Reddit user u/Bigmac01, who's a McDonald's employee, asked the community: "What's the meanest thing a customer has ever done to you?"
They didn't hold ANYTHING back and weren't afraid to call out the most entitled people they've dealt with. McDonald's employees are heroes, and their stories will unfortunately (and most likely) make your blood boil.
So, here are some truly gruesome things McDonald's customers have done to employees:
Note: Some stories include topics of harassment and violence. Please proceed with caution.
1. "I was working the drive-thru one day when a woman ordered a large, orange Hi-C. She gets to the window and I see there are three other people laughing pretty hard. I take her money and give her the drink, and about two seconds later, I hear: 'FIRE IN THE HOLE!' I saw a large, orange grenade flying at me. Somehow I ninja-ed the drink back into her Audi (she even had the nerve to ask my manager for her money back)."
2. "When I worked the weekend graveyard shift at McDonald's (12:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.), some douche walked in with his douche friends at about 5 a.m. or so. Absolutely hammered, he asked for a cheeseburger. I turned back to get it, and he was rubbing his balls all over the credit card machine, shorts down (yes, really). So, I politely refused to serve him, asked him to put his pants back on, and got the next person in line to order. As I turned around to get whatever it was he wanted, the douche rubbed his hands covered in his ball sweat all over my head over the counter."
"His friends laughed their asses off, but the loud noise attracted the attention of my cooks (especially because I shouted at him to get the fuck off of me). All of the cooks worked back there for years, and weren't allowed customer contact because they were ex-cons.
They immediately rushed out of the kitchen, and the douche and his friends go: 'Oh, shit, dude.' They ran towards the double doors and exited. Unfortunately for them, our cleaner was watching the situation and blocked the doors from moving forward with his foot. So, they lost valuable time pulling them open."
3. "I used to be a manager at one right off the interstate (this was before they went to 24 hours or open late, so we closed at midnight). Around 11:45 p.m., we had a family come in — three adults and one kid who looked 8. When we saw them, we were naturally dismayed (as we had already started cleaning everything for closing). But, we still served them because it was our job, and we were still technically open. When I handed them their food, I bagged it up (so they'd take the hint that we were about to close). But they took the bags of food to a booth, sat down, and started eating. Maybe they were driving a good bit of the day and needed a few to relax — that's understandable. Midnight rolled around, and as I locked the doors nearest to them, I told them (as politely as possible) that the store's closed and we needed them to finish their meal soon."
4. "This happened at a McDonald's I used to work at. We were wondering what the terrible smell was emanating from the bathroom (which wasn't too out of the ordinary, until we couldn't figure out where the smell was coming from). We figured out somebody took a crap in the trash can. And on a separate occasion, someone decided to take their poop and use a plunger to make poop drawings on the wall of the bathroom."
5. "When I was working at McDonald's, I covered the drive-thru for a few minutes for one of the employees to go to the washroom. The customer in my drive-thru started complaining, and then he flicked his cigarette at me (he got ashes on my face). I was about to hand him his drink, and by reflex, I threw it at him. I was the only manager there at the time, so I didn't get in trouble."
6. "Not me personally, but I was in a McDonald's during the lunch rush. This old guy in front of me started harassing a girl at the register, who was obviously fairly new. He asked her where she was from, and then asked if everyone from that town was as dumb as she was. He turned to me after saying this and was just like: 'Am I right?' I flat-out told him right then and there that she was doing her best at the busiest part of her shift, and that him being a dick to her wasn't going to make things any better or easier. When I got up to the counter, I told her I was sorry she had to deal with jerks like that at work."
7. "When I was in high school, I worked at a McDonald's inside of a Walmart. One of the employees came in every day to order two Filet-O-Fish sandwiches with extra tartar sauce. One day he decided that the extra was 'too extra,' so to show his disapproval, he threw the two sandwiches at me from the other side of the counter. The best part was that a couple of hours later, his manager made him come back and apologize. He was then banned from ever coming into our McDonald's again."
8. "A man with his family ordered in the lobby, and for some reason didn't like my cashier (who didn't do anything wrong). The guy claimed he 'looked at his wife,' and threatened to come over the counter and kick my cashier's ass (while a baby was in his arms)."
9. "I worked at a McDonald's in my twenties, and a guy drove through the drive-thru and placed his order. When he got to the window to pay, he reached in and punched me in the face. As I was ready to run out and beat him down, he pulled out a butterfly knife and manically started running around the parking lot. We called the police who caught him down the road. As I approached him struggling in his hand cuffs to identify him, he kicked me in the figs. When I was on the ground, my McDonald's tie flapping in the wind, the cop informed me: 'That's why you shouldn't get so close to the criminals.' What a great day that was..."
10. "I have a vast number of McDonald's stories, but here's one of them. A teenage boy brought back his fries and complained 'there was a hair in it.' I took a look, and it turned out to be a 'nest' of red pubic hair (the kid had red hair). I told him to throw it out, then gave them some new fries for pulling that one."
11. "I was 15 when I worked at McDonald's. One day someone came in with his wife and two kids, and they sat down while he proceeded to order. I was running the register. After the order was made, I started gathering the drinks and fries. When I set the fries down, I laid the box on their side because those things don't balance for shit, and there was a good chance they'd fall over on him while carrying the tray to his table. He said to me: 'Oh, great! They all fell out.' None of them fell out. I looked him in the eye for about three seconds to see if he'd say anything else, and then went on with the rest of the order like I didn't give a fuck. He paid, sat down, then went up to my manager with a half-empty box of fries and said: 'This is all that he gave me.'"
"I went up to my manager and told him 'bullshit,' and he said: 'I know — don't worry about him.
After they left, I discovered they smeared ketchup all over their table."
12. "My brother, sister, and I all worked at the same McDonald's during high school. One day when we were very busy, my sister had to handle making tons of special drinks. One irate lady was waiting at the front counter, and began saying things like: 'You should only do one thing at a time' and 'you're fucking up my drink.' Common angry customer things. Well, about 20 minutes later, my sister went on break and went out to sit in her car. The same lady then decided to walk up to her window, made her roll it down, and continued to harass her. It was the one time a customer made her cry."
13. And: "I recently became a manager at McDonald's. Unfortunately, managers are required to deal with all of the angry customers. There's a guy who comes in frequently (two or three times a day) and gets an iced coffee made in a very specific way. Apparently, one morning we messed it up. He comes in, 32-ounce coffee in hand, and asks for the manager. I stepped up to the counter and said: 'I'm the manager. How can I help you?' He took the lid off of his coffee and threw it at me. I was soaked and pissed and asked him to leave. He refused to leave until I remade his coffee. A few of the regulars (local truckers who come in every day for coffee and conversation) got up and stood on both sides of him. One of them said: 'That kid asked you to leave. I think that's probably a good idea.' Then he left. Long story short: Take care of your good customers, and they'll take care of you."
Note: Some stories have been edited for length and/or clarity.