A Tim Hortons drive-thru customer found themselves an inadvertent eavesdropper on a private work conversation during her recent trip to the restaurant.
Ontario, Canada-based TikToker Tealeigh (@tealeighz) recorded herself holding in her laughter as two employees spoke with one another over a loudspeaker. She uploaded the footage in a trending clip that’s garnered more than 61,000 views as of Saturday.
@tealeighz I just wanted an ice cap.. #timhortons #canadian #fail #funny #fyp #tims #icedcap ♬ nintendo wii (mii channel) song – julie on the internet
Tealeigh records herself in her car at a Tim Horton’s drive-thru, parked outside of the illuminated menu and loudspeaker. A sign posted above the speaker appears to request that customers say “Hello” and announce when they’ve arrived.
The reason for such a sign is readily apparent in the clip—employees can be heard having what sounds like a private conversation, where one worker profanely complains to another about someone being allowed to come into the store.
“I just wanted an ice cap..” the TikToker writes in a caption for the video.
This isn’t the first time that a fast-food employee’s conversation could be heard over the loudspeaker after their mic was left on. A Panera worker’s rant against a manager was captured in a viral TikTok by another user on the platform.
In July 2019, a McDonald’s employee was caught complaining about a co-worker who was borrowing money from multiple people in the store so that they could pay their phone bill.
According to a YouTube video posted by WonderGirl Vlogs, the headsets that McDonald’s uses feature two separate buttons, labeled A1 or A2, to talk to folks in the drive-thru. A center button, B, is used to communicate with other co-workers who are also rocking headsets.
It appears that accidentally leaving a mic “on” would be difficult to do—one Reddit user who says they work at McDonald’s states the buttons need to be held down while talking. This means that these “hot mic” instances may’ve occurred when headset buttons either got stuck or there was another malfunction that kept them actively communicating via the loudspeaker.
TikTokers who saw Tealeigh’s post shared their own loudspeaker “fail” moments. One user said they weren’t allowed back into work after being a bit too “casual” when speaking with patrons.
“I accidentally said ‘what can I do ya for’ to a customer over the intercom,” they shared. “I hadn’t been back to work for a few weeks and got too causal 1st day bk.”
Someone else shared their own speaking faux pas, stating, “Broooo takes me back to the time I accidentally asked a customer how I can get with them, not what I can get for them.”
Another wrote that while it might be startling to experience this level of eavesdropping when you were simply trying to purchase an iced coffee, these types of workplace discussions are par for the course.
“U should hear how me and my coworkers talk about customers butcher shop retail is HELL,” they said.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Tim Hortons via email and Tealeigh via TikTok comment.
