So Kelly and I go for lunch today and decide to try out MegaWraps, a place that serves pita wraps, as the name suggests.
Although they advertise both a soup and salad deal, and have both small and large size soup choices available on their menu, the particular franchise we went to at Yonge St. and 16th Ave. has decided to only serve soup when they feel like it, because no one wants soup in the summertime when it's hot outside.
Falling back to the regular chicken fajita combo, which includes a bag of chips and a bottle of water, or can of pop, we figured we'd split the wrap, and opt for two bottles of water since neither of us wanted the bag of chips.
It seems that one of the greatest innovations in fast food service has been Harvey's "custom combo" which allows one to choose from any two of soup, salad, fries, onion rings, or a pop to round out your main choice.
MegaWraps, on the other hand, could stand to learn a thing or two about Harvey's ingenuity:
(me): Can we get anything besides a bag of chips with the combo?
(cashier, who appeared to me to be the owner): No, the combo is a bag of chips and a pop. Or, you can get a bottle of water.
(me): So you can't substitute the bag of chips for anything else?
(him): No. Well, if you want a cookie, you can select a cookie.
(me): What if I wanted another bottle of water instead of the bag of chips?
(him): No, you can't do that.
(me): So give me the combo, and charge me extra for substituting another bottle of water for the bag of chips.
(him): No, we can't do that.
(me): Forget it then, just give me two bottles of water and the wrap then.
(him): That'll be $9.42.
(kelly): We really should get the combo (as she grabs a bag of chips)... here.
(him): So now you want the combo? He just said he didn't want the combo.
(me): Sure, we'll have the combo.
(him): That'll be $9.40.
So, seemingly, good franchised business sense these days suggests that adding a bag of chips (which probably costs the store more than a bottle of water), actually saves the customer $0.02.
Go figure.
I hope for MegaWraps sake, other franchises have wiser customer service and business practices.
