My son had been sick all last week and when he started feeling better, I offered to get him anything he wanted. He chose a cheeseburger from In-N-Out and because he has food allergies, I always let the cashier know so they can cook it on a separate grill and use clean utensils. In-N-Out has always been great about that.
It was around 3:30 p.m., one of the perks being there in between lunch and dinner there isn’t much of a line. I went through the drive-thru with my 6-year-old daughter and we ordered three burgers (including the special allergy-safe one) and some fries. As we were almost home, my daughter asked for a french fry and at the next red light I stopped to give her one. That’s when I realized there were only two burgers and two fries. I had assumed that since there were two separate bags and one had a box, it was his burger. I had glanced at it earlier but didn’t realize until later that it was actually Jack’s cheese fries. Rookie mistake.
It reminded me of that hilarious NSFW scene (embedded above) in Lethal Weapon 2 when Joe Pesci’s character yells, “They always blank you at the drive-thru!” He’s right — always check your order. The worst part? They forgot my son’s allergy-safe burger, the one he could actually eat and the whole reason why I made the trek.
We were already just a minute from home, so I dropped my daughter off and was going to go back to let In-N-Out know but my son said he wasn’t that hungry now and he just wanted the cheese fries.
I was relieved but still frustrated, so after I double checked I paid for three burgers, I called In-N-Out’s 800 number (there’s no local number so dial 1-800-786-1000). The representative was incredibly understanding, asked for my receipt numbers and offered to send us two gift cards so we could each get a full meal — Double-Double, fries and a shake. I thought that was fair and appreciated their response.
My takeaways:
- Always double-check your order before leaving the drive-thru.
- If they do get it wrong, spend 5–10 minutes calling their customer service — it’s usually worth it, and they’ll make it right.
- Drive-thru mishaps are bound to happen, but with a quick check, you can avoid disappointment and maybe even score a free meal if the mistake happens!
