The state of American fast food is a great indicator that our society is going downhill. I hardly eat fast food at all anymore thanks to the outrageous prices, but when I do I usually end up leaving annoyed. I don’t think I expect too much, I just want to order and eat my food without being seriously inconvenienced. Below is a selection of places I’ve been that were especially bad.
Arby’s
17032 N 99th Ave, Sun City, AZ 85373
Dining area was dirty and customer service was horrible.
Burger King
1480 Weldon Rd, Roanoke Rapids, NC, 27870
I went through the drive thru only to be told they couldn’t make anything because there were no cooks.
Culver’s
8830 W Deer Valley Rd, Peoria, AZ 85382
It took forever to get my food despite the large amount of employees “working”.
Dairy Queen
13365 W McDowell Rd, Goodyear, AZ 85395
I waited in line for a very long time before they finally refused to take my order.
3033 Tyler Dr, Northport, AL 35476
Service consistently very slow, and they don’t care enough to wipe down the outside of the cup before handing it to you.
6768 W Deer Valley Rd, Glendale, AZ 85310
Promotional blizzard was missing the main ingredient.
Jack in the Box
3900 Dickerson Pike, Nashville, TN 37207
I hate to add a Jack in the Box to this list because it is probably my favorite fast food chains. This location had only diet drinks available, and when I asked for a water instead they still tried to charge me for a soda. I ended up just not getting a drink because there is no way I’m paying almost three dollars for a water cup when it wasn’t even my first choice.
KFC
12621 W Bell Rd, Surprise, AZ 85378
Some friends of mine had a bad experience here, so I am not even going to give this KFC location a chance.
Little Caesars
550 15th St E, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401
I used to go to this location fairly regularly and never had any problems. Recently, I ordered on the app, and when I arrived at the scheduled pickup time, I was very rudely informed that they were not going to make my order. Now I am having to go through the hassle of disputing the charge because they didn’t even refund me for the pizza they didn’t make.
McDonald’s
2421 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach, FL 33401
The McRib I ate here didn’t have nearly enough sauce, and the customer service was definitely lacking.
2502 12th St, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401
I applied a coupon in the app, but it mysteriously disappeared when I came through the drive thru to pick up my food. After I noticed, I called and was promised a call back, which never happened. I ended up having to dispute the charge on my card to get back the $1.05 that was rightfully mine.
2667 W Camelback Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85017
I went to this location specifically because they have a right-hand drive thru. They didn’t have a sign posted or a traffic cone blocking it, but they wouldn’t take your order on the right side. What a shame.
3455 W Peoria Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85029
After waiting in the drive thru for close to twenty minutes, I was told I had to go inside because my food (a single chicken sandwich and a fry) was not ready yet. When I asked if I could pull forward instead I was told they didn’t have any employees to bring the food out. This is the dumbest excuse I have ever heard. I left with no food.
4711 McFarland Blvd E, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401
Rude service, and I only got three pickles between the two burgers I ordered. The food was still alright, but I was very disappointed.
Popeye’s
20272 N 75th Ave, Glendale, AZ 85308
Service was insanely slow even though they had plenty of employees standing around.
Sonic Drive In
3160 15th St, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401
I came to this store during soft sell for the Garlic Butter Bacon Burger. They told me they couldn’t make it because they didn’t have the bread yet, which is a ridiculous claim because it uses a regular hamburger bun. I emailed corporate about it and they said “The item was discontinued … There’s no current plan to add this item back to the menu” which was a complete lie, considering it was advertised on the stall screens when I visited and TV commercials were playing the next week. I drove over to this store for no reason because they apparently don’t understand their own menu.
3704 84th Ave Cir E, Sarasota, FL 34243
I was served the thinnest onion rings I have ever seen. Especially disappointing for a Sonic.
930 N Washington, Livingston, AL 35470
This is by far the worst Sonic I have ever been to. I arrived excited to eat a Country Fried Steak Sandwich for the first time in a while, but unfortunately this was not to be. It looked a little busy, but I was alright with waiting. Then, after pressing the red button, I discovered that the employees of this store think it is acceptable to answer the switchboard and then immediately hang up so you can’t order. I personally find this completely unacceptable, and honestly it ruined my day. At minimum, the employees could have lied and said they couldn’t accept orders because of a computer issue, but they chose instead to permanently lose me as a customer. Too bad for them!
Subway
751 Campus Drive W, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487
Incompetent, rude, and slow workers can’t put a sandwich together and will refuse service if you don’t have a piece of cloth over your face.
Wendy’s
1499 Julian R Allsbrook Hwy, Roanoke Rapids, NC 27870
Every time I go here I regret it. The app never works and they don’t get your order right. Even if your order is correct, Wendy’s burgers aren’t very good.
3025 W Peoria Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85029
I made the mistake of going to another Wendy’s. The only Coke Freestyle machine with a working touchscreen was out of HFCS so it could only dispense diet drinks (disgusting!). For whatever reason, the burger I was served was made with two heels. Something else was off about the burger too, but I ate it without further investigation because I was in a hurry. Maybe this experience will finally get me to stop going to Wendy’s for good.
1920 McFarland Blvd, Northport, AL 35476
I decided to give Wendy’s one last chance since I saw they had a $12 off of $20 deal when ordering for pickup on DoorDash. When I arrived to pick up my food, the employees were adamant that they did not have my order and I should contact the customer and tell them they didn’t order right or something. They could not seem to grasp that I was the customer and not a delivery driver. After at least five minutes of them begging me to leave, it turned out that they did have my food ready to go all along. No apology and the food wasn’t even good.