21 Rude Things Nevadans Do at Fast Food Drive-Thrus
You’d think grabbing a burger and fries wouldn’t be that complicated, but some Nevadans turn the drive-thru into a personal soap opera.
They show up unprepared, change their minds five times, and treat workers like they’re invisible. Meanwhile, the rest of us are trapped behind them, dreaming of a meal that feels farther away with every minute.
If you’ve ever sighed loudly in a drive-thru line, you’ve surely watched one or more of these rude behaviors from behind the wheel.
Not Knowing What They Want When They Get to the Speaker
Nothing slows down a drive-thru line faster than someone pulling up without a clue what they’re ordering. It’s like showing up at a concert and then deciding what band you want to see.
Most fast food places have their menus posted before you even hit the speaker. Plus, websites and mobile apps let you peek at everything ahead of time.
The worst part is when the person sits there humming and hawing while ten cars stack up behind them.
It’s not that ordering needs to be lightning-fast, but at least have a general idea before pulling forward.
It’s called fast food for a reason.
Changing Their Mind After Ordering
Another huge drive-thru frustration is when customers change their mind after placing their full order.
Workers already started making the food, or entered everything into the system, and now they have to backtrack, cancel, and re-ring items. It’s a recipe for mistakes and confusion.
Imagine being halfway through bagging an order and then hearing, “Oh wait, actually, can you make that two Big Macs instead of one?”
That little swap means fixing the total, adjusting the prep, and sometimes redoing an entire bag of food. It’s not just annoying—it holds up the whole line.
If you really need to make a change, it’s understandable. But if it’s constant flipping and switching because you can’t decide between a McFlurry or nuggets, it’s better to just stick with your first choice and live with it for the day.
Talking on the Phone While Ordering
You know it’s going to be a headache when you see a driver deep into a phone call while trying to order.
Half the time, they’re not paying attention to the poor worker trying to get their order right. It causes mistakes, slows down service, and often ends with someone snapping because they didn’t get the sauce they didn’t ask for.
Fast food employees have a hard enough job already without having to compete with someone’s conversation about weekend plans or fantasy football scores.
Putting your phone down for a few minutes while you order makes the whole experience smoother.
Digging for Loose Change at the Window
We’ve all been there—you pull up to the pay window and realize you don’t have your credit card ready. But some people take it to another level by digging through their car to hunt for change.
They search under their seat, in the glove box, and in the side door pocket to find enough coins.
It might seem harmless, but when there’s a line of cars curling around the parking lot, it feels like a crime. Fast food drive-thrus are designed for quick payments, not counting out $4.36 in pennies and nickels.
If you want to pay with cash, have your money ready before you pull up. And if you insist on paying with a mound of change, pull into a parking spot and go inside so you’re not holding up everyone behind you.
Getting Mad About Missing Items Without Checking First
It’s the classic scene: someone pulls away from the drive-thru, doesn’t check their bag, drives off, then storms back later furious about a missing ketchup packet.
While mistakes happen, a lot of problems could be avoided by customers simply taking two seconds to check their order before they leave the window.
Workers pack orders fast, especially when there’s a rush. They’re human, and sometimes a burger or drink might accidentally get left out.
Getting mad without checking calmly first is a quick way to ruin everyone’s day—including your own.
Ordering for the Entire Neighborhood at Once
It’s not against the rules to order a lot of food at the drive-thru, but there’s an unspoken courtesy that comes with it.
If you’re ordering for your whole family, your neighbors, your coworkers, and your dog, it’s better to order inside.
Drive-thrus are meant for quick, manageable orders, not a Thanksgiving feast.
Huge orders take forever to make, pack, and double-check, which leaves everyone behind stuck and frustrated.
If you have a giant order, it’s smarter (and kinder) to park and go inside.
Pulling Up Too Far or Not Far Enough
You wouldn’t think parking a car two feet away would be that complicated, but somehow, it is at drive-thrus.
