Manner Monday®: Drive-Through Etiquette

by Carey Sue Vega in Etiquette, Family, Manner Monday, Manners

I recently wrote a blog post about the other side of Customer Service and how sometimes we forget to treat the person providing the service with the same respect we expect to receive during the transaction. The post prompted a conversation with a friend about ‘drive-through’ etiquette and how we can’t always see the person behind the screen, but the same rules should apply.

Here are some other tips to make sure your drive-through experience is a good one – for everyone involved!

Put down your phone.  Facebook can wait!  And if you’re in the middle of a phone conversation, tell the other person you will call them back… you can’t carry on two conversations at once – and it’s flat out rude to both of the parties you’re cross communicating with.

Turn down the radio.  It’s hard enough for the person trying to understand your order in the first place – help them out by cutting down on the background noise.

Quite please.  Ask the other people in your car to be quite – it’s only for a few seconds while you place the order. And it’s a great opportunity to model respect for others.

Be prepared.  If you’re not familiar with the menu, do your best to focus on the menu options as soon as they are in clear sight so you can be as precise as possible when placing your order.

Pull the shades.  You may remember from the ‘sunglass etiquette’ post, you should remove your sunglasses when speaking with someone.  Don’t forget, to offer that same respect to the person working the window at the drive-through.

Raining?  If it’s raining – the person working the window will be forever grateful if you remember to turn off your windshield wipers so they don’t get drenched on the upswing.