Every so often, stories of massive fast food orders find their way onto social media, sparking a debate about overworking food service employees along with calls for menu item caps for a single order.
These large-scale orders not only put a tremendous amount of pressure on the staff who are working against the clock to fulfill all of their customers’ needs in a short amount of time, but other patrons receive the butt end of the stick if they happen to be standing in line behind a customer buying quick grub in bulk.
For TikTok user Pwuff (@puffkillz), that meant not being able to satisfy a late-night craving for McDonald’s. A drive-thru employee told him that he wouldn’t be able to take his business because he was working on completing a 45-item order for another customer who pulled in just before he arrived.
@puffkillz I wanted a burger but we felt bad and told the people behind us they stopped taking orders #mcdonalds #mcds #burger #fastfoodworkers #retail #greed ♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys – Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey
A text overlay on the video reads “couldn’t get McDonald’s bc the person in front of us ordered 45 items at 3 am.”
In the clip, an apologetic McDonald’s employee can be heard talking to Pwuff over the drive-thru’s loudspeaker. “I have no idea I would have told them no. To be completely honest, I wish I would have said no earlier but I started their order and I was like fuck sorry,” the employee explains. “I don’t know who they’re trying to feed.”
Pwuff says, “All right well good luck man.” The employee responds, “I appreciate it I’m gonna need it.”
The TikToker writes in a caption for the video: “I wanted a burger but we felt bad and told the people behind us they stopped taking orders”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Pwuff via TikTok comment and McDonald’s via email for further information.
It’s no secret that the labor shortage inordinately affected staffing numbers in the food service industry compared to other lines of work. Fewer employees can also be found staffing the overnight shifts at chains that have extended hours, so a 45-item order at 3pm could be better handled by a larger staff than one at 3am.
TikTokers who saw Pwuff’s tweet sympathized with the employee. Some said that the worker should’ve told the 45-item customer that they would have to pare down the order as it would be difficult to complete at that time.
Other fast food workers in the comments shared their own experiences with large orders. “Well someone ordered 5 taco party packs the other day at work and it was me and one other person make all 60 tacos ourselves lol,” one user recalled.
“The people after us in the drive through the other night ordered 125 mc doubles and 125 mc chickens at like 12am,” another claimed.
Some argued that there’s a certain decorum when it comes to drive-thru orders. “Drive thrus are for 1-2 people orders I’ve always said. If you have more than that you come in. If the inside is closed that late then you’re out of,” one viewer suggested.
