Needs More Than A Nugget Of a Common Sense

(I’m working the counter at a popular chicken joint. We sell chicken nuggets in packs of 6, 8, or 12. A large family rushes up to my register.)

Mother: “Don’t you have anything bigger than a 12 pack?”

Me: “We have a party platter with 50 nuggets, but if you order now it will be at least a 30 minute wait as we have to cook them fresh and clear all current orders before we start yours.”

Mother: *looking horrified with my suggestion* “No! We don’t need THAT many. All right, fine. [Father], what do you think?”

Father: “Okay, we’ll take two 12-pack combos, with another 12-pack on the side for each. Two 8-pack combos with extra 8-packs for each of those.”

Boys: “Why can’t we have kids meals?! We want the toy!”

Father: “That’s not enough nuggets for you boys. We got you adult meals so you’d have enough food.”

Boys: “But there’s no TOY!”

Father: “Okay, okay. And two 6-pack kids combos. Oh, and can you value-size all of those?”

(If you haven’t already done the math, that’s a total of 92 nuggets, nearly double the amount on the party platter. A coworker and I attempt to explain that ordering the platter with some fries on the side would be more efficient and cheaper. They continue to insist they don’t need that many nuggets and begin to suggest that my coworker and I are calling them ‘fatties.’ We decide to go ahead with the order as they want it.)

Me: “Uhm… okay.”

(I take their drink orders, double check everything, and help them pay. It takes around 20 minutes to cook their order because of the sheer volume of nuggets. They are grumpy when we hand them their order, but walk away happily popping hot nuggets in their mouths. I still have a bad feeling about the transaction, so I keep an eye on the family as they eat. Thirty minutes later, they return to my counter with a bag full of nugget boxes.)

Mother: “That was WAY too many nuggets. Here. You take them back and give them to someone else.”

Me: “I’m sorry, but health codes won’t allow us to do that. We can only serve food over the counter, not receive it.”

Mother: “Are you kidding me? You’re just going to waste food like that?!”

Me: “I’m sorry, but I can not take those back.”

Mother: “Well, what am I supposed to do with these?”

Me: “You could save them for later?”

Mother: “Don’t be stupid! We already ate a ton of your nuggets. Why would we go home and eat more?”

(I’m speechless at this point, so my coworker points out a nearby trash can for the woman.)

Mother: “I can’t BELIEVE you’re MAKING me waste this food!”