'THAT'S NOT WHAT I ORDERED': Fast food employee hooks it up, saving a customer 5% on their order; ignorant Karen denies a discount over nomenclature

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Dec 13, 2023 7:00 PM EST

When it comes to the world of fast food, nobody likes to push the boundaries of human decency quite like a Karen who believe's they're right. The customer may 'always be right' in the eyes of the manager, but in most circumstances, it's the employees that endure the most absurd consumer Karenisms when trying to live up to the customers corrections. Karens will go to any lengths to prove themselves, even when the teenage cashier is just trying to save them some money with an ordering loophole. 

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  • Anyone who's ever worked the register know that every register has strange loopholes for entering orders. Obviously, for inventory reasons, there are a lot of preset buttons and codes that do all sorts of order modifications. Well, we also know that these ‘pre-sets’ also provide effective loopholes for ordering, potentially saving cents-to-the-dollar on identical orders. Of course, you can only access those ‘deals’ if you know a guy who knows a guy who clicks the buttons on the terminal. 

  • In our next story, a teenaged cashier who was aware of all of the specialty loopholes, was just trying to hook up a discount for a particularly grouchy Karen. When she insisted on being right over a technicality, OP took it upon themselves to maliciously comply and revoke the discounted rate. Scroll for the entire story of snark and sass in the world of fast food. 

    Afterwards, here's another delicious tale of malicious compliance where an employee gets his ergonomic chair revoked, only to cost the company $1,000+ to refit his entire workstation. 

