Your Little Scam Is Getting Decaffeinated

A customer pulls into our drive-thru, orders from our breakfast menu, and then pays and pulls forward. I hand her the bag and she puts it next to her on the seat. 

Just as I’m about to shut the window, she turns around and holds out her hand for me to hand her something else.

Customer: “Where’s my coffee?”

I check her order in case I made a mistake.

Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am, but you didn’t order one.”

Customer: “Well, that doesn’t mean I don’t want one!”

I bite back a sigh and ring it in.

Me: “Okay, ma’am, your total is [total].”

Customer: “No.”

I already know where this is going, and I forge a bit of steel in my spine.

Me: “Ma’am, you didn’t order a coffee, you didn’t pay for a coffee, and you won’t get a coffee unless you pay for it. Pay [total] or get out of my drive-thru.”

Customer: “I want to speak to your—”

My manager is passing by and overhears the last bit.

Manager: “I am the manager, and the answer is still no. Pay up or get out.”

She gapes at him like a fish out of water and then drives away.

Manager: “Thanks for trying to head that off. I know she was about to start a long argument for her little scam. Keep up the good work.”

Thankfully, by then, the breakfast lunch had been winding down, so only a few vehicles experienced the delay.