[Linganth] Substitute x for y

[Thomas Porcello]

Don't forget, though, that much of this inflexibility is technologized;
orders are linked to programmed buttons on cash register keypads, which in
turn are linked to computers that display orders on screens for food preps
and window staff.  The buttons are NOT infinitely flexible; the most
common orders/substitutions/omissions get programmed in (and learned via
repetition; and note how with rapid employess turnover, knowing how to
handle "exceptions" will be continually problematic).  So in addition to
any linguistic interference that may exist, there is the difficulty of
knowing (or rather, NOT knowing) how to handle an order for which there is
no pre-assigned button.

(This observation from repeated encounters in drive-throughs where a wheat
allergy necessitated the order, "Cheeseburger, no bun."  One could almost
hear the sound of brains overheating as eyes and fingers searched, with
inevitable fultility, for the "No Bun" button.  Seriously, though, almost
never could this order be processed without calling over a manager to
figure out how to enter the order into the register system, and several
times I received the comment, "There's no way to ask for that.")

Tom

> Lack of flexibility seems to be central to how fastfood workers are
> trained.  I think in 'Fast Food Nation' Schlosser goes into the robotic
> nature of working at fastfood establishments, among other adverse working
> conditions (such as those reported by a member of a workers movement
> related to another famous fastfood chain on this site:
> http://www.mwr.org.uk/mcjobs.htm)
>
> I have had many a frustrating experience with special orders at various
> fastfood places.  Now I'm starting to wonder if this is could be related
> to an emphasis by management on the routine of the service encounter in
> these places.
>
> Francis
>

--
T.G. Porcello
Assistant Professor, Anthropology
Vassar College