Not In Receipt Of Common Sense

(I work in a college town and our store location is at the end of a rather populated bar street. I work the night shift, also known as “bar rush” because of the influx of drunk people that come in when the bars close. Being the only fast food place in the area to get to on foot, bar rush is extremely busy for us. Because of the chaos, we require customers to keep their receipts so we know what food is theirs and that they actually bought food. I work register.)

Me: *finishing up with a customer, handing him a drink cup as the receipt prints* “Here you go, sir, and here is your receipt.”

Drunken Patron: *takes the cup* “I don’t need the receipt, thanks.”

Me: “Sir, during bar rush you have to have your receipt to get your food.”

Drunken Patron: *waves it away as he walks off to wait*

Me: *shrugs, sets his receipt to the side, and addresses the next customer* “Good evening. How can I help you?”

(About fifteen minutes later, the first man comes back to the counter as one of my coworkers who works the food line comes over on my side.)

Coworker: “Do you still have his receipt?”

Me: *picks up his receipt and hands it to her, recognizing the man who refused it earlier* “Yup.”

Drunken Patron: “I just want my food; no one told me I needed my receipt.”

Coworker: *understanding the situation* “Of course not, sir. Here’s your food. Have a great evening.”

Tipsy Regular: *at my register* “People just don’t listen, do they?”

Me: *smirks and continues her order* “Same chaos, different night.”