Thank You, Minnesota Drive-Thru Workers

Since I'm away from home 5 days a week, I tend to be lazy and frequent a drive-thru a few times a week. I am well aware that this is not the healthiest choice and it's gotten to the point where I feel kind of weird not eating out of a bag.

Ever since the pandemic hit, the drive-thru at most places in St Cloud has become extremely busy. Some nights, I'll have my sights set on a certain "give it to me through the window entree" only to show up and see an extraordinarily long line of cars waiting to order.

It's not the restaurant's fault. Lately, it's been extremely difficult to find people to work and this puts a real strain on the current employees,

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Occasionally, some places I've gone to have actually closed down the lobby due to a shortage of employees and operated solely out of the drive-thru.  This totally causes huge lines at the drive-thru. This past Sunday, I counted 34 cars in line at Culver's.

Granted, of all the places I frequent, Culvers handles the heavy volume better than others. But 34 cars is just too damn many cars to wait behind.

This current worker shortage is having a pretty negative effect on most of these restaurants. Some have even had to close, like Taco John's downtown.

So, when using any drive-thru in town, be patient with the people working. They are doing the best they can and are working their butts off.  Oh, and kind of have some kind of an idea what you are going to order.

It's infuriating to be behind someone that doesn't even look at the menu board until they are asked to order. And for the time being, forget this "Have it your way" crap.

Next time you hit a drive-thru, be patient, be polite and thank the workers. Until you have worked this type of job, you have no idea how difficult it is with the volume they are currently experiencing.