taqueria etiquette
Let me pose some scenarios for you all.
You're in line at a taqueria. You may be very hungry for a burrito (as I often am). The person in line in front of you orders two or three burritos. Are you mildly annoyed/peeved? If so, you deserve some sympathy, but doesn't the person ahead of you have the right to a limited number of multiple orders?
Again you are in line. The person in front of you orders, let's say, six burritos! That will take some time. However, the person orders six identical burritos (perhaps one or to with minor variations like no guacamole), so the ordering at least will take less time and the staff can make the burritos faster because they're all the same. Again, somewhat annoying but understandable? Perhaps the order is for a large work crew or family.
In line again. The person ahead orders five burritos. Yet this time, most or all have subtle differences: "OK, I'll have one super with black beans and no sour cream. Then, a regular with extra salsa -- did you get that? And then...No wait..." You get the idea. This is less understandable. When ordering bulk, shouldn't the person ordering simply get standard versions to avoid delays and mistakes? Still, one might reasonably expect that multiple orders made to the tastes of various friends, family, and/or co-workers are acceptable.
Finally, the person ahead of you is on a cell phone while ordering: "OK, I'll have a super veggie with no cheese, and --hold on --[into the phone] yeah? You want regular or super? They have chicken, steak, and pork -- no, they're out of refried beans. [back to server] OK, another super chicken -- no steak -- with [into phone] was that black or pinto?..." This repeated two more times.
OK, personally I find this last practice unacceptable. Maybe it's the cell phone, but that's where I draw the line personally on multiple burrito orders. If you're ordering for someone, get ALL their choices in advance and improvise when those choices are not possible.
I'm thinking of trying to get such taqueria etiquette codified into San Francisco law as a proposition. If it passes, we can call it "Mark's Law."
You're in line at a taqueria. You may be very hungry for a burrito (as I often am). The person in line in front of you orders two or three burritos. Are you mildly annoyed/peeved? If so, you deserve some sympathy, but doesn't the person ahead of you have the right to a limited number of multiple orders?
Again you are in line. The person in front of you orders, let's say, six burritos! That will take some time. However, the person orders six identical burritos (perhaps one or to with minor variations like no guacamole), so the ordering at least will take less time and the staff can make the burritos faster because they're all the same. Again, somewhat annoying but understandable? Perhaps the order is for a large work crew or family.
In line again. The person ahead orders five burritos. Yet this time, most or all have subtle differences: "OK, I'll have one super with black beans and no sour cream. Then, a regular with extra salsa -- did you get that? And then...No wait..." You get the idea. This is less understandable. When ordering bulk, shouldn't the person ordering simply get standard versions to avoid delays and mistakes? Still, one might reasonably expect that multiple orders made to the tastes of various friends, family, and/or co-workers are acceptable.
Finally, the person ahead of you is on a cell phone while ordering: "OK, I'll have a super veggie with no cheese, and --hold on --[into the phone] yeah? You want regular or super? They have chicken, steak, and pork -- no, they're out of refried beans. [back to server] OK, another super chicken -- no steak -- with [into phone] was that black or pinto?..." This repeated two more times.
OK, personally I find this last practice unacceptable. Maybe it's the cell phone, but that's where I draw the line personally on multiple burrito orders. If you're ordering for someone, get ALL their choices in advance and improvise when those choices are not possible.
I'm thinking of trying to get such taqueria etiquette codified into San Francisco law as a proposition. If it passes, we can call it "Mark's Law."
posted by Mark Meritt at 2:53 PM
4 Comments:
Agreed, all scenarios except that last are acceptable. By the distributive property, it would take the same time (if not more, actually) for N different people to order individual burritos. So by presenting one clear order with multiple burritos, the person in front of you is actually saving you time.
The last scenario is unacceptable because the person (a) has poor cell phone etiquette and (b) is disrupting the flow of traffic, as it were, making the order take longer than it would had each individual person been present.
Eat your heart out, Marilyn vos Savant.
All the scenarios are unacceptable, of course. Any chump can slap together a dozen burritos. Order tamales.
Gary
http://waitingforatrain-linda.blogspot.com/
I have tagged you!
I think the ability to check back with home base via cell phone has really damaged people's critical ability to make decisions on the fly. For instance, take the [admittedly sexist] stereotype of the man who must call his wife from the grocery store every twelve seconds. It's castrating. What would such a man have done before cell phones? He would have made a decision on his own, that's what. And so he should.
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