A person now identifying as an “ex-McDonald’s employee” in his TikTok bio has shared his story of why he quit his McDonald’s job in the middle of his shift.
TikToker @kingkoko4loko posted the video two days ago, and it has already attracted over 3.9 million views. In the video, he shares a short clip of himself at his McDonald’s job, declaring he’s ready to quit, followed by a more detailed explanation of his reasoning.
Recording from his car, he says, “I’ve never been treated as badly as I have been at this job here. This has been one of the worst experiences I’ve had in my entire life. And I’m telling you right now, this starts from the top.”
@kingkoko4loko Replying to @Ace Mãsõñ Bando #vlog ♬ Suspicious, slow and simple song – Kohrogi
He then describes a surprise encounter with “someone from corporate,” stating, “I greeted him, you know, I was very kind to him. I didn’t know he was from corporate.”
He goes on to describe the corporate person being “so rude” to him and his co-workers, to the point where everyone at the McDonald’s was “emotionally devastated” when he finally left. Then, as @kingkoko4loko put it, “everyone starts being mean to each other. And there’s just this ripple effect of everyone being nasty to each other.”
He concludes by saying, “It’s horrible! It’s awful! So I’m gonna go quit in the middle of my shift. I don’t care. … This is terrible. This shouldn’t exist.”
In the comments section, viewers had plenty to say, starting with one who quipped, “So you’re not loving it?”
Others weighed in with their own experiences of quitting McDonald’s.
“Quitting McDonald’s was the best decision I ever made,” one user said.
“Quit McDonald’s by making a meal and walking out. They didn’t even know I left,” another remarked.
That prompted another commenter to ask, “Awww, hell yeah, what did you make yourself?”
The ex-employee responded, “I made a crispy chicken with some nuggets and a bag of fries. Like a whole ass McDonald’s bag of fries.”
Though @kingkoko4loko did not actually quit in the viral video, he claims to have done so in a livestream. He provides evidence of this claim in a follow-up video in which he quits by jumping out of the drive-thru window.
@kingkoko4loko Replying to @k3n97 #vlog ♬ THE GREAT ESCAPE: Main Theme – The Meridian Studio Ensemble
That prompted a commenter on the original viral video to declare, “I can’t believe you actually jumped out of the drive-thru window on live.”
Another viewer shared a similar act of quitting, writing, “I jumped out of the drive-thru window into a classic convertible ‘vette in high school when quitting Whataburger.”
Though maybe not everyone has that flair for the dramatic, one commenter felt that the act of quitting mid-shift should be enough to inspire others.
“Normalize quitting in the middle of ur shift when u get mistreated,” the viewer said.
The Daily Dot contacted @kingkoko4loko and McDonald’s via email.
Update 5:15pm CT May 10: The creator, based in Loudoun County, Va., responded to our request for comment, confirming that he did quit a real job he held at McDonald’s.
He noted, “I livestreamed myself quitting because I was treated so badly that I didn’t even care about respecting McDonald’s as a whole anymore. I live in a part of Loudoun County where there are not a lot of jobs close by. I thought McDonald’s would be a good fit for me because it’s close to home. Originally I had a sugar daddy I was living off but he dumped me. My OnlyFans money started declining, too, so I had no choice but to get a job.”
