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Author Topic: Our experience at SONIC Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-15-2011 09:22 PM                        OK, so there was great excitement in Billings, Montana a few weeks ago when the first Sonic Drive-In opened in town. The cars were circling the building and backed up out into the street. The city had to send out cops to help direct traffic around the place. It was nuts! My wife and I didn't rush out to go there, but when we were in Billings a couple of weeks ago we found ourselves nearby at mealtime, so decided to try it out to see what all the hoopla was about. Even 5 or 6 weeks after the grand opening, there was still a long line of cars with a kid outside directing traffic. For those who don't know, Sonic's big hook is that they deliver the old-fashioned drive-in restaurant experience, with car-hops on roller skates bringing the food out to the cars. I always liked going to the drive-in as a kid so I was looking forward to the "Sonic experience." After waiting in line, we got a spot. It was quite cool...push a button to talk to the order-taker inside, and stick the credit card into the machine and pay right then and there. Easy! But things sort of went sideways after that. The carhop brought out our food in a bag, rather than on a tray to be hooked to the car window like I was expecting. (And the way the parking is set-up, you're too close to the speaker/menu to allow enough room for the tray to hang on your car window anyway.) The car-hop had to stand behind my window like a cop, handing me the bag, and I had to twist around to take it. Not that big a deal, I figured. We prepared to enjoy the delicious Sonic burgers and fries. In the bag was....well, just ordinary fast food. Nothing special about this stuff at all. They weren't bad, but they weren't great either. We had no idea what all the shouting was about. So then, after dinner we decided to indulge in a couple of milk shakes for dessert. We also had the notion that we would give the car-hop our bag of trash from the original meal, since we didn't see a single trashcan anywhere in view. So we ordered the milkshakes, the car hop brought them, I asked her to take our other bag....and you would have thought I had asked her to haul off a bag of severed heads or something. She was like, "ohhh-kay" and took the bag with two fingertips. I thought, WTF? What happened to the "drive-in restaurant" experience? The car-hop is supposed to bring the food on the tray, put it on the window, and the driver is supposed to pass the food around to the car occupants, and after dinner the driver signals the car-hop somehow and they come and get the tray. What Sonic is doing has none of that. They have simply transferred the "drive-through window" experience into the parking lot, and I guess you're expected to take your food home and eat it and dispose of your trash there. Anyway, both Lynn and I were severely disappointed. We have no desire to go there ever again. I truly do not see what all the furor is about. Anybody else had a better Sonic experience than we had? Is there something I'm missing here??  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-15-2011 09:38 PM                     There's usually a tray just outside the driver's side door. You're supposed to put your empties there and just leave them. There's supposed to be a kid who comes around and trashes everything. They stopped hanging trays on the side of peoples' cars because there were too many complaints of paint getting scratched and windows getting chipped. I know... lame excuse but with today's people...  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 04-15-2011 09:45 PM                     We have three Sonics here in Nampa and just not my favorite place to get a carhop hamburger since they use foiled bags that keeps the steam inside causing the buns to get majorily soggy. Hamburgers are so dry and flat tasting that I have to take it home and "redress" it to make have some more appetizing flavor. We hit the drive-thru instead of the carhop service. But, as with a lot of venues that try to go retro in their business with this new generation's ideas: They haven't a clue on how to do it .. RIGHT, and fail miserably. I'm sure that Mike remembers the old A&W Root Beer stands, shaped like a root beer barrel and how their root beer was served along with their excellent tasting hamburgers and fresh cut fries that were never frozen in the first place...in which A&W has now lost that part of hamburger making. -Monte  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 04-15-2011 10:54 PM                        We have about 600 Sonics here and I do not understand why. I went to one with my girlfriend at the time and the food was just barely scratcing the surface of average. Not even as good as something like Burger King or McDonalds. It was like I was eating something with no taste. And I'll be damned if I stink up my car with the smell of food. That's why we took her car.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 04-15-2011 11:01 PM                     Lawton has at least 5 Sonic locations within the city limits. And Sonic has locations in the nearby towns of Cache, Medicine Park, Elgin and Walters. Sonic Drive-In started in Oklahoma, with some of the first ones being built in this area. The company is headquartered in Oklahoma City. They have a pretty nice building next to the Bricktown canal directly across from Toby Keith's "I Love This Bar" Bar/Restaurant. The Oklahoma Redhawks AAA baseball park is on the other side of the building. Sonic is not my first choice of drive-in burger restaurants in Lawton. That honor goes to Wayne's Drive Inn. It's a family-owned business with 2 locations. I think their burgers are A LOT better than those from Sonic. And Wayne's drive-ins are laid out a bit better. Once in a while I'll visit the Sonic location around the corner from my workplace, but only because it is close. The same thing goes for Taco Bell, although I'll drive farther for Taco Mayo. I just wish Taco Bueno had more than one location in Lawton. My cousin Tommy lives in Minneapolis. Apparently the twin cities area doesn't have shit for burger restaurants. But they do have some Sonic locations there now. When Tommy comes to Lawton to visit his mother (my aunt) he goes on a burger tour. The first stop is Wayne's Drive Inn. Then there's Whataburger. He'll head out to the Wichita Mountains and eat