I’m going to try and not let poor service taint this review of Wendy’s new burger..but….
We were out tooling around last night, didn’t feel like going to the grocery or cooking, so we were in a mood to grab some fast food to take home. Regular readers know that Mrs. Burgerdogboy is not a “burger girl”, but she suggested we grab one, and we did have some coupons in the car.
Her caveat: she would only go to a drive-thru (Ok, we were wearing pajamas, so that’s somewhat understandable, tho we have eaten in restaurants in our PJs before……guess it depends which ones we (I) have on as to whether or not she thinks it’s a good idea!)
Into Wendy’s, our coupons called for one free cheeseburger with the purchase of fries and drink. Seemed like a bargain until we tried to order.
Neither of us have a single bone of prejudice in our bodies, but we had a really difficult time ordering from the window person who apparently couldn’t call English her native tongue.
We thought we had accomplished the order until we got to the window, when it not only became apparent our order had not been taken correctly, but that it was taking several (OK, five) non-English native speakers to sort this simple order out.
It finally happened, and off we flew.
First off, I have had Wendy’s “new” fries before, and previously thought they were pretty OK. I commented at the time that I thought they would be best served right from the fryer, and my opinion on that fact hasn’t changed. Last nite’s order was a) undercooked, and b) suffering from heat-lamp-itis. Fail.
The new burger? I’ve previously tweeted that a number of other bloggers said it was “worth a try,” but I don’t agree. I don’t really notice any difference in taste from the previous burgers, which, by their own admission, they had not changed in decades.
New “butter toasted bun?” Nothing thrilling here folks. The marketing folks at the Wendy’s machine crow about the condiments, “premium toppings”, “fresh leaf lettuce”, “hand-sliced tomatoes”, “crinkle cut pickles”, and “sweet red onions.”
One of the things I always liked about Wendy’s was ordering a burger for whatever condiment mood I was in personally: “onions and mustard only”, “double pickles” or whatever.
Apparently the late Dave wants to give me new choice with the “Hot and Juicy.” It came loaded up with these toppings and they didn’t do a thing for me. To make matters worse for my own taste buds, few things I like more on this planet than good dill pickles. Apparently Wendy’s decided dill wasn’t the way to go, these are more reminiscent of bread and butter pickles. Did you research what percentage of pickles sold in the US are the bread and butter variety? In the minority I would guess. Adding this flavor to a burger blends sweet and savory, usually an awkward kinda thing, as it is here.
As the burger in a bag was handed to us the nanosecond we hit the #2 window, obviously it was not “cooked to order.” Juicy? Nah.
So, a bad experience all around. Except for the price with the coupon, as two people ate for less than $4.00.
Will I be back? Nah. I gave up on Wendy’s years ago, they had a chance to win me back, didn’t.
Sorry, Dave. And by the way, Mr. Local Franchisee? How can you expect to run a business with help like this? Put your best person on the order desk. It’ll pay back.
