really bad service

I'm not yelling! I'm just speaking loudly and sounding very annoyed!

I'm not punching your cashier in the face! I'm just voicing my
displeasure by making repeated contact between her face and my
balled-up hand!

I'm not being arrested! I'm just going away for a three to five year
vacation!

All I have to say is that I loved when you said, "I'm not yelling, I'm
speaking loudly!" LOL!

Hey! You want this service person fired and requesting an apology too?
Are you serious? Why would you want an apology? Isnt being fired
enough for you? I hate to say this, I believe you are leaving out too
many details. Waiting 45 minutes for food? Unbelievable !! Leave
those people along at that food place. Sounds like you are looking
for trouble. And did your children see this nasty behavior of yours?
I dont think you were ascting as a good role model.

This letter is bs because if she really had 3 kids in the car she
wouldn't be the only one getting food.

If you really want a face to face apology from this manager you owe
her one yourself. Both of you were rude. Also how old are your
children. Over here it is against the law to leave the children in
the car alone while you step in somewhere if they are under 10. Also
did you not get food for them. You left them hungry while you were
hungry. It took you three hours to calm down. I would hate to be a
child in your care.

I hope she yelled at you and put something in your SANDWHICH. You
think your race is superior to others? Please respond.

Who noticed that she had three kids with her but she was the only one
getting food?

" I have never been so offended in my life! "
and you started "crying".
Grow some thick skin and get over it. Everyone in the world has had
multiple bad experiences with fast food. The end result, at its' worst
is you have a crappy lunch or lose $5. Forget it and quit crying,
adults don't cry over situations like this.

I hope you hear back from them...and i hope its a tresspassing warrent
to keep you out of their store.

If I had been that manager I would have called the cops on you.

Threats of legal action...over a HAMBURGER!?!?!?

No lawyer who isn't named Lionel Hutz is going to even think about
taking up the case.

In addition to the wondeful points already made by others I have to
ask (again):

What's with the demanding an apology? If you have to ask for it, do
you really think it will be sincere? For the life of me I will never
understand this request.

OP Wrote: "I replied that I was not going to get out of my car in the
pouring rain with 3 kids in the back. He replied, 'Well, I'm out here
in it!' "


And you don't think he has a point? I was with you until I read that.
Fast food workers/waitstaff/cashiers are all, ready for it? PEOPLE!
Just like you.

By the attitude in your letter I get the impression that you feel said
people are beneath you and don't deserve respect.

Yes, the time you had to wait was ridiculous. The way you handled it
was as well. Maybe you should work in the service industry and you
can see for yourself how it feels to be treated like dirt. Try being
polite when conducting business.

Unfortunately, Andrea, I can't see anyone waiting 45 minutes. That
alone, makes me question the rest of your letter.

I read your letter and I really felt for you up until the last
sentence. I'm surprised the employee actually left the building to
bring the order out (even though it was the wrong item in the bag).
What I don't understand is, at what level does "speaking loud" become
"yelling"? Is there a decibel range or is it up to the perception of
the people involved.

What saddens me is the race card being played, which the person
shouldn't have done, I agree, but sometimes when people are spoken
loudly at, they feel defensive and will lash back with the first thing
that comes to mind. The employee gave you an apology of sorts, face to
face, when he handed you your food.

I just think maybe emotions were high, both sides were angry and on
their last nerve. Perhaps wait for the anger to subside and re-write
the complaint or speak to another manager at the store, the one in the
photo. It may help diffuse the situation if you don't have to confront
each other. And maybe the problem can be resolved. Sometimes all it
takes is a little time.
I really don't see anything rising to the level of litigation.

Wish you luck and let us know how things work out!!

http://www.break.com/index/burger_king_911.html

but she'd already "hung in there" for 45 minutes, which is, in my
opinion, an insane amount of time to wait for a hamburger at a
drive-thru. I don't blame her one bit for being upset. You'd have to
have superhuman patience to wait that long, be served cold food, wait
even longer, be served the wrong food, and still have to wait, yet
again, for the right food, at last, without being visibly upset.

That being said, I do not think the manager needs to be fired.
Reprimanded? Possibly. Particularly if she did make a potentially
racist remark. But everyone has bad days and misunderstandings, and
no one needs to be fired for one remark or mistake.

that being upset is perfectly normal in this situation, and explaining
that you are upset is, too. But honking a horn and speaking so loudly
that someone thinks you're yelling at them is not. Fast food workers
are not deaf, and deserve the same treatment the OP would demand if in
their shoes. Demanding (in a proper manner) a correct order and
explaining that you are upset/frustrated over a long wait is perfectly
acceptable, just not in the OP's manner.
IMO, a manager 'possibly' muttering something about this attitude
being because the manager was of a different color is no reason to be
as upset as the OP claims to be, nor a reason for anyone to be fired
(or reprimanded, if no proof exists).

Why does this letter remind me of chicken fries and waffles?

