10 Of The Biggest Mistakes You're Making When Ordering At Wendy's

In an era of wild fast food experimentation, Wendy's menu remains steadfastly focused on burgers, fries, and chicken. In fact, Wendy's first menu featured only five items, focusing on making sure they were done correctly. Obviously, things have changed since then. Sure, the Baconator is a touch extravagant, but it's no Doritos Locos Taco or KFC Double Down. Instead, Wendy's focuses on putting a signature twist on homestyle classics like chili and baked potatoes.

We admire a straightforward menu. Who wants to eat at a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none establishment? Still, there are plenty of tips to know and pitfalls to avoid if you want to get the most bang for your buck out of a delicious Wendy's meal. This article isn't going to teach you how to secretly order that forgotten Wendy's menu item from the 1990s, but we will teach you how to stretch a dollar. In an era where dollar menus barely even exist, that's important. Not only that, all of these tips lead to some really tasty food.

If you don't want to spend the money on a full combo meal, you want a Biggie Bag, with the trade-off that your sandwich will be slightly smaller than combo meal sandwiches. The fries and drink are small size, too — or are they? Thanks to Wendy's worker and TikTok user @secretlystacked, we now know how to get as much food as a combo meal for (nearly) the price of a Biggie Bag. Simply order your $5 Biggie Bag, then upgrade the fries and drink to large for 80 cents. Compare that to a large combo, which can cost upwards of $8 to get the most bang for your buck on a combo order.

@secretlystacked

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One of the great marvels of contemporary fast food, the Biggie Bag is also a way to not have to choose whether you want a burger or chicken nuggets. These meal deals come with your choice of sandwich — different varieties of burgers or chicken sandwiches slightly smaller than regular combo meal sandwiches — plus chicken nuggets, fries, and a drink. Upgrading to large fries and a drink almost feels like stealing something.

Wendy's prides itself on fresh, never-frozen beef. The trust in the beef is so strong, in fact, that salt is the only seasoning Wendy's uses on its burgers. But if a burger is served to you, and the taste doesn't deliver on the promised freshness, what can you do? The answer is simple: Just ask for a fresh patty.

Sometimes a burger patty or chicken piece dries out when it's been sitting. It happens, especially in the liminal hours between lunch and dinner, and it's not the end of the world. Most workers will understand and happily oblige. Our biggest tip with this one is simply to be respectful and considerate to the staff. 

Cooking fresh food takes time, so you can expect a wait if you request a new sandwich. Remember that if you did get a sandwich with a dried-out patty, it's not because the restaurant is trying to rug-pull. All it takes is a little patience, and you'll get the delicious sandwich you want.

Right away, we have to admit that this trick might not work at your local Wendy's. No one should get mad at you if you ask, though, so you should ask for your Frosty sans lid. Some Wendy's employees on Reddit admit that they pour with a heavier hand when the Frosty cup has no lid, meaning this might be a simple way to score a couple of extra ounces of sweet treat. Other Wendy's employees say they aren't allowed to serve a Frosty without a lid, so hopefully your local Wendy's is one where the management doesn't mind.

Don't go in there giggling to yourself like a middle schooler, either. There are plenty of reasons to want a Frosty with no lid, like easier spoon access, easier french fry dipping access, or reducing plastic waste. Keep a straight face and use one of those excuses if you're pressed. Then, if all goes to plan and you do get a little extra Frosty? Imagine us high-fiving you.

Sometime in the 2010s, someone told the internet that ordering fries with no salt meant the restaurant had to make a fresh batch. There's your secret to better-tasting fries, provided you're willing to add the salt yourself. Some Wendy's employees will tell you this is a mistake, however. Some workers will simply drop already-made fries back into the oil to shake the salt off. This move has the unfortunate double-bad result of overcooking the fries and degrading the oil in the process. Maybe you think you're hacking the system, pulling a fast one on a corporation, but in reality? No one's winning in this scenario.

If you ask for food to be made fresh, some workers report that the restaurant has to do it. Whether guided by a corporate mandate or not, it makes sense. The staff will want to know if the fries are tasting off, especially if it means needing to make a fresh batch before the next lunch or dinner rush. Either way, it's best to just ask politely instead of trying to sneakily backdoor your way to what you want.

Heads up: Wendy's has larger drink sizes than most fast food restaurants. While still using the small, medium, and large naming system, a medium at Wendy's is 30 ounces. Compare that to McDonalds (21 ounces) Burger King (21 ounces), or Taco Bell (19 ounces). Wendy's has one of the fastest drive-thrus, but even so, few things are more frustrating than waiting in line, finally getting your food (with that mouthwatering fry smell filling your car), and then finding the drinks you ordered don't fit in your cup holder. If most fast food larges are a struggle for your Honda, prepare to run into those same issues with Wendy's medium sizes.

