A McDonald’s customer says he stood at the counter for over 10 minutes waiting to be helped and that no employee even acknowledged his presence.
TikToker Jesus Delaputa (@chuydechingas) filmed a portion of the encounter and posted it to TikTok, where he has over 18,000 followers. “Ten minutes, no one’s even said ‘Hi’ or ‘We’ll be right with you,’” Delaputa says. “Nothing. I haven’t been acknowledged.”
Delaputa speculates in both the video and the caption of it that the workers stereotyped him, which is why they ignored him. “I’m used to this. This is South Reno. People like me are normally in Midtown,” he says, reiterating in his caption: “Just acknowledge my presence whether I’m in my neighborhood or not.”
Throughout the video, several employees walk by him, appearing busy with other tasks. Delaputa makes clear he takes no issue with waiting but would’ve liked to be acknowledged. “I never mind waiting at McDonald’s, but at least say hi, or be right with you, or take a hike or something,” he wrote in the caption.
@chuydechingas I never mind waiting at McDonald’s, but at least say hi, or be right with you, or take a hike or something, just acknowledge my presence whether I’m in my neighborhood or not, hint hint #mcdonalds #sayhi #saysomething #illwait #acknowledge_me #please #karen #viraltiktok #fyp #foryoupage #chicanotiktok #chuydechingas ♬ original sound – Jesus Delaputa
The Daily Dot reached out to Jesus Delaputa via TikTok comment and direct message and to McDonald’s via press email regarding the video.
Delaputa’s video garnered over 22,000 views as of Feb. 8, and viewers are sharing their own theories as to why the workers ignored him. “There’s a separate counter for food pickup. The counter hes at is made to pay with cash from the kiosk or to order with a person for anyone wondering,” one viewer claimed.
A common speculation—among patrons of many fast-food chains, not just McDonald’s—is that workers prioritize mobile and drive-thru customers, unintentionally neglecting in-person customers. “They’re worried too much about the drive through and don’t care about the dine in customers,” a second stated.
Others offered suggestions for what the workers could have told Delaputa if they were too busy to take his order at the time. “’Hi, we’ll be with you in just a few minutes’ makes all the difference,” one viewer said.
Others speculated the workers are attempting to encourage customers to order through the self-order kiosks that have been implemented at stores across the nation so that they don’t have to take customer orders themselves. “They expect you to use the kiosks every time,” one viewer said.
According to Nation’s Restaurant News, while McDonald’s first started testing the kiosks in 2003, it didn’t really implement them across the U.S. until 2020. According to Mashed, McDonald’s now has plans to make the kiosks more accessible for those with hearing and/or visual impairments. Fast-food kiosks cut down labor costs for companies, which is especially enticing to companies at a time where there is a labor shortage.
While some viewers urged Delaputa to order via the kiosk, the top comment on the video shuts them down, arguing, “People are telling you to go to the kiosk wtf…..you don’t work there they do.”
