Woman Says Dunkin' Worker Cursed at Her, Denied Service Over Order

A video showing a Florida Dunkin' drive-thru employee telling a customer to "get out of [her] line" has gone viral on social media.

The customer, soupysoleis, posted the video to TikTok last week, writing: "I'm absolutely baffled by how I was treated." It has amassed over 1.4 million views and thousands of comments slamming the employee. You can watch the full video here.

Customer Confrontations

Of course, soupysoleis isn't the first customer to have it out with a drive-thru worker. In June, for example, a McDonald's employee got into a screaming match with an upset customer over drive-thru times. In February, a drive-thru worker threw a drink at a customer. And, also in February, a Burger King customer exited their vehicle and yelled at a worker through the drive-thru window.

While some research suggests that poor customer behavior has increased within the fast food industry, one study found that drive-thru employees have also become less "friendly" and accurate.

A 2021 drive-thru study from SeeLevel HX found that drive-thrus were 7 percent slower than in 2020. The company also revealed that 15 percent of orders were inaccurate, up from 13 percent the year prior, and 73 percent of drive-thru workers were considered friendly, down from 76 percent in 2020 and 79 percent in 2019.

Restaurant Business Online said the labor shortage is mostly to blame for increased wait times and "unfriendly" service—two things that frustrate customers. But a Snagajob-Black Box survey found that customer behavior is partly to blame for the labor shortage.

Speaking to TODAY, Stephanie Le Mere, a restaurant hostess and manager in Wisconsin, called the whole situation a "vicious cycle."

"[T]he cooks get all stressed out, and then the customer's food takes longer, and then the customers get mad, and it's just a vicious cycle," Le Mere said.

'Get Out'

In her video, soupysoleis said she was denied service because she ordered a drink with oat milk.

"I ordered two pumpkin iced chai lattes, and I asked for oat milk at the end of the order, and [the worker] said, 'Now I gotta redo the entire order,'" read the video's text overlay.

After going back and forth with the worker to ensure she got the order right, soupysoleis said she made a joke about her lactose intolerance, causing her and her sister to laugh. But, she said, this only further upset the drive-thru employee.

"She said, 'Since you guys think it's so f**king funny, your service is denied,' and shut the window right in my face," the text overlay continued. "We waited at the window until she opened it again and the video is when I started recording the incident."

The video, which came before the story explanation, showed soupysoleis arguing with the worker.

"Please get out of my line," the worker said.

When soupysoleis asked why the worker said: "Because I said so. Get out of my line."

Both women talk over each other until finally, the worker yells: "Get out of my f**king line now."

The video ends with soupysoleis driving away.

Viewers React

Many viewers slammed the employee and told soupysoleis to contact corporate.

"As a former Dunkin' employee, absolutely call and complain...that's not acceptable and there will be something done to her," Sydnie wrote.

"Report [her] to corporate. No worker should talk to people like that," Maranda Breen said.

Another commenter added: "@Dunkin' please do something about this unacceptable behavior. This is ridiculous."

Newsweek reached out to soupysoleis for comment.