Some people pull up way too far past the speaker, forcing workers to yell into the wind. Others stay too far back and can’t even reach the window when it’s time to grab their drink.
Both cases slow down the drive-thru and make everything harder for the workers. It’s awkward, it wastes time, and it can cause accidents if people have to lean way out or shift forward at the last second.
Pay attention to where you need to stop. Most drive-thrus have signs or markers showing where the speaker is.
Stopping in the right spot keeps things moving smoothly and saves your burger bag from flying out of the worker’s hand.
Having a Whole Car Debate About Toppings at the Speaker
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to customize your food, but drive-thrus are not the time or place for full-on topping debates.
Some people treat the menu like it’s a build-your-own-burger workshop, asking twenty questions about each option and turning a simple order into a negotiation.
This becomes extra painful when it’s not just the driver, but everyone in the car shouting their own preferences. It’s loud, confusing, and totally unfair to the employee who’s trying to get everything straight.
If you have picky eaters in the car, take a minute to discuss choices before reaching the speaker.
Throwing Trash at the Drive-Thru Window
Believe it or not, some people think it’s okay to hand workers their trash when picking up food—or worse, they chuck it onto the ground right by the window.
Workers are there to hand you your food, not to be your personal garbage service.
If you have trash in your car, either wait to find a trash can yourself or throw it away once you get home.
Drive-thru workers already have enough to clean up without dealing with your half-empty soda cups and crumpled receipts.
Blasting Music While Ordering
When you pull up with your music blasting, it’s not just rude—it makes it nearly impossible for workers to hear you. And if they can’t hear you, your order’s probably going to be wrong.
Then you’ll be mad about a mistake that could’ve been avoided just by turning the volume knob.
It’s understandable to want to jam out while you wait in line, especially if the song is a banger. But once you roll down your window, blasting tunes is a quick way to make a simple order ten times harder than it needs to be.
Hit pause or turn the volume down for just a few minutes. Your music will still be there after you secure your fries.
Ignoring the Worker at the Window
Workers at drive-thrus deal with hundreds of people every day, and a little kindness goes a long way.
Ignoring them completely, snatching food without saying anything, or refusing to make eye contact adds to what may already be a rough shift.
You don’t have to roll out a red carpet or write them a thank-you speech. A simple smile, a “thank you,” or even just being polite when they hand you your drink can make a huge difference.
Treating workers like real people—not robots—is basic respect. Plus, you never know when a friendly word might turn someone’s entire day around.
Holding Up the Line to Fix a Huge Mistake
Sometimes, orders get messed up, and you absolutely have the right to ask for the right food. But dragging it out at the window while everyone else waits isn’t the way to do it.
If the mistake is big, like a missing sandwich or wrong drink, it’s usually better to pull ahead into a parking spot and sort it out calmly.
Workers can then run the corrected food out to you without holding up the rest of the customers. It keeps the line moving and helps everyone—yourself included—get what they need faster.
It’s totally fair to expect what you paid for. But working with the flow instead of against it makes the whole process easier for everyone.
Yelling at the Speaker Because They Can’t Hear You
It happens all the time: someone pulls up too far from the speaker or doesn’t roll their window down enough, and when the worker politely asks them to repeat themselves, they start yelling like they’re at a football game.
Spoiler alert: yelling doesn’t make the speaker better—it just makes the situation more stressful for everyone.
Drive-thru microphones are sensitive, but they aren’t magic. If you’re too far away or mumbling, workers will need you to speak up a little—but yelling usually just makes it harder to understand.
Plus, it sets a rude, angry tone for the whole interaction.
Instead, pull up close, speak clearly, and keep your volume normal.
Driving Off Without Paying Attention to Traffic
You’d think merging back into traffic from a drive-thru would be easy. But somehow, there are those who make it look complicated.
