the perfect burger must wait

I love going to Shake Shack. Sometimes the almost hour-long wait makes me question my sanity, and yet it helps make me even hungrier and therefore the food and drink even more enjoyable. I secretly think that this helps with the success of their business.

So in my usual excitement, I got a group of friends to go with me tonight to Shake Shack for dinner. We waited on line for about 40 minutes and got to have one of those beeper things each a s we waited for them to get our food ready. It was an improvement (experience) instead of waiting around the order window for them to call the number on our receipt. Anyway, the friend that went before me got her food about 5 minutes after we sat down. Then 15 minutes later the friend just after me got hers. Then another few minutes and the other 4 friends got their meals. So I go up and ask about my order. It's almost ready but the shake isn't ready. So I go back to the table and wait.

I wait for another 5-10 minutes. So I've been waiting patiently for my food for over an hour all in all. I finally get my little beeper go off and get my food. The guy behind the counter who I asked about my food minutes before says "Guess you've been waiting a long time for your order, eh?" I just smiled and said "Well, yes, it's been a while."

I sit down and start on my Shack Burger (yummy!) and it's not quite hot. The cheese fries are a little cold and the cheese is just a yummy blob -- neither of which are hot. Just about warm. The thing that I had to wait for the longest, it turns out, was my Arnold Palmer. I discovered this drink two summers ago and haven't looked back. Half iced tea and half lemonade. YUMMY and refreshing.

So will I never go back to Shake Shack? Of course I'll go back. Will I talk smack about their wait times. Probably. But I was expectedly hungry and so it was super tasty even though it was late. And like I knew before I got on line. Waiting will only make it taste better -- and it's true.

I have to say, if the staff weren't so friendly I'd be more resentful of waiting. (I've worked in Customer Service for 3 years and at supermarkets in various positions for another 3 during high school. So my expectations of what someone in a service position can and can't do or be like is pretty high and also tolerant. I know what it's like to deal with the public and that's why I haven't done much of it since 1998.)