November 26, 2025 at 8:22 am

Teenager Dealt With A Rude Drive-Thru Customer Who Ignored Him Because He Was On His Phone, So He Made The Man Go Back In Line And Order All Over Again

by Heide Lazaro

Man ordering thru the drive thru speaker

Pexels/Reddit

Some customers think retail workers don’t deserve their full attention and respect.

This teenager was working at a McDonald’s drive-thru window when a rude customer came up to the speaker.

The customer ignored him as he was talking to someone on his bulky mobile phone.

So he decided to teach the man a small but memorable lesson in manners.

Read the full story below for all the details.

Revenge in the Drivethru

When I was a teenager (circa 1988), I worked at a local McDonald’s.

And I regularly worked in the drive-thru.

Cell phones were pretty new, few people had them, and they were bricks.

Despite being new, people had already figured out how to be rude when using them.

This teenager noticed that the customer was on his cellphone.

Some guy in a convertible pulled up to the speaker.

I could hear him talking on his cellphone, so I waited a few seconds before saying anything.

Before I could ask, he rattled off his order and pulled forward to the window.

When he got up to the window, he was still on the phone and holding his money out the window.

I just stood there until he acknowledged me.

He asked him if someone acknowledged and repeated his order, and the customer said no.

I asked him if he ordered and listed off the order of the person behind him.

He said no. I asked him what he ordered, and he repeated his order.

I pretended to check the screens and then told him we didn’t have such an order.

He said he ordered at the speaker.

I asked him, in my best customer service voice, if anyone acknowledged him, repeated his order, or told him to pull forward.

And he said no.

He told the customer he couldn’t take his order at the window, even though he really could.

I informed him that we didn’t have his order.

And since the next order had already been pulled up on the computer, I couldn’t take his order at the window.

I absolutely could have sent the next order back and taken it at the window or could have rung it up on the front line register.

But rudeness and dismissiveness should not be rewarded.

Instead, he advised him to get back in line to place his order through the speaker.

I then informed him that he would have to go back around and get back in line to make his order.

In the meantime, the line had grown around the building

But he did just that and waited patiently at the speaker for me to ask for his order the second time.

Let’s find out what others have to say about this.

Short and simple (with pun intended!)

Screenshot 2025 11 02 at 9.58.07 PM Teenager Dealt With A Rude Drive Thru Customer Who Ignored Him Because He Was On His Phone, So He Made The Man Go Back In Line And Order All Over Again

This one makes a valid point.

Screenshot 2025 11 02 at 9.58.53 PM Teenager Dealt With A Rude Drive Thru Customer Who Ignored Him Because He Was On His Phone, So He Made The Man Go Back In Line And Order All Over Again

This person shares a similar story.

Screenshot 2025 11 02 at 10.00.49 PM Teenager Dealt With A Rude Drive Thru Customer Who Ignored Him Because He Was On His Phone, So He Made The Man Go Back In Line And Order All Over Again

People are loving the ending.

Screenshot 2025 11 02 at 10.01.48 PM Teenager Dealt With A Rude Drive Thru Customer Who Ignored Him Because He Was On His Phone, So He Made The Man Go Back In Line And Order All Over Again

Finally, short and sweet.

Screenshot 2025 11 02 at 10.02.26 PM Teenager Dealt With A Rude Drive Thru Customer Who Ignored Him Because He Was On His Phone, So He Made The Man Go Back In Line And Order All Over Again

Just because you’re talking to a drive-thru speaker doesn’t mean you won’t respect the person behind it.

If you liked this post, check out this story about an employee who got revenge on a co-worker who kept grading their work suspiciously low.