in a sleeve inside a clamshell, with no red flag. Exactly what I'd said would happen. So I had to walk back up and ask for it to be corrected. I don't even mind the sleeve, but I specifically wanted the bowl so the cheese could melt properly over the sandwich.
I'm having a horrible week. Between the grief of losing loved ones and personal circumstances, I'm struggling to even get out of bed before noon most days. Today is the first day in a month I haven't had a drink before noon, and I just wanted to get out of the house, enjoy some food, and have one thing go right. I haven't looked forward to much of anything lately. I wasn't asking for anything complicated or against policy. I just wanted my sandwich in a bowl so the cheese would melt! That's it!
After six years in BOH, I understand mistakes happen. I've made plenty myself. But there's a difference between making an honest mistake and refusing to communicate a reasonable guest's request because you're convinced you know better. You never know what kind of day someone is having, and sometimes the smallest things make a difference.
Please. Just put the red flag on the order. It's a button and a few words!
Rant over.