Thinking at McDonald's

Late Monday afternoon, somewhere in Western Florida, we stopped at a McDonald’s for a bathroom break and for coffee for John and me. Priscilla said, “With John’s coffee, tell them to leave enough room to put in lots of cream to cool it down and for lots of sugar.”

I went inside. A possibly 18-year-old woman at a register said, “Thank you for choosing McDonald’s. How may I take your order?”

“I would like two medium coffees,” I said. “With one, please leave about this much at the top … (I held a thumb and index finger about an inch and a half apart) … for lots of cream and sugar. It’s for a child.”

The young woman stared at me a moment and then pressed the proper parts of her register and announced: “Two dollars and fifty-seven cents.” I slid a credit card along the proper part of the machine and then got a receipt.

A different young woman appeared at the counter. She set two medium coffees on the counter. She asked, “Would you like cream and sugar?”

For a moment I was just a bit confused. I had specified a specific order, yet now I received the generic, scripted McDonald’s response.

Quickly recovering from my confusion, I said in explanation, “I requested space at the top of one coffee for lots of cream and sugar. It’s for a child.”

The young woman stared at me for a moment. Then she reached beneath the counter and got a McDonald’s sack. Into the sack she put 15 small containers of cream and 15 small sugar packets. She set the sack on the counter. She said, “Thank you for choosing McDonald’s.” She turned and walked away.

Walking to the cold drink machine, I poured out some of John's coffee and put in three creams and two sugars, stirred everything, and then went to the car.

I told all that had transpired to Priscilla. She said, “You deviated from the standard order.”

I said, “They didn’t know how to think!”