Sorry, Jim, if you ever come to Carthage, I'm not going to take you to McDonald's

The McDonald's on Central in Carthage is perhaps the worst McDonald's in the entire organization. They are slow, and they never listen to what I order. Not only that, but even if the order is somehow taken correctly, there's no guarantee that it will be filled correctly.

Take today, for example. I had to take a long lunch break to take care of some car stuff, so I stopped by McDonald's on the way back to work (it's about the only place on Central that both Nicole and I will go). I went inside (NEVER, NEVER trust the drive through at this McDonald's) and first ordered what Nicole told me she wanted. Then it was my turn:

Me: I need a Quarter Pounder with Cheese meal—

McCashier: —Medium or large?

Me: Medium, with a chocolate shake. And on the sandwich, I want no pickle and no onion.

McCashier: You said no pickle?

Me: Yes, and also no onion.

I paid for the meal and waited. And waited. And waited a little bit longer. She had already handed me Nicole's drink cup (miraculous in itself, because none of the McDonald's ever remember to give me the cup, even the one in Webb City, which is an otherwise great McDonald's), and I had filled it and was still waiting. I finally got the bag of food and I made my exit. When I got back to work, I stopped by Nicole's desk to give her her lunch, then I took mine back to my desk. All I had was the burger, as I had already eaten the fries in the car, in the interest of saving time.

I looked at the Quarter Pounder box. The grill order slip said NO PICKLE. Not NO ONION, even though I said it to the cashier twice. I opened the box and removed the top bun of the already cold, dry sandwich. Sure enough, there were onions all over it. And pickles.

From now on, if I want my burger done right, I'm going to tell the cashier, "Make sure it has plenty of pickles and onions on it." That way, I'm sure to get my burger the way I want it.