Man, let me tell you about my Hardee's experience.
So me and my brother were heading to Savannah, we're picking up checks, we're getting paperwork done, typical sort of thing. We decide on the way out of town, we'll stop by Hardee's, because that Frisco Thickburger is calling my name. We see some people waiting around for their orders, but they don't seem too busy.
Anywho, we order our food, "for here," and go sit down at a nearby table. It's around this time we notice the beginnings of a rumbling. We're sat at a table across from a young man and his son, and an older man towards the wall. The other 10 or so people in the restaurant are standing, looking generally impatient.
One of the standing goes to the counter, immediately asking the person behind the counter to speak to a manager. You know that saying "the straw that broke the camel's back?" This man, this solitary snowflake, had no idea the avalanche he would soon cause.
"Well, I'm the manager on duty here sir. I'm sorry for the wait."
-"Fine then, I'd like to speak to the DISTRICT manager."
"We'd be happy to refund you. We're just a bit shortstaffed today"
-"Yes. I have been waiting for 20 minutes, this is f**king ridiculous."
At this point, the angry customer storms out.
The young boy looks at his father, who solemnly shakes his head and points to his son's fries, urging him to continue eating.
At this point, an older lady starts mumbling to another in their large group.
"You should go say something. This is taking forever."
Vague mumblings are exchanged. I just unlocked a bonus on a game for my phone. Naturally, I tune out.
30 seconds later, a temptuous roar begins to crescendo...
Started as as a grumble of annoyance, and escalating quickly to a vicious roar, I overheard "I said, what the FUCK is taking so long? Y'all don't know how to do your fucking JOBS HERE!?"
"Ma'am, I'm very sorry. I you'd like a refund, we can do that for you."
"NO. I WANT MY GODDAMN FOOD. Y'ALL DUMB MOTHERFUCKERS WASTING MY TIME."
The counter person mumbles something under his breath.
"WHAT THE FUCK DID HE JUST SAY!? SMARTASS MOTHERFUCKER YOU GOT SOMETHING TO SAY!?"
"I said, you NEED to calm the FUCK down, lady."
The next 90 seconds or so were a complete blur to me. Customer throws a drink at counter guy. Manager tries to get in between it. Counter guy grabs a drink from under the counter and throws it back. Customer and son start to throw vague slaps at counter guy. Someone from another group of customers throws another drink at counter guy. The man at the table and his son leave quietly. The old man continues his meal, shaking his head.
Someone throws a wet floor cone at the counter guy. Counter guy catches it in the air, throws it back... DEFLECTED! It hits a teenager (who is just trying to film the whole thing for Worldstar) in the forehead. She begins wailing. Another wet floor cone enters the fray. It knocks the emergency exit sign straight out of the drop ceiling roof. The manager, screaming profusely at no one in particular, begins to usher everyone out. Someone calls the cops. I light a cigarette.
During our time outside, my brother and I discuss whether we think our food got thrown or not. We saw some chicken patties, but we were there for the thickburgers, and we knew it.
About 5 minutes pass, and the instigators have loaded up into various SUVs and Transit vans to make their escape. The manager comes back outside, and asks if we've gotten our food. We say no, and she offers us a refund.
"Well... I mean... we're really hungry though."
We go back inside. The old man is finishing his burger still. Hasn't moved an inch. He has seen the horrors of fast food war before. He is unphased. Truly a sentinel of the wild world of Savannah Hardee's.
"Did y'all get jalapeno poppers?"
-"JUST GIVE THEM ALL OF IT. WHO CARES."
Frisco burger was a bit heavy on the mayo, and they forgot my fries, but the burger was good, and who doesn't love free jalapeno poppers?
8/10. read more