Baker's Drive-Thru Parking Lot

Yep! I hand-graffitied it MYSELF!

Yesterday, as I was driving to the high school to teach the kiddies how to argue and speak publicly, I went through the Baker’s Drive-Thru, as one does.  Baker’s is right on the way to the school, and if I don’t pick up something for dinner, then I won’t get anything until 8 to 9pm, depending on how late the practice runs.  I’ve been doing this for about six years now, and it works reasonably well.

Unfortunately, this particular Baker’s is somewhat slow.  I’ve learned that if there are two or three vehicles in the drive-thru, I might as well go on down to the other fast-food restaurants, as it will actually save me time and frustration.

Last night sorta took the cake.  I risked the two cars already in the drive-thru, so I was braced for waiting—and man, did I!—but when the server asked if I wanted to “power size”, I said, “HELL YEAH!”  I love me a big Dr Pepper, and always want the largest.

Except . . . damned if what I was handed wasn’t their medium.  I didn’t realize it at that exact moment, as I needed to get out of the drive-thru and on with my life.  When it registered, I pulled back into the parking lot and popped in with my receipt where it said “Power Size” right on it.  I was sure that it was just a minor error. 

Guess what?  It wasn’t!

Nope.  “Power Size” to Baker’s is the medium.  To get the large, you actually have to say “large” which apparently is even more money than the $3 fountain drink I’d already paid for.

I mean, none of this is Earth-shattering and certainly a First World problem.  I generally don’t bother to make a formal complaint, because meh.  But the labeling by Baker’s is misleading.  Who hears “Power Size” and thinks, “Yeah, that’s gotta be a medium for sure!”

So, I went on Baker’s site and filled out their comment/complaint form.  I hit send and got: Failed to send your message.  I figured I did something wrong and tried again.

Failed to send your message.

Baker's: Now Failing at Taking your Complaints!

Right.

So here’s the message, friends and Baker’s.

I'm afraid that I have two complaints—one about this particular location, and the other about your current labeling.

This particular location, at Blaine Street, is incredibly slow.  I've spent up to fifteen minutes sitting in the drive-thru with only one or two cars ahead of me.  This is not a rare occurrence.  I often go to this particular restaurant on my way to the high school, and if there are more than two cars in the drive-thru, I will pass and go to the Carl's Jr. That drive-thru is a further drive, but it's simply not worth the wait.  The store has been like this for several years, so clearly there is something wrong with the management or training here.

Second, the "power size" option on your menu.  This makes it sound like I'm getting the largest available options.  However, it was explained to me that "large" is actually the largest, while "power size" is something like medium.  This is very confusing and frustrating.  Your labeling should be intuitive by your customers.  "Power size" is an unreasonable labeling for a medium option.