Conejo Post

In the fast food category of restaurants, Wendy’s used to be a favorite of mine.  At the Wendy’s on Lindero Canyon Road in Westlake Village, I especially liked the chili with good homestyle flavor and iced tea that tasted like it was brewed instead of made with a powder.  Their natural cut french fries were especially good, even though I didn’t get them much, since I was trying to eat in a healthy way.

Well, Wendy’s is not a favorite fast food place for me anymore.  Instead, it is somewhere I go because I like the food, and will do my best to put up with what is going on there.  The biggest change is that there are now mounted video screens in at least two corners, showing some mix of music, news, action sports, and who-knows what else.  And, if the moving images don’t get your attention, the sound is cranked up enough so that it will.  That bugs me!  Usually, we are a diverse group of people eating at the Westlake Wendy’s, that includes young and old, workers off for lunch from surrounding businesses, and suburban moms and older people.  What are the chances that we are going to want to watch the same thing?

Then, at the counter, they have changed from a simple way of serving customers, to a way that is annoying.  There is an extra server who stands a lot, and fills orders when needed.  But, this is the reason the person serving you can now say, “Your order will be ready shortly…what is your name?”  Why not just fill the order in the first place!  Put the extra person on the cash register, taking orders, too.  The deal is, it annoys me to be asked my name at a fast food place.  Maybe I am the only person that feels that way, but I would much rather just receive my order ASAP, and not have all the added drama.