You just ask. It’s an American thing to do. They think it’s funny to do. Like tipping and charity and other things where you can pay for feeling good about yourself.
What happens is that the next car also pays forward and so on until the chain breaks. It makes the news every once in a while when they manage to keep it up for an entire day.
Sorry, maybe I’m just sunbeat and can’t think straight—or just an idiot—because I still don’t get it.
This is what I’m picturing. Blue car orders as the pink car waits (and honks like a jerk) in fig. 1, right? Then the blue car drives up to the pick-up window to pay for and get their food in fig 2, at which point the pink car can make their order.
At which point between 1. and 2. does the blue car have the opportunity to pay for pink car’s food, get the receipt, and take their order? Did the blue car just wait at the pick-up window until pink made the order? If that’s the case, wouldn’t the staff know that that’s not their order?
Some drive thru have two windows, one where you pay and one where you pickup. So you just tell the pay window that you have your car and the car behind you.
Nowadays most places either only have one window and make one person do both jobs, also they don’t have to pay as many people. The overall service is slower, but no one seems to care enough.
Sometimes you can even find older restaurants that have two windows and one is just permanently closed.
Also Starbucks had (still has?) a trend where you pay for the car behind you as a sort of pay it forward thing. Although in that scenario you probably can’t take someone else’s food.
I haven’t used a drive through in decades. How is one able to pay for the next person’s food?
You just ask. It’s an American thing to do. They think it’s funny to do. Like tipping and charity and other things where you can pay for feeling good about yourself.
What happens is that the next car also pays forward and so on until the chain breaks. It makes the news every once in a while when they manage to keep it up for an entire day.
Sorry, maybe I’m just sunbeat and can’t think straight—or just an idiot—because I still don’t get it.
This is what I’m picturing. Blue car orders as the pink car waits (and honks like a jerk) in fig. 1, right? Then the blue car drives up to the pick-up window to pay for and get their food in fig 2, at which point the pink car can make their order.
At which point between 1. and 2. does the blue car have the opportunity to pay for pink car’s food, get the receipt, and take their order? Did the blue car just wait at the pick-up window until pink made the order? If that’s the case, wouldn’t the staff know that that’s not their order?
There are usually more steps: Order, wait, pay, wait, get food.
When you’re at pay, they already have the bill for the next car who is in wait.
Add in a long distance between order and pay (or a slow blue driver).
Some drive thru have two windows, one where you pay and one where you pickup. So you just tell the pay window that you have your car and the car behind you.
Nowadays most places either only have one window and make one person do both jobs, also they don’t have to pay as many people. The overall service is slower, but no one seems to care enough.
Sometimes you can even find older restaurants that have two windows and one is just permanently closed.
Also Starbucks had (still has?) a trend where you pay for the car behind you as a sort of pay it forward thing. Although in that scenario you probably can’t take someone else’s food.