Last week I decided Burger King would be my cheat meal.
I (40F) ordered the chicken sandwich meal with a Diet Coke.
I pulled up to the drive-thru, paid, and the teenage boy working the window handed me my drink while I waited for my food.
I took a sip.
It didn’t taste right.
I took another sip just to make sure, and it definitely wasn’t Diet Coke.
So I politely said, “I don’t think this is Diet Coke.”
He looked at me and said, “I gave you regular because Diet Coke is gross.”
I honestly thought he was joking.
I said, “But I ordered Diet Coke.”
He replied, “Diet Coke tastes like battery acid, so I gave you regular.”
At that point I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience.
I was trying really hard to stay polite, but all I could think was, what if I were diabetic?
I have a close family member with Type 1 diabetes, and I’ve seen firsthand what even a couple of sips of regular Coke can do if someone is expecting a diet drink.
So I said again, “Can I please just get the Diet Coke I ordered?”
He responded, “Diet Coke is disgusting.”
I explained that there are medical reasons someone might order Diet Coke instead of regular.
His response?
“Well, it’s still gross.”
At that point I asked to speak to the manager.
A woman who looked to be in her 30s came over. I don’t know if she was actually the manager, but she was at least an adult.
I explained what happened.
She turned to him and asked why he’d done it.
He gave her the exact same “battery acid” explanation.
She immediately apologized, got me the correct drink, and assured me she’d talk to him about it.
Then the kid handed me my food like nothing had happened.
That’s when I looked at him and said, “If you keep giving regular Coke to people who order Diet Coke, you’re going to kill someone.”
Then I drove away.
Later, I started wondering if that was too harsh.
At the same time, I don’t think it’s his job to decide what customers should drink based on his personal opinion. Whether he likes Diet Coke or not is completely irrelevant. His job is to give people what they ordered, especially when giving someone the wrong drink could have serious consequences.
So, AITAH for telling him he was going to kill someone if he kept doing that?