Review of Wendy's at Scott and 94th

I must admit that I really only even approached the place because I was testing out wifi.  (The wifi signal strength is low enough that you can't even detect it from outside.  Once inside, I didn't even bother to try to log on, so I have no idea how the wifi service is.)

As I approached, I saw a very large poster stating "Free Coffee" with the word "NEW" is slightly smaller letters running sideways beside the "Free Coffee."  Is this a new policy in the chain?  Is the coffee now always free?  Are they giving away free coffee to promote a new coffee blend?  So I went in.

There were only two people ahead of me in the line.  However, since it took fully seventeen minutes to deal with those two orders, I had ample time to observe what is possibly the second worst run fast food joint I have ever seen.  (And that's saying something.)

First off, it's got both a lobby and a "drive-thru."  The drive-thru obviously gets first priority.  However, that doesn't fully explain the slow service, since I didn't see that many cars whizzing through the drive-thru.

There were at least a half dozen staff in the kitchen area.  Most seemed to be concentrated in one area, making and wrapping food items.  They were so closely packed in that area, that they often seemed to be in each others way.  Sometimes the front counter cashier was called to provide drinks for the orders that were being prepared.  That meant that she had to fight her way through the pack who were packing food, get the drinks, and then fight her way back to the area where the food orders were being assembled.  All of that time, of course, the front counter was unmanned, and no orders were being taken.

When I finally got to the counter, and was acknowledged, I asked about the "free coffee" poster.  She had no idea about it, and had to go and ask a supervisor.  From what I could overhear, the coffee is free this week.  (I don't know if that's this week just ending, although I assume if it had been going on all week long, the staff would have been more aware of it.  But maybe Wendy's is just trying to keep its patrons in ignorance of the promotion.)  So I asked for a coffee, with cream and sugar.  This occasioned quite a production.  First off, the counterperson had to check with the supervisor as to whether sugar was measured with the spoon.  Then a cream container was examined with horror.  Apparently it was empty, and the counterperson, open having made the supervisor aware of this fact, was directed to a fridge under the area where the food assembly was taking place.  Having looked in the fridge, there was more discussion with the supervisor, who then came and told me that they had no cream, but they had milk.  I said milk was OK.  After a few minutes more, I had a cup of coffee.  (It was OK.  Nothing special.)