WHY do people think the threat of legal action is going to get them
what they want??? The powers that be at Hardee's are going to take one
look at that and not even bother to respond. Why you ask? Once the
threat of legal action is made, they aren't going to risk responding
and having it used against them.
(FYI..I don't believe there is anything that happened in this incident
that warrants legal action anyways)

I know this is a little off topic, but where were her 3 kids while she
went inside and had the little exchange with the manager?

I think you need some professional help with your addiction to
Thickburgers.

Hardee's virtually every day? Ewwwwwww..... Did you know that a
regular thickburger has 57 grams of fat? Gross.

That's not exactly the healthiest addiction.

As someone who works in the food service industry, I find a lot of
poeple often forget that employees are humans, too. We're not perfect.
Equipment breaks and it takes time to fix, things need to be
corrected... In short, stuff happens.

There's nothing worse than being yelled at by a complete stranger, and
there's no excuse for it. If you were upset by this (I seriously doubt
it), think how the employee(s) must have felt.

Legal action? You're a joke, pal. You got your food after haressing
these poor people because your burger wasn't just the way you liked
it.

By the way... If you didn't want to get out of your car because it was
raining, how do you think the guy running out to give you your food
felt?

Legal action to enforce a hamburger?

Ummm.. legal action for what?? because you got an attitude with the
associates there? Because you coulnd't get out of your car to go
inside in the first place??? Should have went home and cooked a HOME
cooked meal.. not fast food..You don't even know if the manager said
the racial comment. YOU said "The next thing she said was mumbled, so
I cannot quote her accurately, but it was something along the lines
of, "It's cause I'm black...", but I got the idea.".. For all you
know.. it could have been something totally different. I hate when
people try to take advantage of people who get "abused" at their job
(ok wrong wording.. get... treated lower i suppose).You could have
started eating something while the fries were getting done.

While it was far from a stellar experience, your antics and behavior
as illustrated in this letter are just a tad over the top, don't you
think?

Crying in a restaurant over a burger? Too upset to drive your car?
Took you 3 hours to calm down? And you did this in front of your
kids?

And then you fire this threatening nastygram chock full of threats
before even calling in to resolve the situation locally first. That's
not going to give them much incentive to fix things.

From the sound of it, other than this particular incident, it would
seem that you have had a somewhat decent expereience with Hardees. So
can I ask why one bad incident, that you haven't even given them the
chance to rectify yet, would cause you to not only to stop going
there, but to bad mouth them to everyone you know and contemplate
legal action (though I hate to tell you, reverse discrimination cases
are nearly IMPOSSIBLE to win)? Again, blowing things out of
proportion, just a little bit, aren't we?

All of the other excellent comments aside, I can't help but snicker at
this part of your letter:

"I was so shocked at her response, because I was not yelling, just
speaking loudly and sounding very annoyed, justifiably."

Ummmmm, last I checked - isn't that an almost textbook definition of
yelling?

LOL

Snerk! Legal action? Yet another who thinks everything is
actionable. Yep. Good luck with THAT! Especially since no one
called you anything to your face - good luck proving it (especially
since you can't accurately quote what was said). And I can just
imagine the judge: "You waited too long for a hamburger? That's a
million dollars, right there!"

First of all, yes, you waited too long. Leaning on your horn,
however, was inappropriate action. Surely you must realize how
DISRUPTIVE that would have been to the employees, not to mention other
diners. But let me guess - their comfort is irrelevant?

I totally agree you should have received your food in a timely, polite
manner. That goes without saying. However, it does appear to me that
you got a little bent out of shape, as well. As to the comment that
you were too upset to drive and it took you three hours to calm down?
I call super exaggeration at that one.

As for "this person should be fired" - that is not your decision to
make and you have no right even requesting that.

As for a face to face personal apology? That's about as likely to
happen as any attorney taking you seriously on this.

Overall, I would say you're taking a rather unpleasant experience and
making much more of it than it need be. With all due respect, just
get over it.

I bet those people were teenagers. Teenagers are the worst fast food
employees ever. I've had problems with them at local fast food places
where I live.

I agree with the others, that last paragraph did you in. Up to that
point, I was feeling sorry for you and everyone else involved. If the
employee goes through life feeling that way, that's sad too. It
sounds like you were trying hard to keep it together, but her comment
put you over the edge.

Maybe... and this is a big maybe, when you are calmer, you could go
back and try to explain to the employee that your anger had nothing to
do with her color, and that you were very upset by the accusation.
You never know, you both might feel better in the end.

You had me up to the last paragraph. It is not up to you to tell a
business how to discipline their employee and I don't think you have
any basis for legal action.

This sounds like a very bad trip to Hardee's, but do you really want
someone fired over it? You blasted your horn and raised your voice to
this woman enough that she thought you were yelling at her, she
assumed it was because she's black, so now you want her fired, and
then a face-to-face apology .....wow.

By the way, one of the first things your attorney is going to tell you
(when done laughing) is not to write incriminating letters detailing
your actions on the internet if you think you are going to sue.

Legal action for WHAT?