Drive-Through Employees Share Some Of Their Bizarre Experiences While At Work
Working at a drive-through will give you the opportunity to see hundreds, if not thousands, of people every single week. Whilst it probably is not anyone’s dream career, it can be interesting to see so many people in a day and have a little glimpse into their lives.
With this kind of job, you will see rude people, kind people, people going through some issues in their lives, and people celebrating small victories with a treat from the drive-through. And one thing is for sure: you will experience a lot of bizarre stuff!
Some stories are definitely crazier than others, and we couldn’t be happier that these fast food workers willingly share their experiences on the internet. Here are a few of the wildest stories told by people working in a drive-through.
Some of them might even remind you to be kinder and more vigilant when stopping by your local drive-throughs next time you are craving something sweet or need a quick meal!
Just gimme a shake
If you’re unfamiliar with conspiracy theories, you might have to consider yourself lucky, as some of them are wild and downright crazy. A lot of people have made videos and conspiracies around the ice cream machines at fast food restaurants.
While we have noticed that more than half of the time we want an ice cream or milkshake, the machine is broken, this guy had it all wrong for wanting a milkshake that late at night and blaming it on the government as a conspiracy. It was late, and the machine was already turned off.
Pet rides
It is not uncommon for people to bring their pets along for a joy ride when they go out to grab some food. However, it’s all fun and games until your pet wants to eat your food in the car when you leave the restaurant. Chances are they’ll get your vehicle all dirty.
This worker had their day brightened up tremendously when they thought they’d see a cute dog in the backseat, but instead, it was a pony munching on its little carrot and just chilling out. At least it will not want a bite of its owner’s burger!
Not tomato sauce
As soon as some folks leave their jobs, they stop by a fast food restaurant to grab their dinner. Because of that, it’s not unusual for fast-food employees to see greasy hands and pants, sweaty hair, and even dirty faces. It’s a completely normal thing.
And when you go and grab a quick dinner or lunch, no one should be judging you, really. But don’t expect to walk by unnoticed if you go to a drive-through with your hands covered in a red liquid that is definitely not tomato sauce.
Flash to splash
We simply don’t understand the reason why people flash others. Like, what sort of joy does it bring to these people? Again, fast food workers work lots of hours and are severely underpaid; they do not need this nonsense from anyone.
This person shared the story of what their mom had to endure, and we were very impressed with her reaction to what happened. Sure, she could have ignored it and walked away, but we like that she chose to throw hot coffee on this annoying guy.
Stop the silly trends
The internet and social media have created some very questionable ‘trends,’ and it’s crazy that people actually partake in them. Why not have a laugh at the one person who does it and keep scrolling? Don’t start some sort of movement that annoys people in real life!
A while ago, there was a trend where people would grab the ice cream in a weird way and then just run off while making silly noises, leaving the fast food worker, who definitely doesn’t get paid enough for this nonsense, in shock. Do better, people!
Companionship
Some people get attached to strange stuff. Well, as long as they are not harming themselves or anyone else, we have nothing against that. But having a skeleton in the passenger seat is pretty odd and will likely scare drive-through workers when they see it for the first time.
When you work in fast-food restaurants, you’ll see a bunch of different people every day, but you will also see customers who come in regularly. This regular became popular among the staff because he had a screw loose and would always have a skeleton sitting on the passenger seat.
Not a mishap
We guess there could be a lot of reasons why you would end up accidentally naked in public, but it is still an offense to be naked in public despite the reason leading up to it. If it ever happened to us, we wouldn’t stop to get some lunch before putting our clothes back on.
But this wasn’t the case for this man who stopped by the drive-through. Apparently, he was naked because that was his way of gaining fame. All fast-food employees in this town must have been fed up with him, so we’re glad the cops handled the guy.
At least they’re buying
Listen, if you are ever in the mood to preach to someone, but you’re not in a church, you should think twice before you approach them. Mormons have been coming to this restaurant and asking this worker to engage in their conversation about religion.
