I've noticed this kind of thing at many food establishments, most notably Jack-in-the-Box. They actually have a system which lets you order any meal exactly how you want it a-la-carte style, i.e. you can order 1 sourdough bun + 1 grilled chicken patty + 1 slice of cheese, and they charge you JUST for those items. It's amazing.
However, whenever I ordered a sandwich this way, the employee would almost always enter my order in as a Number 6, which actually, is a TOTALLY different sandwich and includes bacon, sauce, etc., none of which I requested. It is also, not surprisingly, much more expensive. At first I would have a long dialogue with the employee, explaining that I just wanted those items and that he could enter them individually into the computer (sometimes a manager would have to explain how). Eventually I figured out that if I just prefaced my order with, "I'm ordering these items a-la-carte.", most of the time I get what I want with little or no confusion.
However, whenever I ordered a sandwich this way, the employee would almost always enter my order in as a Number 6, which actually, is a TOTALLY different sandwich and includes bacon, sauce, etc., none of which I requested. It is also, not surprisingly, much more expensive. At first I would have a long dialogue with the employee, explaining that I just wanted those items and that he could enter them individually into the computer (sometimes a manager would have to explain how). Eventually I figured out that if I just prefaced my order with, "I'm ordering these items a-la-carte.", most of the time I get what I want with little or no confusion.