Adventures At Taco Bell
To make a long story short, my cell phone was on the fritz, and I was waiting an hour to get it looked at yesterday. I had an hour to kill, so I hit two gaming stores that were within 2 blocks of each other, and grabbed some food at the nearby Taco Bell. I don’t like Taco Bell, but it was pretty much the only thing that was close, so I sucked it up and got some horrible food.
I walked in, and ordered a #6. The guy looked at me like I was speaking Swahili or something. I looked at him for a few seconds, and repeated myself. He looked at me again with that deer-in-the-headlights look before something in his tiny little brain clicked. He asked if I wanted it “baja or supreme.” I didn’t know the difference, and I didn’t want him to have to explain it to me. I took a shot in the dark, and ordered it “supreme.” My order included two chalupas and a taco.
The lady running the kitchen looked up at the monitor to see my order and bellowed out, “We need more chalupas! Pronto! When I say Pronto, I mean now!” The place is a fairly small building. I’m sure that I could stand at one end, speak up a little, and have myself heard at the other end. All of the employees were within 15 feet of each other. There was no need to bellow. I glanced to the side where I saw an elderly lady working on the chalupa shells. She looked like she was about ready to cry. I felt so sorry for her because these young (about 20 year old) people were bellowing at her without any regard for her feelings. It made me hope that I don’t have to work at a Taco Bell when I’m retired in order to make ends meet. I managed to catch the eye of the lady prepping the chalupas, and I smiled at her. I spoke up loud enough for everyone to hear me, “Take your time, Ma’am. I’m not in a hurry today.” That brought a smile to her face, and she didn’t take her time. She got my food out to me quite fast.
While sitting there eating, I was at a booth near the register. The next customer that came in a minute or so after I got my food walked up and ordered the 99 cent zesty nachos. She asked several times if the price really was 99 cents. She also asked how much it would cost after tax. The clerk gave her the price of $1.07. The lady was quiet for a moment, and I could hear change being counted. After a bit, she said, “Ok. I want the zesty nachos, and I can I get a water for free?” This about broke my heart. I knew that she was hungry, and the best she could afford was a tiny nacho thing from Taco Bell. I’ve been in this spot more times than I can count. I wanted to get up and tell her to order whatever she wanted, and that I would cover the cost. I didn’t do it because I was afraid that I would hurt her pride. Even when destitute and horribly broke, it’s hard to accept a hand out from a stranger. I didn’t want to embarrass her in front of the Taco Bell people. Thinking back on it, I should have taken that risk. It makes me wonder how hungry she was later in the day, and it was obvious that she had spent the last of her money on some nachos at Taco Bell. Next time, I think I might take the risk of embarrassment and help out.
The lady with the nachos sat down with her small amount of food and began to quietly eat, and the next customer walked in. He was a regular because as soon as he walked up, the loud manager yelled out, “Hey! Getting two taco salads with no beans, no sour cream, and extra beef?” The customer called back, “You know it! Hook me up!” I’m starting to think that this guy is probably a college student that doesn’t have sense enough to know to eat better, or maybe can’t afford to eat better. I look up at him, and the guy is easily creeping up on 60 with a head of gray hair, and a full, white beard. I’m thinking that this guy should know better. His cholesterol, heart arteries, and future strokes aren’t my problem, so I shrug it off.
I’ve been a regular customer at unhealthy places before, so I guess I can’t knock this guy. However, I learned that eating high carb, high cholesterol fare is a quick road to becoming fat, out of shape, and unhealthy. I’m not the healthiest eater in the world (after all, I was at a Taco Bell) but I don’t glut myself on too many things. I think I’m probably about an average eater when it comes to making healthy choices. My old real vice when it comes to nutrition is that I drink too much soda.
It was quite an interesting experience at Taco Bell, and by the time I was done there, it was time to pick up my phone. They claimed that they couldn’t fix it, but when I picked it up, it was working. Go figure. I think they were trying to scam me into buying a new phone, but that’s a story for another day…