Some people zoom out without looking, causing near-accidents in the parking lot. Others stop in the middle of the exit lane, checking their food, completely blocking everyone else who’s trying to leave.
Fast food restaurants are usually busy places with a lot of cars, people walking around, and delivery trucks coming through.
Treating the exit like your personal picnic area or racing strip is dangerous for everyone.
Taking Forever to Pull Forward After Paying
Once you’ve paid, the next move is simple: drive forward to the next window. But some folks act like they just finished a marathon and need a minute to recover.
They sit there organizing their wallet, checking text messages, adjusting the AC—while the poor worker at the window has their next order ready but nowhere to hand it.
Holding up the line like this drives everyone behind you crazy.
Workers can’t move orders along until you move your car, so it backs everything up and makes everyone’s wait longer than it needs to be.
Rolling Up the Window in the Worker’s Face
This one’s sneakier but still pretty rude. Some people grab their food, mumble a quick “thanks” (or nothing at all), and then roll up the window mid-sentence if the worker says something else, like “Have a nice day!”
It’s like slamming a door in someone’s face, but with glass.
Even if you’re in a hurry, it only takes two seconds to smile, nod, or at least wait until the worker finishes speaking before rolling up your window.
Drive-thru workers deal with enough rudeness. Being a customer who’s courteous might just make someone’s shift a little better.
Making Workers Repeat the Entire Menu
Fast food menus are designed to be simple, but there’s always that one person who pulls up to the speaker and demands that the worker list everything.
“What do you have?” they’ll say, like they’ve never seen a Taco Bell in their life.
Most places have huge signs showing all the meals, combos, and prices. Expecting workers to list every single item out loud not only slows down the line but also makes their already tough job harder than it needs to be.
If you’re not familiar with the menu, it’s fine—just take a minute to scan the board before ordering.
Trying to “Sneak” Extra Free Food
Some people love to play dumb at the drive-thru, pretending they were “supposed” to get an extra drink or side of fries, even though they didn’t order or pay for it.
They’ll argue and try to guilt-trip workers into handing over free food to avoid a scene.
It puts workers in a tough spot because they’re expected to be nice and avoid conflict, but they also can’t just give away extra items.
Trying to scam your way into free food isn’t just rude—it’s dishonest.
Demanding Custom Food During a Rush
Everyone likes fresh fries and piping-hot burgers. But demanding a totally special-made meal—like extra-crispy bacon, a no-salt, no-cheese, double-grilled burger with a side of ranch and no onions—right during the lunch rush is a recipe for disaster.
Workers are flying around trying to fill dozens of orders in minutes.
Special requests slow down everything and often have a ripple effect on the whole drive-thru line. It’s not that you can’t ask for changes—it’s just about timing.
If you want super customized food, try to avoid peak hours or go inside the restaurant.
Blaming the Wrong Worker for a Problem
Sometimes customers get mad at the wrong person. They’ll yell at the cashier for a mistake that happened in the kitchen or snap at the worker handing out drinks about cold fries.
Drive-thru workers are part of a team, and a lot of the time, they didn’t personally mess up your meal.
It’s frustrating to get something wrong with your order, but taking it out on the first person you see isn’t fair—and it won’t fix the problem any faster either.
The best thing to do is to calmly explain what went wrong. Workers will usually do their best to fix it, especially if you’re respectful about it.
Refusing to Move When Asked to Pull Ahead
Sometimes the kitchen needs a few extra minutes to finish part of your order. Maybe they’re dropping fresh nuggets or cooking a new batch of fries.
When workers ask you to pull ahead into a designated waiting spot, it’s to keep the line moving for everyone else.
Refusing to move and demanding to stay parked at the window until you receive your food only jams everything up.
The car behind you can’t get their order. The workers can’t hand out other food. It turns into a giant traffic jam over a three-minute wait.
If they ask you to pull up, just do it. You’ll still get your food hot and fresh, and you’ll help keep the drive-thru running smoothly for everyone else.
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