Arcane Gazebo

Fast Food Etiquette

The local Jack in the Box has recently set up their drive-thru speaker to play a recorded message when a car pulls up: "Welcome to Jack in the Box, how may I help you?" This has led to some hesitation on my part since, while the recording seems to be asking for my order, there's no guarantee that anyone is actually listening. I can think of at least three approaches:

1. Assume that the same mechanism which triggers the message has alerted someone within to my presence, and give my order. This approach typically prompts a response of "Hi, may I take your order?" which indicates that this may not be correct. (But if not, what's the point of the recording?)
   
2. Wait for a greeting from an actual human, on the grounds that I am under no obligation to speak to inanimate objects. This has worked so far, but I envision a scenario in which the clerk waits for me to speak in response to the recording (or assumes I am still reading the menu) and we reach an impasse while the line builds up behind me.
   
3. Say something with the intention of ascertaining whether anyone is actually listening. "Hello, anyone there?" seems a bit rude but I imagine there is a better phrasing. This is a non sequitur from the recording's "how may I help you", so I suspect this is not the sort of behavior that the architects of this state-of-the-art drive-thru technology intended to promote.