12 Juicy Taco Bell Secrets Straight From an Employee
Taco Bell is clearly doing something right—the fast food chain is enjoying year over year growth even while rival restaurants experience sluggish sales, downsizing, and bankruptcy. The success of any chain depends heavily on the people who work inside their restaurants, and much to our delight one "bored" Taco Bell employee Jazzlike-Radio600 decided to spill the refried beans on Reddit about what really goes on behind the counter. Here's what this hero has to say.
Half-Full Nacho Cheese Cups
One person asked why their nacho cheese cups were never filled properly, and the employee said, "We actually use 2 pumps of nacho cheese, if you get unfair portions it's probably because Taco Bell doesn't really give us good pumps so we usually just guess how much 2 full pumps should be. In high-stress situations it's a little difficult to fill nacho cheese cups, the pumps that we get don't always give a full 'pump' so we end up having to guess in these high stress situations."
"Grilled Style" Slows Things Down
One Redditor asked, "My go to order is this. How much do you hate me? Cheesy Gordita Crunch/Beefy 5 layer burrito (remove beans + nacho cheese, add potatoes and spicy ranch, grilled style)/ 2x Chicken chalupa (remove tomatoes, add spicy ranch)/ Chicken enchilada burrito (remove rice + red sauce, add potatoes and spicy ranch, grilled style)."
The Taco Bell employee admitted it was an annoying order. "On a scale of 1-10 (don't take this personally) 6 the reason is because grilling things takes an extra step in the process. It takes 17 seconds to grill something which adds up when you have a lot of orders," they said.
Jalapeño Sauce Trick
One person wanted to know how to get a bag of the Taco Bell Jalapeño sauce. "You can order it in sides," the employee said. "Not kidding you can get it for like 3 bucks, ask for 30 sides just know they will hate you. Don't tell them I sent you either."
Rehydrated Bean Drama
One person asked if, after working at Taco Bell, there's anything the employee would no longer eat there, and they replied, "Not really, the closest thing I can think of is maybe beans because they come in dry storage and we rehydrate them with water but I'll still eat them (I get them on all the nachos cuz it's good)."
Why So Much Refried Beans?
Another Redditor asked why the Taco Bell menu was so heavy on the refried beans. "I think they are cheap and the store can profit more," the employee said.
Best Bang For the Buck
Even Taco Bell workers agree the Luxe Cravings boxes are legit. "I'm on a budget and trying to keep it no more than $8-$12. I'm kind of unfamiliar with the menu so what do you suggest getting so I can get more bang for my buck?" one Redditor asked. "The 7 dollar box is the most bang for your buck meal we got rn [right now]," the employee responded.
Soft Tacos Take Longer
One person asked if the kitchen slows down with an order of a dozen tacos. Another Redditor who is also a Taco Bell employee responded with, "Not if the store is staffed well (count and training!) our store can knock out 12 tacos in less than 2 mins. But if its new people on the line, or we're short staffed that can increase wait times. Also, soft tacos take longer than crunchy ones." The original poster added, "Let me add on this if you order like 3 absolutely it would take about 4 mins if crunchy, like 5 mins if soft."
Worst Type of Order
The worst type of order is "probably one with a bunch of either cantina items or customizations," the Taco Bell mole says. "There is no problem with taking things off or putting things on, it gets a little frustrating/confusing having someone change an item almost completely. If you're not doing that it's not too much of a hassle."
How To Ask For Customizations
The Taco Bell employee says to always say the ingredients you want removed before asking for anything else. "If you do order a customized item, if you ask for all the ingredients you want removed first it helps the line people, for example if you ask for a quesadilla no sauce extra cheese, we won't put the sauce on there, but if we hear quesadilla extra cheese… no sauce, we might have already put the sauce on there and it creates a lot of waste."
Cantina Chicken Crispy Taco Is the Worst To Make
The Taco Bell Redditor does not like making the Cantina Chicken Crispy Taco, and after reading this I don't blame them.
"There's a lot of steps to this item," they explain. "First you grab a shell and take a scoop of cantina chicken and put it in the taco shell, then you take the creamy jalapeno sauce, evenly spread it over the chicken, then a 2 finger pinch of 3-cheese on the taco, then take the steamer tray (the thing that melts cheese) put a piece of parchment paper on the tray, take a 2 finger pinch of 3-cheese on the paper line up the taco, so when you fold it over it over the cheese gets on the other side, then take it to the clam shell grill, then smoosh the taco so it gets grilled on both sides, but you can't break it or you have to restart, total time about 30 seconds for one item."
Love For New Chicken Nugs
Taco Bell recently expanded the menu to include chicken nuggets, and the employee is a fan. "Me and all my coworkers loved them," they said to a Redditor who asked, "Have you had the nuggets? What do you think. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!" Good to know.
Working At Taco Bell Is Awesome
Our Taco Bell spy genuinely appreciates their job. "I love working at Taco Bell, it's by far my favorite job, I'm hoping I can become a general manager or district manager soon, we'll see how things go, if I get one of those I'll make a post."
Good luck, we're rooting for you!
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