!!!WARNING, THIS MESSAGE IS A RANT!!!! IT ALSO CONTAINS VARIOUS RUN-ON SENTENCES!!!!

Why are people that work at Taco Bell so D#$% dumb?

I went to Taco Bell this evening to buy myself some burritos. I like to get 2 $.99 bean burritos and add sour cream, guacamole and extra cheese. Tonight I decided to mix it up a bit. I ordered my 2 $.99 burritos, but I only asked for sour cream. The reason I did this was simple. I had exactly $2.75 cash on me and I wanted to get rid of it and not use my debit card, but still get a good tasting meal. I realize some of you may think me crazy for associating Taco Bell with the phrase good tasting. To that I say, to every man his own.

The cashier who must of had all the wisdom of about 17 years rung up my total and said, "That'll be $2.78." I was thinking to myself, oh man! I'm $.03 short, surely I have $.03 in my wallet or pocket. To my dismay I didn't. So, I thought surely this wonderful girl taking my order would come to my rescue and give me the $.03. So, I said, "You don't happen to have $.03 do you?" Without giving it a nano second of though she replied, "No." I was taken a back. I thought to myself, did she really just deny me $.03? So, since I didn't have the cash, I was forced to pull out my debit card and pay $2.78. Now, you may be thinking, "Well, it's your own dang fault for ordering sour cream for your burritos." To that I say, it was THREE EFFING AMERICAN RED CENTS!!!! Give me a d&^ break.

I've done research, and by research I mean I'm just making a guess based on things I've heard and a few signs I've seen at random stores, on the costs of using a debit machine. More cost is involved to the store by running a debit/credit card transaction than for her to give me three measly centavos. So, by denying me tres cents she just cost her precious little Taco Bell a whole lot more.

The story doesn't end here. I guess people at Taco Bell are deaf as they are dumb. Because every dang time I go to Taco Hell, Bell, and I order my food "for here" and not the opposite, "to go" , they hand me my crap, and I say crap affectionately, in a "to go" bag. I am seriously baffled at their perfunctory attitude and inability to hear. To make sure I am not the one at fault, and I assure you I am not, I'd like you to perform a little test. I'll do it with you.

Say the phrase, "For here."

Now say, "To go."

They sound pretty different don't they. The only similarity that I can see, or care to write down is that both phrases consist of two words, two VERY DIFFERENT WORDS!!!

Now, you and I know there is a difference. but I guess Taco Bell doesn't.

Now, I don't have anything against people working at fast food restaurants. Heck, I was even the manager of a burger shop at UVSC. But, seriously, if you can't help someone out with $.03 or tell the difference between "for here" and "to go" please do the world a favor and walk off the long end of a short peer.

I vow from this day forward that I will leave pennies on the counters, registers, penny holding cups, and will even just give them to fellow human beings in need at Taco Bell so that such an atrocity as I suffered will never happen again! or just less often.

An open letter:

Dear Taco Bell,

Quit being such a dumb arse. Give up the $.03 for Pete's sake and train your workers to listen to their customers. I submit you have all your stores put out a penny holding cup and sit all your mindless automans down and show them flash cards of "for here" and "to go" and get them books on tape that just repeat those 2 phrases until they can tell the difference.

Very Respectfully,

Annoyed and Angered in Lancaster