About weeks ago, a TikTok recorded a brawl and intense disagreement between a manager in a fast food chain restaurant and a customer, it was alleged that the manager had thrown profanities at the customer who had recorded the debacle – what started the fiasco was- as you may have guessed it: a lack of stock chicken parts.
The viral TikTok video circulated and garnered mixed reactions, with most people who commented pointing out that there has to be ‘more to the story’, given how the video seemed to start recording only at a time when the manager and the customer with her husband started the yelling match, with the married couple repeatedly kept asking the manager “why did you tell me to go ‘die’?” when they heard him say ‘mampos’, a casual Malay expression to ask someone to ‘go die’.
The manager then corrected himself, looking very exasperated, that it was not ‘mampos’ but ‘berambus’ – which means to ‘get lost’. In this context, it can be understood he was asking them to leave, considering the kind of ruckus that had been made.
However, things became tenser as it was also seen as time went on and the recording was still active when the arguing customers (and the one recording the incident) repeatedly insist on ‘customer’s rights’ and ‘customer is always right’, persisting to the manager not only why their demands were not met but also why the need for him to shout at them the way he did.
The manager, who clearly seemed to be at his wits’ end, shouted back that he has rights too and that he has been trying to explain to them why their requests cannot be made at the time and he was just trying to inform them in a civilized manner.
Some staff at the counter can be seen holding back the manager from showing too much aggressive reaction, pushing him back to his office and telling him repeatedly to calm down.
At the time this video had been circulating, the fast food chain’s headquarters had reached out to the customer and apologized for such behaviour that was unbecoming of the manager.
The incident, however, had gotten more mixed reactions about whose side was in the wrong, some speculated that there had to be a reason the manager had to be involved to begin with – noting that it could be the staff already had problems engaging with the customer, forcing the manager to intervene.
Some people have also expressed sympathy and empathy for the manager, agreeing with him that the notion of ‘customer is always ‘right’ is so misused because customers often make ridiculous and impossible requests, especially when it comes to asking for chicken parts. Interestingly, there were comments that highlight how fast food chain restaurants are not obligated to ask customers to choose what chicken parts they want as it usually depends on supply more than demand.
Especially for lunch and dinner rush hours, it was to be expected that some of the most requested chicken parts like keel and breast get chosen and run out the most.
Some comments have mentioned that the manager could have handled the situation much differently and not resorted to being rude; on the other side of the same coin, other comments mentioned that the customers took it too far to record this incident in the first place because it is, in the end, still just chicken.
On that note, there was mostly empathy being expressed for the manager, with the knowledge that working in the food and beverage industry is not easy, no less for fast food chain restaurants. Debates about customer rights have been ongoing discourse for a long time, but it is still discussed that often as customers, we really take it too far.
What do you think: how could the situation be handled differently? Whose side are you on?
Jasmine RCK is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav.
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