(I am working an IT job that has me getting off work about midnight every night at a 24/7 location. On occasion, I stop by a fast food place on the way home to get some chicken nuggets for my wife and me. The last few times I went before this incident, their card reader was always down and I rarely carry cash on me. After several times of this happening, I get suspicious. Tonight, I have cash and I pull into the drive-thru at 12:15 am. There is a small line of maybe five or six cars and only a couple of people inside. After ten minutes of waiting, the two cars in front of me drive off. That’s odd, so I pull up to the window.)
Me: *after ten minutes of waiting* “Hello?” *no answer*
(After a few more minutes, I leave the drive-thru and pull around to go inside. There is an employee just sitting in the lobby doing nothing, maybe on break or something — I’m not sure. I get to the door and it’s locked. She points me back to the drive-thru, so that’s where I go.)
Me: *five more minutes of waiting* “Is anyone there?” *no answer*
(At this point, it’s almost 12:30. Normally, I would have driven off by now, but I have a vested interest in this that I’ll explain in a moment. I pull out of the drive-thru and see people going into the door to the lobby on the opposite side I had tried. I go in.)
Me: *walks up to the counter*
Worker: “What can I get you?”
Me: *places order and pays* “Is there something wrong with the drive-thru speaker?”
Worker: “I don’t know.”
(About this time, a manager walks up and I ask her the same question.)
Manager: “I don’t know nothin’ about that. I was in the back.”
Me: “Well, I sat in the drive-thru for fifteen minutes and no one even greeted me. I thought it was broken.”
Drive-Thru Worker: *from the window* “I ain’t got time for that. I got orders to make!”
Me: “Also, why is it that you aren’t taking cards at night lately?”
Manager: “We shut the card machines down at midnight.”
(The manager’s attitude overall is rude and uncaring of the situation. I wait another while to get my food and finally leave. I leave the restaurant fifty minutes after I first arrived, for two orders of nuggets. Here is where my vested interest comes into play. My wife’s family is closely associated with this chain and their national program assisting school-aged children with serious physical illness and injury to catch up on their learning. My mother-in-law works for a co-op that basically allows all of the owners to interact and help each other with various tasks, including marketing and customer complaints. My mother-in-law is on a first-name basis with the owner and district manager of most of the chain’s stores in the area, including this one. I file a complaint that night, and the next day…)
Co-op Worker: “Hello, I’m calling in reference to the complaint you filed.”
Me: “Ah, yes, thank you for calling!”
Co-op Worker: “Can you tell me what happened?”
Me: “First, let me start off by telling you who I am.”
(I explain who I am and my family’s relationship. She knows immediately who I am.)
Co-op Worker: *after some small talk* “So, tell me what happened.”
Me: *explains what happened* “Honestly, it was so bad. The only reason you haven’t lost all of your nighttime revenue is that you are the only 24-hour burger place in the area. I was going to call [District Manager] directly but thought this might be a better avenue first.”
Co-op Worker: “I apologize for all of this.”
Me: “Also, is it normal to have the card readers turned off at midnight at your stores?”
Co-op Worker: “That should never happen. I will look into this.”
(About a week went by and I decided to stop by and see if anything had changed. I was in and out in less than ten minutes and was able to use my card. I didn’t recognize anyone in the store this time, and I later found out from my mother-in-law that the entire night shift had been FIRED!)
