(I am at the drive-thru of a restaurant known for cheap Tex Mex food. I think it will be easy to just have them “hold the dairy” on a few tacos, as I’m lactose intolerant.)

Me: “I’ll have a #4, please.”

Worker: “That’s a #4. What to drink?”

Me: “Can I have [Soda]? And can you hold the dairy on the items, please? I can’t do dairy.”

Worker: “So… no tomatoes?”

Me: *internal sigh* “No. Tomatoes are fine. No cheese or sour cream. I can’t do anything with milk in it. No dairy. I’m lactose intolerant.”

(After a few moments of silence:)

Worker: “Let me get my manager.”

(The worker then asked their manager, with their headset still on so I could hear, if tomatoes and lettuce were dairy products. The manager had to explain to the worker what constituted “dairy.” The manager was actually really great, hopping on to talk to me, suggesting that ordering options “al fresco” would be the best option for me in the future, because they were automatically-dairy free AND had added pico instead, meaning I’d be getting a better option for my meal rather than just removing a ton of the items. But I’m still unsure how an adult had no idea what “dairy” meant.)

(I’ve just done a long shift at a supermarket, and knowing I’ll just go home and fall asleep, I decide to stop at the popular fast-food place down the street. I’ve only been to this particular location a couple of times. The location of the same fast-food place near my house is open 24 hours, so in my tiredness I assume this location is the same. I roll up to the drive-thru speaker at 11:59 pm. As I roll up, all the menu lights switch off. Being in retail, I know how annoying it is to have customers stay past closing time.)

Cashier: *through speaker, sighing* “Welcome to [Restaurant]. How can I help?”

Me: “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realise you were closing. It’s okay; I’ll go to another restaurant closer to my house that’s still open.”

Cashier: “No, it’s fine. Just order something!”

Me: *trying to be polite* “It’s okay, really. I’ll just go there.”

Cashier: “Lady, you’re in my drive-thru. Now order something! It’s fine.”

(I reluctantly order a meal, and he asks me to pull forward to pay. I pay and get to the final window to receive my food. When the guy speaks and hands me my food, I realise it is the same cashier who took my order.)

Cashier: “Here’s your food. Just to let you know, we shut at midnight, and I’ve stayed extra now that I won’t get paid for.”

(I was so stunned and tired, I just drove off. When I got home, my food was horrible. I couldn’t work out why the cashier didn’t just let me drive through like I said, and then he wouldn’t have to stay and be so passive-aggressive about it all!)

(I am in line at a fast food restaurant. At the moment, it is very busy, but there is only one employee available to take orders. The customer in front of me has two very hyper children with her.)

Employee: “How can I help you today?”

Customer: “Uh, how much is the number one?”

Employee: “The sandwich is [price], or the meal is [higher price].”

Customer: “How much is the number two?”

(This repeats pretty much exactly for most of the menu, despite the prices being clearly written on the menu displayed over the registers.)

Customer: “Okay. Can I get the number three, just the sandwich, and two small number fours?”

Employee: “Will that be all for you today?”

Customer: “Actually, can you replace the number three with a number two? And one of the number fours with a number six? Actually, they can just share my fries; make the numbers four and six just a sandwich, and the number two a large. Oh, and no onions or pickles on the number four.”

Employee: “Okay, will that be all?”

Customer: “Yes.”

Employee: “Okay, that’ll be [total].”

(The woman then proceeds to dump a small pile of coins onto the counter and count out the price in quarters, dimes, and nickels. The line has doubled in length since she started her order. As she does so, another order comes available and the customer goes to grab their bag. Before she can, one of the children tries to grab the bag off the counter.)

Other Customer: “Ma’am, if you can’t control your spawn, maybe you should keep them at home. That’s the third time I’ve seen them try to steal somebody else’s food, and that’s not okay.”

(The woman ignored him, of course. Luckily, her order was to go, and she took her children with her. How the employee didn’t lose his temper, I’ll never know.)

(A customer comes in through the drive-thru and orders a burger.)

Customer: “…and can I get an extra patty on that?”

Cashier: “Sure!”

(An extra patty rings up as a separate charge.)

Cashier: “That’ll be [total].”

Customer: “Wait, why does it cost more now?”

Cashier: “You wanted to make it a double, so there’s an extra charge for the extra patty.”

Customer: “WHY DO YOU CHARGE FOR EXTRA CONDIMENTS?”

(He drove off. Sorry, but an extra patty is not a condiment…)

(I am standing in line at a fast food place that recently started taking contactless payment. My student card, thanks to my university’s contacts, is able to make such payments, so I usually have it on me. Suddenly, a well-dressed man cuts in front of me just before I can make my order at the cashier. Being a quiet person, I simply wave off the cashier who wants to serve me first instead of the man. There is no one else behind me, because it is after the lunch rush. The man, without an apology, rattles off his order and makes sure to mention that he is “in a rush.” Yet, when it comes time to pay, he discovers that he does not have enough paper and metal currency to pay for his meal upgrades. Irritated and mildly ashamed, he steps to the waiting line next to him. I step up to the cashier.)

Me: “Afternoon! I would like set six, no upsize.”

Cashier: “That will be $7.99, miss.”

Me: *holds up student card*

(To the man’s surprise, I only had to pay with a tap of my card, and quickly joined him. He kept his head down as I waited patiently behind him, noticing how the cashier had a big smile and was trying to hide her amusement. The man’s order came, and he quickly rushed out of the restaurant, forgetting his fries and sauces. Since he didn’t come back by the time my order arrived, the cashier placed my order on his tray, with a meal coupon tucked under my burger. Hope he reached his work on time.)