‘I finally hit my limit’: Restaurant manager gets revenge on prank-calling teens by signing them up for an information service text chain they can't unsubscribe from

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Oct 18, 2024 1:00 PM EDT

The restaurant industry isn't for the faint of heart. Those late-night shifts behind the register or flat top are pretty rough, especially when the only thing you want to do is lie down in bed and doomscroll. There are certain customers who might push your buttons, but then there are some who try to get a rise out of you but actually keep you entertained when business is slow and you've got nothing else to do.

Remember prank calls? The obsolete method of harmless revenge that started with a *67 and ended with an uproar of laughter? Well, it seems like that method is not completely retired, as this restaurant manager is a victim of teens prank-calling his establishment constantly. This manager gets a lot of joy out of the communications but realizes it might be time to give them a taste of their own medicine. So, instead of prank-calling them back, he uses the number they've been calling from to sign them up for a text chain that will likely send out 600+ texts per day. The best part? They'll have to unsubscribe manually by replying with "STOP" to every text. 

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    Subject • Text Message RCS r + y qwe S df J ୪
    via Unsplash (Samuel Angor)
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    Annoy me at work with prank calls? Enjoy getting updates about Seattle.
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    This is a story of petty revenge. tl;dr some kids have been prank calling my business so know they're learning all about King County, Washington.
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    So I'm the manager at a late night chicken and waffle place in the gayborhood. Our waffles are "anatomically correct" and as such, we have some fun. It's good food, good atmosphere, and good customers.
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    Well, as should be expected, a group of kids. (young teens by the sound) constantly prank call us. Usually just thinking they're funny by calling us 'gay' or whatever stupid . For
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    the most part we play with them. One of us likes to with them, I like to answer their questions honestly and in excruciating detail (not graphic cause they're kids), one of us likes to
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    mock them for not having anything better to do. It's all in good fun and no one gets hurt. After several hangups, we will unplug the phone, which means all the calls are then forwarded to my
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    cell (yay for being the manager). So by the end of the night, I'll have dozens of missed calls, some of which are important but I ignored because I didn't want to deal with the kids.
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    This is has been going off and on for almost a year now, and I finally hit my limit. I wanted to waste their time like they've wasted mine.
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    Problem is, they're kids, so I can't go too extreme. Can't post the number on Craigslist selling a TV or apartment or whatever because I don't want a creep getting ahold of their number. That's not
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    ok. Meanwhile, I don't want to send any religious things to them because that could also backfire. So what's a service that calls and/or texts relentlessly about
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    everything. What about services utilizing tax dollars and needing to justify the spending? Why, local governments do that!
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    After some googling, I found that King County in Washington state has a robust information providing service! And all they need is a phone number!
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    So here I am thinking, these kids will get so annoyed getting info on local elections for Seattle. Oh no, no, no friends.
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    They provide updates on traffic, local elections, water services, road closures, waste management, a newsletter about wetland conservation, parks and rec, public transit, the judges, taxes, what the
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    accountants are doing, the school board, and about 600 other boxes I clicked to be informed about anything and everything related to Seattle and surrounding towns.
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    And the best part? They will have to unsubscribe to each and every single text. "But can't they unsubscribe from the master list?" you might ask. Of course they can, online. And I created the account using the kid's
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    number and my own Password. And there's no way they'll guess it, as it's a computer generated password. Whoops. I really hope this inspires them to want to move to that beautiful corner of the country.
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    Will they stop calling me? God, no. They aren't learning any lessons. But they will be just as annoyed as I am. And that's worth it. ETA:
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    1. the store is a landline and it forwards to my phone, so no one has access to my number. Even on my voicemail, I say "if you are calling me, please text, if you're calling [store] I'm sorry I missed..."
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    2. we are all located in Chicago, based on the kid's number being a Chicago area code. 3. I'm saying "kids" but they're probably teens. My guess is middle school or early high school. So old enough to know what they're doing.
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    4. "anatomically correct" means the waffles are shaped like < and t s. Just google Chicago and k waffle and you'll find me. And if you do do this, please engage with our social media! Shameless plug, I know. But we're a tiny business so any uptick in engagement is huge. Just, like, don't mention this lol
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    5. the zipcode I used for the updates is the same one as Pike's Place. So lots and lots and lots and lots of dumbass tourists causing traffic issues
    via audra-accalia

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