Not Bringing Home The Bacon

I work very long hours and often don’t get to leave until well into the evening. There are only two fast food places open by the time I leave, so about once a week, I stop at one of them for a bite to eat and a drink before driving twenty minutes home to treat myself. The last couple of times I’ve stopped at the one place, my (very simple) order, a bacon cheeseburger meal, has been wrong. Once it had no cheese, and the last few times it had no bacon. I called and let them know each time it happened via voicemail, but I never got calls back, just ate and went home to bed. I skipped that restaurant for a few weeks because of this, but I get off work earlier than usual one day and have my family with me, so they decide they want food from that restaurant.

I order my usual at the drive-thru: a bacon cheeseburger with onion rings and an iced tea.

Cashier: “We don’t have onion rings here.”

This restaurant is known for its onion rings, so I am pretty shocked but get just the burger and drink.

Me: “The last few times I’ve come in, I haven’t gotten the bacon on my burger. Can you please make sure it is made properly?”

She assures me she will and I go to the window and pay. By the time I get my food, my daughter is starting to fuss, so we hop on the road toward home. I have a weird feeling, so about five minutes down the road, I ask my husband to check the food. His burger, fine. My daughter’s kids’ meal, fine. My burger? A patty on a bun and nothing else. I’m frustrated, as the bacon cheeseburger is almost $4 more than the regular, plain hamburger, and this has happened several times now. I turn around and drive back, go inside, and ask for a refund. The manager opens the burger.

Manager: “This is how you asked for it.”

I say no and show my receipt, which says, “[Burger], + bacon $1.89, + cheese $1.89.” She looks around and starts speaking in another language to the lady working in the kitchen.

Me: “Can I get a refund, please?”

Manager: “We are sold out of bacon.”

She just stands there staring at me as several seconds pass.

Me: “So… can I get a refund, then?”

She rolls her eyes, shoves cash at me, and then sarcastically says:

Manager: “Soooorry, but like I said, we are out of bacon!”

I don’t work there, so how am I supposed to know they’re out of bacon? The cashier had no problem telling me they were out of onion rings. Why was bacon such a struggle, and why was it my fault? Oh, well.