Not everyone wants to listen to a stranger preaching about religion, even if they’re religious themselves. When it comes to fast food workers, they don’t have the time to chat, and they’re probably overworked as is, so move along and let them be.
Rapid adoption
When you are working a minimum-wage job, you don’t want trouble, nor do you want to get a massive emotional burden dumped on you, but that’s what happened to this drive-through worker. What kind of person goes to a drive-through and abandons their puppy there?
We wonder what was going through their head when they did this. It wasn’t fair to the puppy, and it wasn’t fair to the fast food workers, who had to figure out what they were going to do with the puppy. Luckily, someone adopted the little guy right away.
Precious cargo
We don’t know how these employees remain calm and professional when they see weird things in people’s cars. Sure, you shouldn’t be looking at things in the customer’s cars, but anyone would notice if there was a single Furby in the backseat, buckled in.
While we have seen people strapping in beer cases, this is the first time we see them doing it to a stuffed toy. We’re guessing, and hoping, that it was a child who strapped in their Furby friend while playing in the backseat, and the driver didn’t notice it.
Is this real?
When you’re overworked, or even if you just stay awake long enough, your brain starts to play tricks on you, trying to get you to go and sleep. This person was likely confused about whether they were dreaming or if it was reality.
We’re in awe of everyone who works third shifts because we need our precious sleep too much to endure it. This particular employee saw a car filled with people in gorilla costume suits, and most were passed out. They must have had a wild night!
Dummy passenger
Why would you have a fully-dressed dummy in the passenger seat, almost as if they were a person? Maybe they’re practicing driving people around, or perhaps they feel the need to have something in the vehicle to make them feel less lonely.
This person stopped by a drive-through with a fully-dressed passenger dummy and acted as if everything was okay. While we’re sure the worker didn’t care about the reason why they would do it, we would appreciate an explanation. What a weirdo!
Sobering up
We are not scientists, nor do we understand the science behind drinking coffee to sober up. We’ve just heard that it helps, but we are about 99% sure this is not the way you should approach the situation or try to sober up.
Chugging a beer and throwing it out the window? This person is a walking red flag. You shouldn’t throw trash out the window like that, no matter the situation. He could’ve literally asked the employee to throw it away, or he could’ve kept it in the car and thrown it away at home.
A special occasion
You can find hundreds of videos online of people trying silly ways to go through the drive-through just so they can avoid the queues inside the restaurant. However, this one is actually not that silly and is technically allowed since it is a vehicle, right?
On Halloween, this worker saw a group of people on a real horse-drawn carriage ordering as if nothing was wrong. They couldn’t leave their horse in the parking lot to go inside, so they decided the carriage was also a vehicle, and that’s how this happened.
Exotic animals
There are people who support exotic animals being held as pets, and some don’t agree with the situation at all. Either way, why would you bring your unusual animal along with you to the fast food drive-through? Does it want a snack?
We appreciate that whatever it was, it was safely held in a cat carrier, but we’re sure the animal left the worker super confused about the whole situation. What was it, and was it dangerous? We hope it was a legal situation and that the animal was cared for and loved.
Common sense
We expect some sort of common sense from someone who is 35 years old. Unless they haven’t been exposed to the outside world, surely they know that vending machines need replacing and refilling of the goodies inside and that soda is not infinite, even if they have a machine.
This man wasted more than 20 minutes of this worker’s time because he wanted an infinite supply of soda and thought the soda machine would give him just that. What were the kids in the back thinking? Was their dad a little slow, or were the workers being mean?
No coins
We’ve mentioned some cute pets in drive-throughs before, like a pony or dog. However, this guy brought his parrot along for his joy ride to the fast food restaurant, and we’re sure it brought a smile to the workers’ faces if they liked birds.
But this bird had some other plans; it tried to bite the worker when they tried to hand the customer their change! We’re glad that no one got hurt, as it would be a bit awkward trying to explain to the manager why they needed a break to tend to a bite wound.
