Road trips can be a joy—especially when you're heading off to see the billy lid and the grandkids. Mine spanned three days of long drives, punctuated by the usual stops for fuel, breakfast, and lunch. And like many travellers, I often default to McDonald’s for a quick meal. But during the school holidays, those golden arches felt more like a gauntlet than a haven. Crowds of hungry families packed the stores, and ordering became an exercise in patience and persistence.

As most of you know, orders are now placed via large touchscreens (yes, there’s an app—no, I didn’t use it). The screens walk you through every upsell and checkbox imaginable, then print your order with all the trimmings—including your order number.

Here’s where things went sideways. The printer wasn’t working

When you complete your order, you’re meant to glance down and grab the printout. But if the printer’s out of paper, the screen flashes a message: “Retry printing.” You tap it and... nothing. You glance up—only to find the screen has reset to the start of the ordering process. Your order? Gone. Your receipt? MIA. Your mental state? Slightly frayed.

I’m a software developer, so naturally I stuck around to watch the next poor soul go through the same ordeal. After he tapped “Retry,” his order number flashed briefly on the screen before disappearing again. No receipt. No clue.

No Order, No Proof, No Lunch. When I approached the counter to explain the issue, I was asked what I'd ordered. That’s when things got ridiculous. With dozens of options and combinations on that touchscreen, I hadn’t memorized the whole thing—I was counting on the printed receipt to do that job.

The staff couldn't locate the order. Eventually, I received something vaguely resembling what I’d ordered—but only after showing proof that I’d paid. It was a mess.

And it happened three times on that trip.

By round three, I’d learned to memorize the last two digits of the order number flashed briefly on screen. That hack worked—but shouldn’t have been necessary.

A Bit of Free Advice. To whoever designed this order system: for heaven’s sake, add a button that says “Show My Order Number”. If the printer fails, let users access and confirm their order number without restarting the entire process.

It’s a simple fix—and it would save a lot of frustrated families, hangry travellers, and yes, retired software developers from unnecessary aggravation.