In a viral TikTok clip, a Chick-fil-A worker jokingly criticizes customers who place large orders that she argues should be placed as catering requests.
Abby (@shordietok) seems to have struck a nerve with other food industry workers who also expressed their frustrations in dealing with folks who see no problem with buying so much food in one go—without giving staff a heads up beforehand.
In the video, Abby manically pantomimes tapping away at an order terminal as the audio from an oft-referenced I Think You Should Leave sketch plays. Tim Robinson’s character attempts to capitalize on a “pay it forward” gesture by whipping his vehicle behind someone in the drive-thru and trying to order “55 burgers, 55 fries, 55 tacos, 55 pies, 55 cokes, 100 tater tots, 100 pizzas, 100 tenders, 100 meatballs, 100 coffees, 55 wings, 55 shakes, 55 pancakes, 55 pastas, 55 peppers AND 155 taters,” for a grand total of $680.
@shordietok kitchens gonna be super mad… #cfa #chickfila #chickfilaemployee ♬ 55 burgers itysl – Netflix Is A Joke
Abby uses the gargantuan order for comedic effect, as she pens in a text overlay of the clip: “taking orders that could practically be catering.”
Although it’s clear Abby’s cracking a joke in her clip, numerous other fast food employees have called out customers who attempted to make massive purchases without calling ahead first, like a McDonald’s worker who got a request for a 6,400 item order out of the blue that she had to fulfill in a few hours.
Numerous folks replied to Abby’s clip urging fast-food establishments to enforce rules that would prevent customers from placing such large orders without calling into catering.
“I be like why you aint just order a dang catering order,” one user wrote.
Others shared their own massive-order horror stories.
“Bro I worked at Crumbl and one of the local hospitals ordered 15 dozen cookies through door dash with an hour’s notice and I had a trainee,” one commenter penned.
“I used to work at CFA and I took a $230 order through the drive thru……I was happy to take the order but they should’ve ordered catering instead,” another TikToker wrote.
And then there was the tale of this nuggets-loving customer: “I once had someone order 5 30 count nuggets at front counter.”
Some customers even want an entire tasting experience…just at a fast food establishment. “One time this lady came in with a HUGE PAPER and she took like 20 minutes to place her order,” one commenter said. “Then after i read it back and she said it was correct…she proceeded to read the receipt and write notes and then order MORE stuff. I swear she ordered the whole menu.”
There have been various forum posts from both customers and employees of fast food establishments who have called for ordering limits at their respective favorite establishments, like this Quora discussion that delved into the topic of drive-thru orders.
One user on the platform questioned the efficacy of not implementing limits at fast-food restaurants, noting that the flow of traffic would probably be better if these limits were instituted. However, someone argued back that due to the bulk of the business they worked at earning its revenue from drive-thru patrons, in-car customers were a priority. “We were trained to serve drive through customers first. It’s far and away the highest-volume side of the business and drives most (at least 60–70%) of the revenue,” they wrote.
This data is supported by figures posted in a piece of drive-thru sales analytics by Quantum Real Estate Advisors, along with Chron Small Business.
As for Chick-fil-A, the business does indeed provide catering services which it clearly delineates on its website. The Daily Dot has reached out to Chick-fil-A via email and Abby via TikTok comment for further information.