at the Meers Store whose original blood line Texas Longhorn burgers have won numerous awards and been featured on the Food Network and Travel Channel. Yes, the original blood line of Texas Longhorn cattle is actually found in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. If my cousin Tommy has time he'll visit Burgess Grill in downtown Lawton and Gertlestone's Pub & Grub. With In-N-Out Burger opening 8 locations and a distribution center in Dallas-Fort Worth, I'm hoping In-N-Out might build at least one location in Lawton-Fort Sill. There's a good number of displaced Californians here pining away for In-N-Out. quote: Monte L Fullmer I'm sure that Mike remembers the old A&W Root Beer stands I remember them! When I was a little kid my mother worked at an A&W Drive-In in New Mexico. They were good. That particular drive-in in Artesia, New Mexico closed and was replaced with, yes you guessed it, a Sonic. quote: Randy Stankey They stopped hanging trays on the side of peoples' cars because there were too many complaints of paint getting scratched and windows getting chipped. Modern cars and trucks aren't designed to hold trays. At Wayne's the car hops bring out food on trays (as opposed to putting your food in bags). But they don't hang the trays on vehicles.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-15-2011 11:17 PM                        quote: Bobby Henderson Modern cars and trucks aren't designed to hold trays. I suppose that's true if the window is severely curved on top, but I would think most vehicles' windows could support a tray. But I can totally see people damaging their own cars with their stupidity and then blaming the restaurant. I don't remember there being a place outside the car for the trash to sit, but now I'm curious about that, so maybe we'll go back one more time. Maybe I'll try the chicken strips or something. Monte -- yes, the old A&Ws. We had one in town here. With the frosty mugs and the "burger family." Good stuff.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 04-16-2011 12:02 AM                     quote: Mike Blakesley I don't remember there being a place outside the car for the trash to sit, but now I'm curious about that, so maybe we'll go back one more time. The Sonic locations here have trash cans near the drive way exits. The location I visit near work takes call-in orders. I just drive up, grab my order and go back to the office. I think if In-N-Out takes off in Texas in a big way (as it did in California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah) it could certainly spread into Oklahoma. Dallas-Fort Worth is just a 3 hour drive from Lawton, easily within the same-day driving distance requirement store locations have with the distribution center. In-N-Out could put a hurting on Sonic. However, it isn't as if Sonic lacks competition. The Whataburger chain has more than a few fans. And this redneck heavy area of the country has no shortage of locally run burger joints with lofty reputations. Out of certain growing restaurant chains, I'm hoping more for a Chipotle location in Lawton. I think Chipotle would go over great here. A major downtown redevelopment project is finally getting underway and Chipotle would be a natural there. There's not as many retail parcels available near Cameron University, although that would be an even better bet. Cameron is across from Memorial Hospital and the wealthy "pill hill" neighborhood North of the hospital.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 04-16-2011 12:47 AM                     ...'bout I only eat now from Sonic is the "Chicken Strip Dinner" yet, Dairy Queen does the strip dinner better ....  |  IP: Logged Don Furr Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 509 From: Sun City, Ca USA Registered: Nov 2002 posted 04-16-2011 08:29 AM                     To each his own but I've always liked the Sonic Burgers and Tater Tots. Haven't really eaten anything else there. I can tell you that between Atlanta and Jacksonville, Fl. SONICS are closing as fast as dollar theatres. If a Sonic can't make it in a small southern town they can't make it anywhere else. Don  |  IP: Logged Richard Hamilton Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1341 From: Evansville, Indiana Registered: Jan 2000 posted 04-16-2011 09:55 AM                     When the first Sonic opened here, my dad got some zoning laws passed for them. He did alot of corporate law. I think I've eaten there once.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 04-16-2011 10:56 AM                     Regardless of their food or service, Sonic does do drinks right. There is one near our office and I drive by it and laugh at their sign every day. It reads quote: Happy hour $0.50 corn dogs WITH FREE MUSTARD!  |  IP: Logged Emma Tomiak Expert Film Handler Posts: 238 From: Carrollton, TX, USA Registered: Aug 2003 posted 04-16-2011 11:56 AM                        I like their ice. You can buy it by the bag  |  IP: Logged James Westbrook Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1133 From: Lubbock, Texas, Usa Registered: Mar 2006 posted 04-16-2011 12:50 PM                     I live within walking distance of a Sonic. I find their food okay. They are more renown, as Brad mentioned, for their soft drinks. They even have a "Happy Hour" between 2 and 4 in the afternoons where their sodas are half price. With the combination of the styrofoam cups and their pellet ice, the drinks are indeed awesome. Up the hill a mile south of me is a What-a-Burger, which is my likely destination for a burger, even though Sonic is cheaper. I live behind a Wienerschnitzel, which I only set foot in maybe three or four times a year.  |  IP: Logged John Wilson Film God Posts: 5438 From: Sydney, Australia. Registered: Dec 1999 posted 04-16-2011 06:06 PM                     quote: Mike Blakesley But I can totally see people damaging their own cars with their stupidity and then blaming the restaurant. Surely a disclaimer would have solved that problem rather than just getting rid of them. You see them all the time in car parks...'Park here at your own risk. We accept no responsibility for damage' etc.  |  IP: Logged Wayne Keyser Master Film Handler Posts: 272 From: Arlington, Virginia, USA Registered: May 2004 posted 04-16-2011 06:35 PM                     "This your burger, sir? You know that's over 850 calories and your limit is 350? License and registration please."  |  IP: Logged

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