OK, seriously… WTF Arby’s…

Today Tasha and I had a meeting at our insurance agents, and we noticed there was an Arby’s nearby.  We decided on the way back from the insurance office that it would make a good lunch.

We get up to the counter, and I order my French Dip and Swiss combo.  The somewhat androgynous person behind the desk asked me whether I wanted curly  fries or potato cakes to go with that.  “Uhh… I think I’ll just go with regular fries,” I replied.  “We don’t have regular fries.”

Uh, WHAT?  I opted to go with potato cakes, which reminded me vaguely of standard fast-food fare hash browns.  It felt almost as if I was having half breakfast and half lunch.

Seriously, what kind of regional difference is that?  I can see the corporate decision-making process now: “Oh yeah… let’s pan that American classic and replace it with breakfast food.  I’m sure that’ll play great in the mountain states.”

For those of you that aren’t Arby’s buffs, allow me to present a slightly different scenario: imagine you go into McDonalds and order a double cheeseburger.  Then imagine, for a moment, that the counterjockey informs you that they don’t have cheese, but instead they put a pancake on top of each burger.  And you, consumer, are the crazy person in this whole scene.

I don’t think I would’ve been so upset about it had it not been one of the few places that I expected some consistency.  There, I feel better now.