A video showing the moment a McDonald's drive-thru employee got into a screaming match with an upset customer in Florida has gone viral on the internet. The video was posted to the social media platform TikTok on May 30 by the employee, @itsv.diorr, who claimed the fight ended when she called her mom to the scene.
The post has proven to be a hit among netizens, amassing more than 3.8 million views and over 3,000 comments, according to Newsweek. Some of those who commented were former fast-food employees who said the viral video illustrated why they left the restaurant industry in the first place.
@itsv.diorr Reply to @livelife_humbled there y’all go i’m not getting too in deep cause i think i lost my job behind standing my ground #fypシ #foryoupage #greenscreen #greenscreenvideo #viral #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp ♬ original sound - vmfndior️
The upset customer can be seen in the video standing at the drive-thru window with her phone out, presumably recording the interaction with the employee. The worker hides beneath the window at first because, as she explained in her post's comments section, she does not want to be filmed. However, she eventually tossed that fear aside and decided to engage with the customer.
Employee and customer get into a shouting match
It is unclear what is all being said between the two women, but at one point, the customer told the McDonald's worker to "stay in a child's place." The two continued to scream at each other until a second employee decided to shut the drive-thru window in the customer's face.
The angry customer remained undeterred, though, as she continued to yell at the workers from outside. "Nobody's scared of you, b**ch," said one employee while another shouted from behind the camera, "Just throw the drink at her."
@itsv.diorr said in the video's text overlay that the customer picked a fight because she had been sitting in the drive-thru line for "too long." She finally met her match moments later when @itsv.diorr's mother arrived that purportedly ended the fight.
According to @itsv.diorr in the video's text overlay, she called her mama up there, but the customer did not want to bump against her, so she drove off and ran the red light. CNN previously reported that wait times have also increased due to increased drive-thru orders and labor shortages.
Many workers flee because of unruly customers
According to the media outlet, a Technomic consumer survey found that about 52 percent of quick-service restaurant orders were placed in drive-thrus in August 2021, compared to about 42 percent in January 2020. The report added that the "quit rate for accommodation and food services" hit 6.6 percent in September 2021.
Axios also previously said in one of its reports that many workers have fled the restaurant industry because of "customer behavior," the type of which was very much on display in the video posted by @itsv.diorr.
Many commenters thought her viral video was hilarious and applauded her for standing her ground against the customer. Former restaurant employees, however, took the opportunity to share their same experiences. They pointed out that the viral clip illustrated why they left the fast-food industry before.