I haven’t seen the touch screen ordering here in Saudi — until just a few days ago. I mentioned it before — at Wawa and Sheetz.  And yes, I do love it as someone who stutters, obviously. Also also for practical reasons — getting exactly what I want.

But now it’s here. I strolled into the McDonald’s near the office, and was quickly accosted by two very enthusiastic and helpful workers. They were standing by what looked like a poster. It was hard to figure out what was going on as they shoved a little pamphlet into my hands. Ah, apparently I can make my own burger. Did I want chicken instead? No time to think or ask! What kind of bun do you need? Start touching the screen!

They did all the talking — taking me through the process, and I stared and pointed and touched and swiped my way to a burger that’s more expensive but easier on my stuttering self.

The sad thing is that I had been getting more comfortable about ordering fast food. And now there’s this convenience (don’t get me wrong, I don’t go there every day. I’m trying to pack more and more).

I think what’s funny about the process is that it takes longer to order what you want specifically if you were a fluent person. And even if you stuttered, the process is still longer. So people won’t get that, really. Like, hey, I’m stuttering, seems like I’m going to take forever, but you’re really not in a hurry anyway. So chill.

I talked about relationships before — and how I ordered at Subway. Well, at the local Hardees, I literally have to say nothing. Just slap my money on the counter, and the guy knows the whole order, top to bottom. Am I stuttering when I do that? No, not at all. I built that up myself. I stuttered through a crapload of orders, got smoother and smoother, more and more confident. Until he just knew.

So that helped my confidence. Ordering at a computer? Not so much.