Taco Bell PPE + drive thru efficiency are on point

"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
09/08/2020 at 12:34 • Filed to: None

I semi- regularly use the Taco Bell app to order custom veggified versions of regular menu items, while saving the Taco Bell employees from having to furiously ta p my “sub this, hold that, add this” instructions into their registers. I’m very much against over-customizing at restaurants , UNLESS the restaurant has electronic ordering with customization options at the ready .

Taco Bell’s online ordering process is very easy: customize as you please, pay, and when you arrive at th e drive thru, say you have an online order for (insert your name here). They’ll show your order on the screen to confirm, then make your food. You can even save customized items to your favorites for quick & easy re-ordering.

The other day when I went to pick up my latest online Taco Bell order , there were two employees walking along the drive thru line in masks and gloves taking orders on iPads to keep things moving along. They even had reflective vests that look very much like the belts the safety patrols wore when I was in elementary school. The line did indeed move faster than a traditional Taco Bell drive thru line of similar length. Kudos to whoever came up with this idea.

DISCUSSION (18)

ttyymmnn > Textured Soy Protein
09/08/2020 at 12:35

They’re following Chick-fil-A’s lead on this. Chick-fil-A has the drive through down to a science.

Just Jeepin' > ttyymmnn
09/08/2020 at 12:38

I’ve seen the lines. Is there something special about their food? I haven’t had it in years and this cultural phenomenon has me confused.

ttyymmnn > Just Jeepin'
09/08/2020 at 12:39

Very good for what it is, IMO.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Textured Soy Protein
09/08/2020 at 12:40

Nice, but the Tbell that’s between me and work goes like this, for drive thru :

1. wait in a long slow line

2. order at a crackly and quiet terminal

3. drive past the first window because there’s like three people working, total, so payment and pickup are both at the second window

4. an employee who is supposed to be wearing gloves and mask but isn’t puts your food in a tub that never gets cleaned and you grab it out of that, also you still have to hand them your card like before so THAT’S “dirty” now too

5. oh and also they open at 10am , no longer serve breakfast, and RIP potatoes

So I don’t go there very much.

WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI > Just Jeepin'
09/08/2020 at 12:42

It’s good but not any better than other fast foods. Others will disagree with that sentiment though. Despite the long lines, they are consistently the fastest for drive through meals.

Textured Soy Protein > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
09/08/2020 at 12:44

If only you availed yourself of the amazing Taco Bell app, you could instead have this amazing process!

1. Order & pay online

2. Wait in a long slow line

3. Use the crackly and quiet terminal to tell the Taco Bell employees about your online order.

4. Drive past the first window because there’s like three people working, total, so payment and pickup are both at the second window but that doesn’t matter anyway because you already paid online.

5. An employee who is supposed to be wearing gloves and mask but isn’t puts your food in a tub that never gets cleaned and you grab it out of that, and you don’t have to hand them your card because you already paid online.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Textured Soy Protein
09/08/2020 at 12:53

So much better!

dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford > Just Jeepin'
09/08/2020 at 12:56

It’s good chicken, what you would expect for the price. Similar to Popeyes.

and 100 more > Textured Soy Protein
09/08/2020 at 12:57

Please believe, they still intend to wreck your insides, just not with COVID, which is nice.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Just Jeepin'
09/08/2020 at 12:59

It’s probably the third best fast food chicken sandwich right now IMO. I’d put Popeye’s sandwich and (oddly) BK’s spicy crispy chicken tied above Chick-fil-a. And I don’t really care what anyone thinks about this statement, but the waffle fries are trash. They always get soggy way too quickly.

Textured Soy Protein > and 100 more
09/08/2020 at 13:03

Taco Bell wrecks your insides a whole lot less when there’s no meat or dairy involved.

arl > Textured Soy Protein
09/08/2020 at 13:07

Chick fil a is also super efficient with their drive through PPE. The lines are always long, but they move pretty quickly. Which is more than I can say for McD’s. We went there recently for the first time in a long time. And now I remember why I hate McD’s. The fries were lukewarm, the burger was “ meh” , and they gave me a diet Coke instead of a regular Coke. And they barely said a word to me. Not a Hello or a Thank You to be found. Whatever happened to customer service? It’s like Chick fil a gobbled it all up and now there’s no more Customer Service for any other fast food place to hand out. Ah well.....McD’s has really fallen to the bottom of the fast food barrel.

ranwhenparked > Textured Soy Protein
09/08/2020 at 13:15

And nowhere near as bad as Aldi store brand canned chili. Seriously, I don't know WTF is in that, but it definately doesn't stay inside you very long

DipodomysDeserti > Textured Soy Protein
09/08/2020 at 14:35

In and Out has been doing this when they get busy for as long as I can remember. Obviously without the masks until recently.

DipodomysDeserti > Textured Soy Protein
09/08/2020 at 14:35

Eh, it’s the veggies you’ll get E. coli from.

haveacarortwoorthree2 > Textured Soy Protein
09/08/2020 at 15:11

You actually are lucky enough to be using one of the restaurants beta testing the tablets as Taco Bell is only using them in a very small number of restaurants at this time. May I ask where this restaurant is? Thanks.

Textured Soy Protein > haveacarortwoorthree2
09/08/2020 at 15:23

Rockville, MD. In the before times they had installed self-service ordering touchscreens inside the restaurant .

haveacarortwoorthree2 > Textured Soy Protein
09/08/2020 at 15:33

Yes, we have had those for awhile. Have been pushing to extend the exact same technology to the drive thru but “technical reasons.” Knew that they had rolled out testing of the drive thru tablets but wasn’t sure where since none of our locations were selected.