Quick thinking
At first, you might read this and go, ‘yikes,’ but this worker was proactive and actually helped out a child on this day. You should never mix alcohol with prescription medication, nor should you consume alcohol when you are driving.
Having a whole bottle of vodka in the cup holder? We’d be shocked at a simple bottle of beer, which is why hard liquor makes us even more flabbergasted. Thank goodness this worker called the cops since there was also a baby in the backseat, and things turned out better than they could have gone.
Extra dip
Sometimes, people can’t refrain from saying some really out-of-pocket stuff. When you work in customer service, we don’t recommend making certain jokes, as the customer might not appreciate them. But we understand that the timing was just perfect, and this fast food worker couldn’t miss the opportunity to make this joke.
Maybe the chickens were the woman’s pets. In this case, the joke would’ve been totally unwelcome, even if it was a perfect moment for the joke. We wonder if the driver was offended or had a laugh. Since the employee didn’t tell the rest of the story, we’re assuming it wasn’t a happy ending.
Alarm system
We have heard some stories of people who actually use their pet snakes to protect themselves from theft since not every thief is comfortable touching or having a snake in the goods they have stolen. We sort of understand why this customer was acting like this.
Although it might be a bit alarming to the worker in the drive-through to interact with someone with a giant python wrapped around them, the guy was probably the story of the day for sure. Maybe he should have just put the snake away when picking up the order to be considerate to the worker.
Halt the food
People under the influence of any substance are bound to pass out at some or other point. That’s why they really shouldn’t be driving even if they only consumed a little. This guy was probably hungry after a trip and decided to head to a drive-through.
Except, he clearly was in no state to drive as he passed out and held up everyone behind him in the drive-through. He even gave the workers a scare, as they thought he might have passed away, and had the cops called.
Just drive through
People get lonely, and there are some life-like adult dolls for them to ease the loneliness. To each to their own, right? However, we can’t help but at least think it’s a bit odd to have one of them. If the doll wasn’t bad enough, this guy also has a bunch of teddy bears.
While drive-through workers see a lot of random things on a daily basis, we’re pretty sure this is definitely not an everyday sight. The guy wasn’t acting differently about his companions, so we’re assuming that the worker had to act as if nothing weird was going on!
Ice, Ice, Baby
We did not even know it was an option to order ice from a drive-through in such large quantities. We mean, why not just get it from a convenience store? This person ordered ten bags of ice and had about 30 more in his backseat.
Maybe he was planning a massive party, and all the ice was sold out everywhere else, or maybe he was planning on having a massive ice bath. We’re sure this one was odd, but it isn’t the worst thing you could come across in a drive-through.
Sweet as sugar
Coffee lovers, or perhaps even coffee snobs, will say that you shouldn’t add any sugar to your coffee since it will ruin the beverage’s real taste. Unless it was a coffee shop, most fast-food restaurants aren’t known for their coffee, so it’s okay to ‘ruin’ the coffee with sugar.
But we have to draw a line somewhere when it comes to the amount of sugar you add. Three cubes are already on the higher side of things, but this girl ordered a small coffee and added ten sugar cubes. She basically was drinking a cup of sugar with a side of coffee.
Caution
If you are unfamiliar with a Texas mickey, it is a huge bottle of hard liquor, usually around three liters or 101 fluid ounces. It’s safe to say that it would be concerning to see such a huge bottle in someone’s vehicle at any time.
But when the worker asked them if they were going to a party, they said they had fish in the bottle, and they didn’t realize how bad it looked. There are better ways to transport fish, and you should never keep liquor visible in your car!
Creepy jokes
We have talked about quite a few random and unusual things in this listicle. However, nothing comes close to the weirdness of this next story. This person wasn’t a drive-through worker, but he was a regular at a White Castle drive-thru. And he had quite a unique profession.
The guy was a coroner, so when he approached the window in his vehicle, the workers would ask him out of curiosity if someone was back there, and he’d make a creepy joke saying that he did have someone in the car, but they wouldn’t want food. Pretty morbid, right?
