9 Frequent In-N-Out Employee Complaints About Customers

In-N-Out might be one of America's favorite burger chains, but people still have a lot of negative things to say about it. Many don't like the long lines or the small menu, while others just can't get past the way employees place the napkins over the top of the food. Well, guess what? Complaints go both ways. It turns out, In-N-Out employees have plenty of negative things to say about customers, too.

We scanned through Reddit threads of In-N-Out workers to find out some of the top complaints that employees make about customers, and you can check out our findings below. This is essential reading for anyone who likes to leave their trash on fast food tables, take out their bad mood on servers, or fail to prepare their order before arriving at the counter. But while many complaints are fairly standard, others might surprise you. It turns out, even the most seemingly harmless request might just ruin an In-N-Out employee's day.

At In-N-Out, the secret menu isn't actually secret. In fact, it's even listed on the website as the "Not So Secret Menu." So really, there is no excuse for not knowing exactly what the chain's very-much-not-secret menu items involve. And yet, according to In-N-Out employees, many customers order without doing their homework first.

It might seem harmless, but for workers, it can be pretty frustrating to work out what you actually want, and the confusion might lead to time-consuming errors with orders. "Please just ask us 'what's animal style? What is protein style?,'" wrote one In-N-Out employee in the r/innout subreddit, in a comment with more than 50 upvotes. "I would really rather explain it to you than have to re-cook it after all your other food is out."

The Double Meat and The Flying Dutchman (which, granted, is an actual secret menu option that isn't actually listed on the website) seem to catch people out regularly, according to employees. So here's a reminder: A Double Meat is basically a Double Double without cheese, while The Flying Dutchman is a Double Double without the buns. Yes, just the burgers and the cheese. If you want, you can ask for it wrapped with grilled onions (which involves replacing the buns with whole onions instead — to each their own).

Sometimes, things go wrong when we order fast food. Long waits and occasional mistakes are just a fact of life. But no matter how frustrated you are with an order at In-N-Out, taking it out on your server isn't a good idea. Of course, most people know this, but sometimes, things can actually turn violent at the restaurant chain. Workers have complained about customers throwing fries at them, screaming abuse, and some have even received death threats.

That said, these incidents are rare. More often than not, workers are frustrated by much smaller incidents of rudeness. Things like making workers wait while you take a call, not answering their questions, and ignoring their polite greetings might seem minor, but they stack up, especially when you're dealing with customers all day long. "I would still like a reminder that we're not just seen as emotionless robots while working and not getting a response back makes me feel that way," said one Redditor in r/innout.

Even taking secret menu items into account, the offering at In-N-Out is pretty small. With just a few main options to choose from (namely burgers and fries), it is certainly no Cheesecake Factory. And yet, people still don't know what they want before they start ordering, say many employees. "[My biggest pet peeve is] customers not knowing what they want after waiting to have their order taken for 10 minutes," said one Redditor in r/innout.

To state the obvious, if you have your order prepared before you make it to the cashier or the drive-thru, the whole process goes a lot more smoothly. Oh, and make sure you request all of the items in one go, rather than trying to add them on later. "[When] we ask you if there is anything else you would like, tell me yes," added another Redditor in a comment with 85 upvotes. "I don't need to get yelled at because you forgot to order for [two] different people."

Not only is it super helpful to have your order ready to go, but consider doing your server another solid by making sure you have your payment method at hand, too. Sure, it's not the worst offense, but if you have to spend a long time fumbling for your wallet or your phone, you risk irking the In-N-Out employees, who are trying to get their job done in a timely manner.

"[My biggest pet peeve is] when people take [three] minutes trying to find their cash at the pay window when they've been sitting in line forever," said one employee in r/innout in a comment with more than 50 upvotes. Another added: "YES, or even just trying to find their card for like 10 mins after having waited in line for [five] mins."

Speaking of payment, one sure fire way to confuse a server is to give them extra change after you've already handed over the money. You might think you're being helpful, but some employees say it's actually quite stressful. "[One annoying thing customers do is] hand me change after I've already taken their money," said one Redditor in a comment with more than 100 upvotes in r/innout.

