How One TikToker Got Revenge On A Steak 'N Shake Drive-Thru Karen

There's a lot going on in the fast food drive-thru world right now. A McDonald's employee recently made headlines when she kicked a TikToker out of her drive-thru because, "Obviously, we cannot satisfy you the first time and we're done trying." Yet another TikToker got dressed down after he posted an irate video because the Wendy's he was at could only accept cash (he somehow missed many clearly posted signs that the credit card reader was down). There's undoubtedly many more exchanges like these that just aren't captured on video.

Then there's the fact that a lot of fast food restaurant workers are beyond frustrated with the state of the workplace these days. Many are short-staffed as lots of service workers left the industry during the pandemic and have yet to return. This leads to overworked employees, reduction in quality, and a decided increase in frustrated customers. Some workers have even resorted to "rage quitting," as was the case at a Lincoln, Nebraska Burger King where the entire staff resigned via a sign that said, "We all quit — sorry for the inconvenience," per Business Insider. So one customer wasn't having it when confronted with a total Karen at a Steak 'n Shake drive-thru, so he decided to make a point.

A viral TikTok with nearly a million likes by user Nicole Christine has garnered lots of support for embattled fast food employees. Nicole's partner, a man named Kyle, is depicted in the video growing increasingly frustrated with the customer in line behind him, who honks their horn repeatedly. After commenting on their rude behavior, Kyle tells Nicole that he's going to buy their food and take it with him, presumably to further slow down the rude customer's drive-thru experience. He says he's doing this, "so they go back around." When the manager is brought into the equation he says, "yeah I don't care, I'll kick them out of the line."

Although many commenters appreciate the sentiment and bit of vigilante justice, plenty are quick to point out the flaw in Kyle's plan. "You're supposed to tell the employee that the car behind you is with y'all, let 'em pull to the window with shocked workers," says one TikTok user, while another one points out that it likely backfired. "They won't make them go back around. They will just retake their order causing more work for the employees." Others say that the manager was the likely winner of this entire debacle, "all the manager did was let him buy and take it, then remade it and sold more." Still, Kyle's heart was in the right place, say others, with one TikTok commenter saying, "not all heroes wear capes."