Pretty bird
Some people do not want to leave their pets alone at home when they leave to grab some food. We understand why this lady did not want to leave her beautiful parrot at home and brought it along for a fun little drive in the car.
The drive-through worker found it odd, but it was a pretty bird to look at! On top of being beautiful, the bird was quite smart as well and even handed the money to the worker. At least this one person didn’t end up with a bite wound like that other person we talked about.
What’s that smell?
It is never pleasant to be close to someone who smells bad. This is an embarrassing situation because we often don’t want to mention it in order to avoid making the person feel humiliated. However, this drive-through worker just could not keep their curiosity to herself.
The smell was so weird and intense that the employee couldn’t ignore it. The worker mentioned it and had a laugh when the customer said he had a run-in with a skunk earlier. We feel bad for him, especially because eating around bad smells is an awful experience.
Dancing on the roof
When you are intoxicated, a lot of strange, silly, and hilarious things happen. And it’s for this exact reason that some people avoid drinking altogether. This particular drive-through worker saw exactly what alcohol could do to a person when a drunk customer put on a show.
He got out of the car, stripped, and then proceeded to dance on top of the car. It is a crime to expose yourself in public, and this guy did it in front of a camera! We guess the music was just too good for him not to dance.
Come again?
This story is a bit wild to us. It seems like a current employee came to the drive-through of the fast food restaurant she worked at. While that’s not unusual, she had her boyfriend, who was banned from the restaurant, hiding in the car.
But he wasn’t just hiding anywhere; he was in her trunk. She tried to order his food for him, but somehow the worker serving her realized that the guy was there. Imagine if the police had stopped this girl and found a person in the trunk! She’d have been in so much trouble.
Odd shenanigans
We are sure you have seen a few men getting up to no good in public when they have their bachelor’s party, like dressing the groom in a wedding gown or making him wear other silly costumes. Sometimes the groomsmen even make the groom partake in some pranks.
This was the case for this groom, who stopped by a drive-through for some food. He held up a sign asking the workers to call him a silly name and acted like he didn’t know what they were talking about when questioned about it. He also flashed his lace underwear. What a wild party!
Messy sofa
This worker had a funny experience at their first job at a drive-through and joined in on the fun. According to their policy, they have to ask the customers if they want to buy an extra item, and the customers agreed, which is always better than being turned down.
But they took a while to get to the window to collect their order. When the employee poked his head out, they saw that it was a bunch of teens carrying a sofa through the drive-through and asked the employee to throw the drink over the couch. What a crazy day!
Smelly car
We often expect to see younger people going to a drive-through when they have smoked and got the munchies. However, it is not common to see elderly people doing it, and it’s even more unusual to see the person holding their cigarettes in plain sight.
This Taco Bell worker was surprised when an elderly man stopped by the drive-through and brought along a strong scent. The worker saw the cigarette and mentioned he enjoyed the smell, to which the customer replied that the good smell followed him everywhere. What a rockstar!
Park and wait
Usually, when people are drunk and driving, they don’t wait for the police to catch them in the act and arrest them; they speed or hide away to avoid penalty. However, this lady decided she would wait for the police to come whilst she enjoyed her tacos.
The woman had quite a unique style of driving; she was driving with her leg out the window whilst drunk and naked. We hope the worker didn’t see anything they didn’t have to and that this lady learned a lesson to not do it again in the future.
Backward
We personally haven’t ever seen or heard of people driving to the drive-through lane in reverse, but apparently, this worker has seen it happen multiple times, and as they say, it is quite impressive to see. Do you get your order before you pay, then?
All jokes aside, why would anyone go to a drive-through in reverse? It seems to just be an unnecessarily difficult move since you would have to stretch far to reach the window on the other side – unless you have a passenger to assist.
Starstruck!
We wouldn’t say seeing a celebrity at a fast food drive-through is weird, but we can imagine it is quite uncommon. Most celebs have personal assistants and personal chefs to grab or prepare food for them, but sometimes they do it themselves.