Encouraging your child to order their own food makes sense. It helps build their confidence, makes them feel more independent, and improves their communication. Most servers don't have a problem with taking an order from a child — as long as they know what they want, or the circumstances allow for a little patience. If your child isn't the type to order quickly and confidently, first, take a look around: Is the restaurant quiet? Are you the only person in the queue? If so, sure, go ahead. Otherwise, it might be best to choose another occasion to build their confidence.

"It's great that people are trying to socialize their kids," said one Redditor in r/innout. "But it's not too cute when there's a line wrapping around the [dining room]." Another agreed, adding that parents jumping in promptly when their child is having trouble ordering in a busy restaurant is much appreciated. "After the line gets to be 15 people deep, and they've wasted about 10 minutes of everyone's time, [Mom] chimes in 'He'll have a cheeseburger, no cheese, plain with ketchup and lettuce only," added another employee. "Really?! WTF."

The question of whether to clean up after yourself in a fast food restaurant seems to be hotly debated. While some think it's the server's job to clean up after the customers, others believe that the respectful thing to do is to clear your trash before you leave. Of course, you don't have to whip out the antibacterial spray or start sweeping the floor, but it's polite to throw away any food waste or packaging before you go on your way — especially as most people don't tip fast food workers.

If you don't clean up after yourself at In-N-Out, you probably won't get in trouble, but you do risk leaving some pretty annoyed employees in your wake. "The worst is when [customers] leave chunks of food, trash, used napkins, and just a complete mess all over the floor," said one employee in r/innout. "One time I went to the [dining room] to clean it up and I found a [customer's] phone on the ground underneath used napkins and lettuce."

As we mentioned before, In-N-Out keeps its menu pretty simple. It's just beef burgers, french fries, shakes, and soda. If you order from the Not So Secret Menu, you'll just get a different combination of the core ingredients. A 3X3 (or Triple Triple), for example, is just a triple beef burger, while Protein Style is just a regular burger with a lettuce bun. But for some customers, the limited menu is hard to comprehend.

According to many employees, they frequently get requests for menu items that simply don't exist at In-N-Out, like chicken burgers, onion rings, and bacon. Granted, there is nothing wrong with asking a question. But for employees, it can be annoying, especially if customers choose to blame them for the small menu. "Can't count the amount of times people would hold up a line and complain for [five] minutes in Texas because we don't have bacon," said one Redditor in r/innout.

In-N-Out's refined menu is by design; it's more streamlined, and therefore more cost-efficient. It probably isn't going to change anytime soon. And we can say that with confidence, because we asked. "We have been committed to the same simple menu for over 77 years at In-N-Out," a spokesperson told us. "We believe this approach helps us to keep an intense focus on the quality of our products."

As a customer, you are entitled to ask for whatever you like (as long as it actually exists in the restaurant, as we've already established). In fact, In-N-Out actively encourages its customers to go above and beyond; its 4x4 (Four by Four) burger on the Not So Secret Menu, for example, is made with four burgers, four slices of cheese, and plenty of lettuce and tomatoes, while Animal Style is loaded with extra pickles, spread, and grilled onions.

But just because you can order something, it doesn't mean employees are always going to be thrilled when they have to make it for you. "Anything 2x2 plus, with extra everything, oh and they want it protein style because they're trying to be healthy [is annoying to make]," said one Redditor in r/innout. Another added (in a comment with more than 320 upvotes): "4x4's extra everything are my nightmare on board."

It might sound like a relatively harmless request, but asking for your burger to be cut in half seems to be a sure way to really irk your server. According to many In-N-Out employees, the main problem is that it's hard to cut the burgers in half without making a big mess (especially if you're the type of person who likes to go for extra everything).

"4x4 extra everything cut in half [is one of the most annoying special orders to make]," said one employee in r/innout in a comment with more than 100 upvotes. "I try to make them look pretty but it just is [not] happening" Another issue? It takes time to try and neatly cut loaded burgers. And, as we've established, many In-N-Out employees don't like to waste time if they can help it. "Cut in half, cut in [four], [it] makes me behind on my board every time," added another Redditor.