A Washington woman went to her local Taco Bell on what she believed was to be a normal day. However, as she was handed her change, she noticed 19 cents were missing. A ridiculous argument ensued, with the Taco Bell employee making all of the excuses.
The brief and heated interaction was shared on TikTok by user makhelainez (Makhela). After pulling up to the Taco Bell drive-thru, she ordered two cheesy bean and rice burritos and two spicy potato tacos with no lettuce and extra chipotle. The worker struggled to grasp Makhela’s order, but she eventually got it. It was an omen for what came next, for sure.
A grinning Makhela paid for her order and got her change back. The smile was exchanged wtih a confusing expression, as the numbers didn’t add up. She was supposed to get $9.74, but she only got $9.55. A total of 19 cents was missing, and the Washington woman was going to fight for her money, as she should.
“We don’t have quarters. We don’t have pennies,” the Taco Bell worker said. Makhela asked, “You don’t have dimes?” to which the employee, shockingly, said, “No, we just have cents,” even though she just told Makhela that they didn’t have pennies, which are the same.
Makhela didn’t address the contradiction. She, instead, asked if they had nickels, adding, “We could have got closer to 70 at least.”
An Absurd Back And Forth
The Washington woman angrily laughed at the absurdity of the situation. It only got worse when the employee handed her a single nickel while saying, “Here you go, queen.” Of course, Makhela wasn’t having any of it.
“Y’all are telling me you only have one nickel back there?” she asked, in shock. The worker gave her another. “This is 65. At least I need one more,” Makhela said. The employee then told her that she could give her three pennies.
“You don’t have another nickel?” Makhela insisted. The delusional worker then laughed, called her queen twice, and asked, “What you gonna do with a nickel?“
“I’m gonna go pay for my Dunkin’ Donuts, is what I’m gonna do with the nickel!” Makhela answered, wondering why she should ever give a reason for why she needs her full change.
Begging For Change, Reaction
As Makhela explained that 19 cents were missing and, again, said that they could at least get to 70, the Taco Bell worker finally gave her the third nickel. She never got to her $9.74, but at least she was closer than before. With her three nickels in her pocket, the Washington woman left the establishment, aghast with what had just happened.
“The way I had to beg for my change is crazy!” she said.
Just like many users in the comments, Makhela wondered if this was a common practice for this particular Taco Bell. If that is the case, employees could be allegedly pocketing a significant amount of cash by refusing to give exact change.
“Oh, so the people just robbing us now? lmao,” Makhela wrote. A user said, “It wasn’t about stealing from you. They actually don’t know how to count change.” Another added, “Them negotiating YOUR change is insane.”
A valuable lesson was learned that day: always count your change, and don’t let some shady employee keep it.
