Western fast-food chains(连锁店) are currently on the increase all over the world. McDonalds is located in 120 countries and operates 30 000 restaurants around the world. Burger King has more than 11 100 restaurants in more than 65 countries. KFC is located in 25 countries. Subway has 29 186 restaurants located in 86 countries. Pizza Hut is located in 26 countries, with 100 locations in China.

如今，西式快餐连锁店在全世界范围内迅速扩张。麦当劳在全世界的120个国家经营着30 000家餐厅。汉堡王在65个国家拥有超过11 100家店。肯德基在25个国家拥有店面。赛百味在86个国家共有29 186家店。必胜客扩展到26个国家，仅中国就在100多个城市设店。

Most of these places work on a similar principle. There is a long counter, above which displays a list (often with pictures) of the items available, and behind which several people are serving. Individual queues form in front of each assistant. You receive what you order immediately and take it on a tray to a table, picking up things like straws(吸管), pepper(胡椒粉) , ketchup(番茄酱), pickles(泡菜) and napkins(餐巾纸) on the way.

对于这些连锁店，大部分都是标准化经营。一条长长的柜台，柜台上面列明食物清单(通常都是图文并茂的) ，在柜台后面，有几名服务人员。顾客在这些服务员面前依次排队等候，点好东西后便可立即用托盘端到桌子处，并且可在途中拿取所需的吸管、胡椒粉、番茄酱、泡菜以及餐巾纸等。