We're not necessarily telling you to order a size smaller. Besides, if you're really into the way soda tastes coming out of a fast food drink machine, Wendy's gets you good value. Shrinkflation — which is a fancy economists' word for when you get less stuff but still get charged the same price — is a real thing. Wendy's goes the other way. Just, you know, be prepared.

Wendy's has tried various official ways to mix a Frosty with coffee. Currently, it offers a Frosty Cream Cold Brew, and years ago, the chain served a drink called the Frosty-ccino. There have even been limited-time specials like Wendy's Pumpkin Spice Frosty, which explicitly evoke the idea of caffeinated bean water while you're ordering a chilled dairy treat. Sometimes, though, you have to put gimmicks and experiments aside. The champion of Frosty and coffee remains tremendously simple: Ordering a cup of black coffee and a Frosty of your flavor choice, then combining the two.

With this method, you're in control of exactly how much of each element you want. There are a few different approaches to take. You can spoon some Frosty directly into your coffee, keeping the drink hot but cooling it off. You can ask for an extra, separate coffee cup. Making the Frosty/coffee mixture in this extra cup also leaves you a little bit of extra of each to sip solo, if you like. The one thing we will advise? Don't pour hot coffee into a plastic cup. Make sure you're getting a temperature-safe extra cup when you go to do your mad scientist work.

The Biggie Bag is a wonderful way to get lots of different kinds of food, which means no more deciding between burgers and chicken nuggets. But did you also know that you don't necessarily have to commit to fries as your side? Some Wendy's may not allow this, but at most locations, you can opt for a Biggie Bag filled with the sandwich of your choice, nuggets, a drink, and chili. Talk about a meat lover's lunch. If you're friends with any bodybuilders, let them know you have the ultimate fast food protein hack. If you know any heart surgeons, well, maybe don't tell them about this one.

Maybe the small order of fries that comes in the Biggie Bag isn't enough for you, or maybe you just want to cut carbs in favor of protein. Either way, the Wendy's menu is your oyster, so feel free to get creative. On combos with size small fries, you can totally swap them out for chili at no extra cost. Dip your nuggets in the chili, dunk your burger in it, and have fun.

A common mistake is ordering a sandwich or burger "plain," and then wondering where the toppings and sauce are. Turns out, a lot of people say "plain" when they simply mean "no cheese," but those terms mean different things in most restaurants' point of sale system. When you say "plain," the cashier presses the button for plain, and then the order gets sent to a screen in front of the sandwich maker. There are a few layers between you speaking your order and a person making it, which is why there's the need for easily understandable shorthand.

There are plenty of reasons to want an item sans cheese. Maybe you're lactose intolerant, or maybe you don't mix meat and dairy for religious reasons. Hey, maybe you simply think your burger tastes better when the meat sings solo. Whatever you do, don't say the word plain if you still want lettuce or onions or mayo. Specificity is never a bad thing when ordering fast food.

It's common knowledge that Wendy's baked potato comes with a delicious Cheddar sauce. That cheese is a major reason why you might want to order a baked potato in the first place. Less common knowledge is the fact that you can order a ramekin of Cheddar sauce on the side, for dipping fries and nuggets. Salty, savory, and molten, this sauce adds the decadent layer your meal needs. Fast food fondue? Yes please.

This is a great example of why you should let your imagination run wild at a fast-food restaurant. Think of menu items as suggestions. At fast food restaurants, almost any sauce can become a dipping sauce. It's just so easy for us humans to get used to patterns, to only think of things as belonging in a single, set place. That sauce that comes on Big Macs? Ask for that on a different burger. Taco Bell quesadilla sauce? Go wild, put it on a chalupa! For starters, though: Go to Wendy's, get some cheese sauce, dip some fries, and thank us later.

We get it. Yes, there are too many apps these days and your phone's out of storage, and yes, the McDonald's app knows an uncomfortable amount about you, we know. But we're talking about Wendy's right now. Not having the Wendy's app means missing out on deals — specifically, deals exclusive to app users. Not to mention the fact that there are usually free food offers just for signing up.

Not using the app also means missing out on Wendy's rewards points: For every $1 you spend, you get 10 points, which can later be redeemed for food. Not using the app is leaving money on the table. Close your eyes and picture a table. Preferably a Formica two-seater at your local Wendy's. Now imagine laying out the exact amount of bills and change needed for an order of 10-piece chicken nuggets, and then walking away without the money or chicken nuggets. That's basically what ordering without the Wendy's app is.