Fast Food @ MindSay

I was at a drive through yesterday. Hardee's, if you must know. As I was waiting for my "fast" food, I found myself staring at the menu board. Nearly everything was listed as a "combo". And the ones that weren't, there were notes all over it saying "make it a combo!" Which got me to wondering, when did combo become a word? It isn't, you know. Combination is a word, but combo is a slang term. It seems to me that the term combo has become so pervasive, especially in the fast food world, that it has become acceptable as a word on its own.

 

I know this happens. Ain't. When I was in school, they used to tell me, "ain't ain't a word." Turns out, they were wrong. Somewhere along the way, ain't was added to the dictionary and is now an actual word, not just laziness. So, I guess it is the same with combo.

 

Just to be sure, I checked everybody's best friend, the OED. (For those of you who have no friends, the Oxford English Dictionary...THE dictionary of dictionaries, if you will.) OED shows that the term combo, listed as slang, meaning combination or partnership, dates back to the 1920's: Below is the entry for the etymology, taken from the OED.

 

1929 DUNNING & ABBOTT Broadway III. 113 [of two dancers] We'd make about the best combo I could imagine. 1931 Amer. Speech VII. 105 Combo, the combination of safe or vault. 1959 in Ibid. (1962) XXXVII. 79 In describing the first poetry-jazz concert at Nebraska University a newspaper reporter referred to the reading of poetry to a jazz accompaniment as a combo. Ibid., Potluck Supper on Slate? Take chicken-rice combo. 1963 Ibid. XXXVIII. 156 Recently, I heard a television commercial in which a woman shopper in a supermarket was heard to exclaim enthusiastically, ‘Me and Tide' some combo!’ 1963 R. I. MCDAVID Mencken's Amer. Lang. xi. 717 Specially made tools to..pull the combo [in safe-breaking].

 

You can see that the first documented usage was from a Broadway play in 1929. One of these days I feel like the OED will update it to include, 2008 Hardee's (McDonald's, Burger King, whatever) "would you like to try a combo with that?"

 

There are also two other definitions for combo;  A white man who lives with an Aboriginal woman, and, a small instrumental band. So, apparently it is not just fast food which is bastardizing the language.

 

And then, just for fun, I looked it up in the NTC's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions which leaves out the Aboriginial definition found in OED, but then adds a new one: a bisexual person. And then offers this example, "Nobody would have thought that Fred's a combo. He's not a combo, he's just confused." Okay....new question, what sitcom writer moonlights as a dictionary writer?

swanginbajingo alerts us to news of the merger of Wendy’s and Arby’s.  While you can read all of the juicy (pun intended) financial details in USA Today, we’re more curious as to what your dream Wendy’s-Arby’s combo meal would consist of.

Personally, I want a Spicy Chicken Sandwich and Cup of Chili from Wendy’s, with Curly Fries from Arby’s.  And, maybe a Diet Coke from Wendy’s, since Arby’s serves Pepsi products.  

What is your dream Wendy’s-Arby’s combo meal?

I heard this story on the news a couple weeks ago and forgot about it, but thanks to a reminder from alfewi, here's some very controversial news out of Mississippi.  A trio of legislators (2 Republicans, 1 Democrat) have introduced a bill that would make it illegal for state-licensed restaurants to serve obese customers. 

While obesity is certainly a huge problem in the US, it seems like something the government really can't regulate, at least in this way.  First, there would need to be standards as to how to classify someone as obese.  Second, restaurants would need some way to measure people (would they put a scale or fat % calculator in every restaurant?) against those standards.  Third, and perhaps most difficult - how would they enforce such a bill?  "Fat Marshalls" in every restaurant?  

I can see where legislators are coming from - obesity is both a health crisis and something that inflates everyone's healthcare costs.  But, having the state tell us who can and can't eat out seems a bit extreme, and impossible.

There is a website where a guy reviews fast food and also compares the advertisment for the greasy treats that are peddled by McDonalds, Burger King and the like with the harsh reality of what these things look like in real life.
Let me tell ya something...I like fast food as much as the next artery clogged American taxpayer but some of this stuff looks like nasty as hell.
Most notably that KFC Famous Bowl that looks like something my dog threw up.

McDonald's was recently named the fast food restaurant with the best fries, with 63% of the vote. And I would agree, but ONLY under the following circumstances:

 

1. IF the fries are hot, which in my experience has only been a small percent of the time.

 

2. IF the fries are salted appropriately, which is usually never.

 

3. IF you get the correct portion, which is ALWAYS never.

 

McDonald's, amongst other chains, aren't as clued into the customer service satisfaction issue as they'd like to believe. If you don't believe me, think about the last few times you have gone through a drive through. Answer the following questions:

 

1. Was your order correct? (did you get everything you asked for, the WAY you asked for it?)

 

2. Did they ask you to "pull ahead and wait?" (they do this because they track customer ticket times. The second you leave their window, the computer considers your transaction to be complete. They couldn't care less how long you wait there after that, they'll make their bonuses based on what their computer says, not on how long any given customer is actually there.)

 

3. Was your order temperature appropriate? (Was the hot food hot and the cold food cold?)

 

4. Have you been frustrated because some (or all) of the previous questions were "NO" answers?

 

Drive through customers are treated as disposable. The people working the window know that you're on your way somewhere and aren't likely to return if the order is not correct. They'll gladly serve you fries that have been sitting there since their last "rush" and give you any old burger they want, even though you asked for something "special."

 

This INFURIATES me. I know, it's only fast food, but I'm PAYING for this crap and it's annoying!! What if I am allergic to something they put on there? And now I need to be somewhere but have opted to use their "convenient" drive through in order to obtain sustenance? It becomes glaringly and decidedly inconvenient when they don't give you what you asked for. It is downright absurd when they get the ENTIRE order wrong.

 

I have gone into these restaurants and watched their procedures. It goes a little something like this:

 

You place an order. For demo's sake, let's say you order the following:

Cheeseburger with no pickle

Fry

Shake

 

The person (if it is a slow period for them) who takes your money will then turn and put your fries in a bag and then put them into the "To Go" bag and sit that by the burger slide. Then they will go and get your shake (IF they have them).

Now you are at the mercy of the grill cook's speed and accuracy.

 

There are several things wrong with this scenario.

1. If you're handling money, you should NEVER be handling ANY type of food.

EVER.

Period.

 

2. Fries are the most time-sensitive item on any menu. They should be the LAST thing to go into the bag and shouldn't EVER be sitting under any heat lamp because there isn't any heat lamp that can keep them hot for any length of time.

 

3. A drink is a drink is a drink and should be the second-to-last thing to be gotten. Who wants a watered down soda or melty shake??

 

4. Hopefully you got a conscientious grill person and they didn't put the pickle on your burger. Hopefully.

 

If I were Queen, I would change the following:

 

1. Abolish the "ticket times" altogether.

 

2. Customers should not have to "pull ahead and wait" just because they don't have their feces cohesive in the kitchen.

 

3. If an order isn't correct that it should be free, as well as the next one.

 

THAT will make the "suits with calculators" understand exactly how "together" each unit *truly* is.

 

I am really not a cold-hearted customer. I realize that mistakes will be made and that, as a human, this is forgiveable. What's not forgiveable are *consistent* errors, and they are rampant in the fast food business.