This worker got excited to see Josh Peck in their drive-through but accidentally messed up his name. It was rather cool of him not to get upset but rather have a laugh and continue on with his order. Selena Gomez wasn’t as kind, but maybe she was having a bad day. Celebs are human too!
Spare the shaver
On some mornings, you are running late, and if you have a beard and a mobile shaver, go for it. Shave your beard on your way to work or wherever you are going. However, maybe you should put away the shaver when you’re approaching the drive-through window.
This worker tells the odd story of a regular customer that visited their store twice daily, and whilst that is a bit odd, to begin with, the person was shaving their beard every single time they went through to the window to pick up the order. Did they have a quick-growing beard?
Heartbreak Drive-Through
There’s nothing quite like seeing or having to work with a stranger that is crying. It’s even harder when they’re crying because of a breakup. You don’t know them or their situation, so you have to say something awkwardly generic, right?
Imagine how awkward it must have been for this worker to be serving a happy couple, and the next driver who pulls up is crying and explaining that the person in front of them was their girlfriend, and that’s how he found out they were cheating.
Heavy passenger
One thing you don’t think you would see in a drive-through on an island in Canada, where it is generally cold, is an animal from a much hotter region that would grow up to be humongous. But we guess that is possible after all.
This worker was as shocked as we were when they found out the noise they heard over the speaker was, in fact, a baby elephant hanging out in the back of the customer’s pickup truck. Why was he in Canada? Don’t they love hot regions?
Hire a new assistant
Monkeys are cute exotic pets that some owners can train to do incredible things. However, a monkey is still a wild animal, even if someone puts it in diapers and on a leash! This worker got surprised when he saw a customer with their furry companion.
Not only that, when the client handed them money, they acted all cool, like they didn’t have a monkey in their car. And then, when the worker handed the customer their change, the monkey came and grabbed it for them. Have you ever handed a monkey some change?
Silly pranks
We understand that if you pay for your food, it is yours to do what you wish with it. However, this person clearly didn’t understand that the ice cream they ordered was a rare item since the ice cream machines are never working in fast food restaurants.
The guy asked the worker if they believed in a mythical being before proceeding to smush the freshly-made ice cream cone on his forehead. The guy then simply drove away. We wonder if the worker answered and if the guy had a massive case of a brain freeze.
Raw, please
Generally, fast food restaurants cook their food all the same way to ensure that the food is quick. This way, quality control can also be more precise than at a regular restaurant where you can ask for your meat cooked a certain way.
This person still pushed their luck and asked for a raw patty with nothing else. Why would you want just a raw patty from a fast-food restaurant? Do you have a small lion to feed, or are you being silly?
Cha-Ching
If you’re into rare coins or you’re a general coin collector, you know that silver dollars are worth more than a regular dollar. That’s why, when someone asks you to trade it for a regular dollar, don’t decline; just do it.
Just like this person’s inexperienced boss did. They actually walked off with a much better deal when they tried to be kind to this old lady who wanted to pay with silver dollars for her meal. We hope their boss knew what they scored.
The audacity!
Some people are plain rude, without any excuses. These workers saw a guy run over a traffic cone in the fast food restaurant’s parking lot. When they fixed the cone, the guy did it again while looking straight into the workers’ eyes!
What was the point he was trying to make? Was he having a bad day and wanted to take it out on some innocent fast-food workers? You can’t argue with some people, as they won’t change. This guy obviously is not going to change, and we hope he never came by this drive-through after that.
Stop here, please
The last thing you would expect when going out for food is that the drive-through would be closed off because the car in front of you just got busted for possessing a bunch of illegal substances. What about getting that milkshake you desperately wanted?
This worker must have been shocked when the customer they had just served got arrested for possessing illegal drugs. The worst part is they had a dog, and they needed to leave the car overnight to wait for someone to come get the puppy and car. We feel bad for the dog only!