  • 01
    This is known as the 'stupid tax?
    via u/canva
  • 02
    r/r/MaliciousCompliance Posted by u/Resident-Device-2814 2 days ago ? Pay the Act like a stupid tax. S OC Way back in the late 1900's, during some of my high school years, I worked at a location of the restaurant chain prophesized in Demolition Man to one day be the victor of the fast food wars, along with several other buddies from school.
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  • 03
    In those days, one could purchase a taco, in hard or soft shell form, for 79 cents. It was the same then as it is now. Shell, meat, lettuce, cheese. If you wanted the supreme version, which added tomatoes and sour cream, it cost 99 cents. If you wanted to add sour cream to any menu item, it was a 25 cent upcharge.
    via u/Resident-Device-2814
  • 04
    Many people would come in and order a taco with sour cream added. And generally, we would repeat it back as a taco supreme no tomatoes, knowing that ringing it up this way saved the person 5 cents ("SHOCKING LIFE HACK MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW!"). If anyone asked, we'd explain why we rung it up that way, and most folks were cool about it.
    via u/Resident-Device-2814
  • 05
    But sometimes, and sadly more frequently than one would hope for, you'd have the jerks who just couldn't comprehend things like logic. "THAT'S NOT WHAT I ORDERED!" etc. Nowdays I believe they would be called Karens, back then we just called them c ts.
    via u/Resident-Device-2814
  • 06
    When we encountered those people, it wasn't worth my barely minimum wage time to try and explain things like economics or basic math to people. Way above my paygrade. So we'd just say, "Sorry about that, I'll correct it," and ring it up exactly how they ordered. Widely known as the stupid tax.
    via u/Resident-Device-2814
  • 07
    Yeah, it's entirely petty and mostly insignificant when it was only 5 cents per taco. But we were teenagers working part time at Taco Bell, what do you expect?
    via u/Resident-Device-2814
  • 08
    2014ChevyCaptiva. 2 days ago Recently, I was working a band fundraiser where hot dogs were being sold for a dollar a piece. So being me, I told be people they were a dollar each or two for three dollars. The number of people who told me the 2 for $3 deal was a better deal was astounding. If they handed me $2, they still got their 2 hot dogs.
    via u/2014ChevyCaptiva
  • 09
    Resident-Device-2814 OP 2 days ago I used to volunteer at an annual festival where they had one of those "bars and bells" pull tab gambling tickets. They were a quarter each. I would always put up a hand made sign for my shift that said "Saturday/Sunday Special. 20 for $5!" Always got a lot of upsells asking for the special.
    via u/Resident-Device-2814
  • 10
    Alexisander13. 2 days ago Ran into the same thing with people ordering a hamburger with cheese and we would ring it up as a cheeseburger. They would get so upset because the didn't order a cheeseburger, they just wanted cheese on their hamburger. It cost like 20 cents more to add the cheese, but whatever. It was extra annoying though because the line would yell at you for ringing it in that way.
    via u/Alexisander13
  • 11
    KingOfAjax 2 days ago I had it the exact opposite thing! People would order a "Cheeseburger without Cheese" which was literally just a hamburger with a different wrapper and 10p more expensive. I'd always try and explain it. Some people would accept it no problem but a lot of folk would get really angry about it.
    via u/KingOfAjax
  • 12
    Meowcat0206 - 2 days ago I got this a lot at McDonald's too. Another was people ordering say, a quarter pounder with large fries and large coke. I'd say, so a large quarter pounder meal? And they'd say, no I didn't ask for a meal. Ok then, I'll ring it all up individually costing you an extra ~$5. Customer is always right, right?
    via u/Meowcat0206
  • 13
    grauenwolf 1 day ago And then there are the times when the combo costs more than the individual items. 10 Reply Share Meowcat0206 - 1 day ago Ooh if I ever come across things like that it makes me so mad!
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  • 14
    obeekaybee7- 2 days ago Used to work for a book selling chain that had an annual fee membership of $25 for their card. It was a flat save 10% on ANYTHING in the store plus occasional bonuses and sales on new releases. People would come to ring out(during Xmas especially) with $300- 500 dollars in product. When we would explain that by spending the $25 for the membership they would save (amount greater than $25) they couldn't get past the purchase of the membership. B I'm trynna save you some mon
    via u/obeekaybee7
  • 15
    Acme Cartoon Villian 2 days ago I also did my time serving the Chihuahua. I still have a full set of those talking plushies, and several generations of the uniform ball-caps and name-badges as souvenirs. I very well remember the stupid tax as well. ↑ 59 ↓ Reply Share CallEmergency3746- 2 days ago I miss the mascot
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  • 16
    amusedontabuse 2 days ago I worked for the supreme ruler of hamburgers one summer in college. I had an elderly lady order a burger, drink, and fries separately. I rang it up as meal #2 (or whatever, it was a long time ago and I no longer serve his highness or eat at his table) and she yelled at me. I calmly explained that this meal included exactly what she ordered, but bundled for a lower price. She insisted I ring the items up separately or she'd talk to my manager. I tried again
    via u/amusedontabuse
  • 17
    to explain but she was getting angrier and there was a line, my manager was working the line because we were busy, so I did as she asked and kept going. When her order came up the manager saw the ticket and SCREAMED at me in front of the line for ringing up the order wrong. I tried to explain why but she continued to ream me for a couple of minutes (that dumb, it didn't happen, I should've rung it up as a meal anyway, etc) in which the line didn't move and several customers who'd witnessed the i
    via u/amusedontabuse
  • 18
    Roof Walker2004 . 2 days ago FYI, I'm still stuck in the 1900s. I don't call them Karen's either. 15 Reply Share Foreign Implement897 2 days ago C* is way more universal and not that sexist. 13 Reply Share TangoMikeOne. 2 days ago Perhaps - but calling them a C.U. Next Tuesday erroneously implies that they have warmth and depth.
    via u/RoofWalker2004
  • 19
    New-Geezer 2 days ago Yes sir. I would be happy to charge you five extra cents for the same item.
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  • 20
    The-Upright-Owl. 1 day ago I miss the old .59, .79, .99 menu. I paid $8 something for a quesadilla the other day. 45 Reply Share SentenceSure6277 1 day ago "Nowdays I believe they would be called Karens, back then we just called them c*nts." Beautiful quote, OP.
    via u/The-Upright-Owl
  • 21
    Ep1cH3ro 20 hr. ago 5c doesn't sound like much, but a 5% stupid tax sounds much better!
    via u/Ep1cH3ro

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customer service karens mc discount malicious compliance customers loophole save customer cashier Reddit savings fast food karen karen customer
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