I have a relatively new starter working the drive-thru. 

Worker: “[My Name], there’s a weirdo trying to order. Can you take him?”

Me: “What’s he doing?”

Worker: “I don’t know. I asked him what he wanted, and he just started calling me a Karen and saying something about a Sienna. I don’t even know if a Sienna works here.”

Confused, I take the headset.

Me: “Sorry about that. Can I take your order?”

Customer: “I have a code.”

Me: “Oh, perfect. What’s the code?”

Customer: “Kilo-Sierra seventy-seven.”

I realised what my worker was confused about and processed the order. I regaled her with it after the customer got his food, but she started moaning about how it didn’t make sense because our codes were like “pins with letters” and “kilo sierra is too long”. I explained that he was using the phonetic alphabet, and she stared at me completely blankly before saying he was probably an [ableist slur] and went off to do something else.

She’s got her probationary review next month, and I’m of the mind to make the manager aware of her language.

Customer: “I have a pick-up order for [Customer].”

Me: “We don’t have that order in our system.”

Customer: “I called and placed the order like twenty minutes ago. I spoke to a girl.”

I gesture at my coworker.

Me: “Then she would have taken it, but we haven’t had an order in the past hour. What phone number did you call?” 

He might have called our other location thirty minutes away.

Customer: “This one.” *Points downward*

I’m already 90% sure he called the wrong place at this point, so I just repeat myself in a flat tone.

Me: “What phone number did you call?”

Customer: “This one.”

Me: “What. Phone. Number. Did. You. Call?”

He is a bit irritated at this point and raises his voice.

Customer: “This one.”

He pulls out his phone and reads the first three numbers:

Customer: “7XX—”

I stop him immediately.

Me: “Our phone number starts with a 9.”

I pointed at the menu glued to the counter listing our number.

My coworker nicely explained that he had probably called our other location. He left without saying a word.

I’m working in a fast food place, and I answer the phone. The caller starts trying to place an order.

Me: “Ma’am, we’re not equipped to take orders over the phone, but you can order through our app or through a delivery service.”

She is LIVID.

Caller: “Why do you even have a phone, then?!”

Me: “It’s for customer complaints and questions and for employee communication.”

Caller: “Well, I have a complaint! You shouldn’t have a phone!”

I chuckled a bit and hung up. She tried calling back, but I told my coworkers it was a prank call and to not answer.

Two customers come in together.

Customer #1: “I’ll buy lunch today.”

Customer #2: “Okay.”

[Customer #2] proceeds to talk to my coworker, since they are mutual friends. [Customer #1] brings up their items and I ring them up.

Me: “Your total is $20.37.”

He hands me a twenty-dollar bill.

Me: “It’s $20.37.”

He looks at me, opens his wallet, and then pats his pocket.

Customer #1: “That’s all I got.”

Me: “It’s fine. I can cover the rest.”

Customer #1: “Thanks! You’re a lifesaver!”

Then, we get to talking about how he’s new around here, moved from opposite sides of the country, from a large city to a tiny town, etc. It probably lasts ten minutes, and it’s a good conversation.

[Customer #2] comes up, and suddenly, [Customer #1] looks at me.

Customer #1: “Don’t I get change?”

Me: *Dumbfounded* “Uhh, no. I covered the rest.”

Customer #1: “But I gave you a fifty!”

I open my till to look and, lo and behold, there are no fifties in my drawer. I lift up my drawer and search, have my coworker search, and offer to count out my till and empty out my pockets, which [Customer #1] is quick to say no to.

Customer #1: “You must have gotten caught up in the conversation and misplaced it. It sucks that I lost thirty bucks.”

Me: “I have no idea what to tell you. There are no fifties in my drawer. If I give you thirty, I’ll be thirty short.”

It finally ends when [Customer #2] comments:

Customer #2: “It must have been a twenty if there are no fifties in there.”

I counted my till at the end of my shift, and it was balanced. People are weird.

I work at a fast food chain. A little girl came in with her dad and ordered a [Kids’ Meal], and the toys that came with it were from an insanely popular movie. We were sold out, and she looked so heartbroken; it was depressing to see her face fall.

Me: *To her dad* “If you give me your mailing address, I’ll mail the toy to you when our next shipment comes in.”

He gladly gave it to me and the girl seemed hopeful.

Then, I learned that, due to some internal corporate problem, we weren’t getting any more of the toys.

I knew I had made a promise, so I mailed the girl a €10 gift certificate to [Toy Store Chain]. The dad wrote a thank-you letter to the restaurant for everything…

And I got written up for “acting egregiously out of scope without consulting a manager and making unreasonable promises to customers”.