Fast food workers are the unsung heroes of our society. They keep us fed, they deal with the lunch rush chaos, and they do it all while smelling like fryer grease for minimum wage. You would think people could muster up a shred of decency when ordering a spicy chicken sandwich, but apparently, basic manners are too much to ask for some customers. One woman on Reddit recently witnessed a display of entitlement at a Popeyes that was so childish she decided to treat the offender exactly like the toddler he was acting like.
The Original Poster (OP) is a 37-year-old woman who frequents a local Popeyes. She notes that the staff is almost entirely Mexican, the place is always busy, and they are usually understaffed. It is the typical fast food environment where patience is key. One of the workers is a lady who doesn’t speak English perfectly, but she shows up and does the job.
Things took a turn when a man in his fifties walked in. He seemingly forgot he was at a fried chicken joint and not a Michelin-star restaurant because he started grilling the employee about specific ingredients in a sauce. When the employee, whose English is broken, couldn’t answer the specific culinary question immediately, she did the professional thing. She went to get a manager who could help.
Most normal adults would just wait the two minutes it takes for the manager to finish with the drive-thru. Not this guy. He decided to turn the lobby into his personal soapbox. He started loudly moaning about how “no one here speaks English” and yelling toward the back to see if anyone could understand him. He huffed, he puffed, and he grumbled the entire time. Even after the manager came over, answered his question, and rang him up, he kept complaining about the staff.
This is where the OP decided that if he was going to act like a baby, she was going to treat him like one. She didn’t politely ask him to stop. She didn’t write a sternly worded letter to corporate. She looked at this grown man and loudly said “Wah wah!” while making the universal crying motion with her hands near her eyes.
The man was stunned. He turned around, likely expecting a confrontation with someone intimidated by his grumbling, and asked if she was talking to him. The OP didn’t back down. She doubled down. She confirmed she was talking to him and repeated the “Wah wah! No one speaks English!” mockery in a baby voice. It was immature, it was petty, and it was absolutely brilliant.
The man tried to argue, but the OP hit him with cold, hard logic wrapped in insults. She pointed out that the employee did understand enough to get help when she didn’t know an answer. She solved the problem. The only issue was his impatience. She called him a “big baby” and continued making crying noises at him until he took his chicken and left.
There is something deeply satisfying about this. Usually, we are told to ignore rude people or “be the bigger person.” But sometimes the bigger person needs to hold up a mirror to the smaller person. This man was trying to shame a worker for a language barrier, so the OP shamed him for his emotional regulation barrier.
He wasn’t yelling slurs, sure, but the “constant muttering and shaking his head” is a specific brand of passive-aggressive toxicity that ruins everyone’s day. He wanted to feel superior to the staff. instead, he got laughed out of the building by a woman making goo-goo ga-ga noises.
So is she the ahole? No. NTA. Public shaming is a lost art form that needs a revival for moments like this. If you are going to throw a tantrum in a Popeyes because you had to wait three minutes for sauce information, you deserve to be mocked. Next time, maybe he will just eat his chicken in silence.