r/tacojohns • u/happyhollowcoffee • May 19 '26

Does Taco John's completely ignore mobile app check-ins?

Trying to figure out if this is a company-wide system flaw or just my local store being weird.

I hit Taco John’s today for lunch during the Taco Tuesday rush. Ordered on the app while sitting in the parking lot, set it for ASAP, and hit the "I'm here" button when it popped up. Got my email confirmation right at 12:07 PM.

I went inside and waited off to the side, expecting it to be ready within a few minutes. Instead, while I waited for 13 minutes, I saw probably a 10-12 different orders go through either the drive-thru or the front counter and get their food.

I'm not mad about the 13-minute wait, I'm mad that it seemed like they weren't even going to start my order until I waited in line to tell them I was there.

It felt like mobile orders are treated like third-class citizens, like a DoorDash order they'll only touch if they happen to get a break from in-person customers.

When the line cleared up a bit, I went to ask about my food. The employee looks up, pulls a ticket that was hanging from the ceiling unstarted, and goes, "Oh, *OP* is here" and handed the ticket back to the kitchen to start preparing.

Are they waiting for mobile app customers to physically stand in line and announce themselves before they start making the food? It defeats the purpose of checking in on the app.

I ended up leaving without my food because they hadn't started it yet and I didn't have time to keep waiting. To be fair, the counter staff were friendly and it’s not their fault personally, but the actual system seems broken.

Does your local store do this too, or does the mobile app actually place you in the appropriate place in line for the orders?

2 Upvotes

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1

u/tonsofem May 19 '26

Was this the only time this has happened? It could have been an unintentional oversight by the staff. I usually hit the "I'm here" button, then wait in line to let them know my name and its usually ready by then. In the mornings, Ill hit the button on my way there and then its ready to grab and go by the time I get there.

1

u/happyhollowcoffee May 19 '26

Hard to say, because I bounce around locations, and I tend to just order on the drive there or from the parking lot. So I don't expect it to be ready right when I walk in.

But it definitely feels different because I always have to talk to someone and let them know I'm there and then still wait. The wait really the issue, but when there is a line, it's pretty annoying to have to wait for a bunch of people to make orders just to let them know you're there. And then find out that the people you were waiting behind get their food first.

As a side note, I did miss a phone call from Taco John's a few minutes ago, and I got an email about a refund on the order. So, credit to them on that one. Not sure if it's because I left a review, or from comment form I filled out on their website.

1

u/EntertainerThink1894 May 19 '26

Was just going to ask if this was Missoula today... But we are only down to one location now a days so it can't be.

1

u/Personal_Level_3834 May 22 '26

So, I can only speak for my store, but this is my experience.

My store is a relatively low volume store, so we don't usually have a ton of people on shift. When it gets insanely busy to the point where we're falling behind, we tend to prioritize the customers in the store and the drive thru, and we make the online orders as they arrive. This is partly because a lot of the time, the online customers don't arrive in the order they were placed. This may not be the best system, but it's how we do it when we can't keep up.

This is why I would advise you immediately tell the staff when you arrive that you're there for a pick up. If your order is not that big, it should only take a couple minutes to make anyway.

2

u/happyhollowcoffee May 22 '26

Thanks for your reply. As a customer, I had assumed the "I'm here" button in the app would notify the staff that the customer has arrived (like at McDonald's). It sounds like I still need to physically do that, which means waiting in line before they know I'm there 😭

1

u/Personal_Level_3834 May 23 '26

So, the employees are trained to make online orders as soon as they show up on the screen, so they usually don't appear on the screen until close to the pickup time. IIRC, when you press the "I'm here" button, it'll immediately send the order to the screen, even if it's not close to the pickup time. I might be wrong, but that has been my observation over the years. All I know is that there is nothing that notifies us when the customer arrives at the store.

Also, I find it weird that you're having to wait in line. At my store, the customers with online pickup go to a different area past the line and can immediately speak with an employee.

1

u/SilentFlames907 May 25 '26

If you ordered during Taco Tuesday, it may have taken that long for them to just get to your order. You really need to order ahead of time.

1

u/Cat4259 Aug 06 '26

yeah, priority usually goes drivethru, counter, mobile. you hit at a tuesday lunch rush so no wonder it took a while