You’re not yourself when you’re hungry. But that doesn’t give anyone the right to be rude, especially to fast food workers. These employees already have to deal with high pressure, long hours, and difficult customers. And while most people expect quick service from fast food restaurants, sometimes things don’t go according to plan. That was exactly the case for a Chipotle location in Long Island, New York, where a customer was caught on camera throwing a tantrum after his order wasn’t fulfilled. The reason? A system outage had temporarily halted all food preparation. Unfortunately, that explanation wasn’t good enough for the irate customer, who began pressuring the staff to make his food anyway.
Another customer captured the incident on video, showing the man speaking aggressively to a male employee. At the start of the clip, the Long Island man can be seen attempting to walk behind the Chipotle counter into the food prep area. The worker quickly blocks his path. It appears the customer was trying to prove that they could still prepare food since the ingredients were still visible and accessible. However, this action was incredibly inappropriate and risky, as it could have led to cross-contamination. He wasn’t trained or authorized to be back there.
The customer eventually backed off, warning the Chipotle employee not to touch him. He then kept repeating that they should “just make the food” and he would leave. His frustration grew more visible as he watched the staff standing around, seemingly doing nothing. To his credit, he claimed he’d already been waiting for thirty minutes, which may have only added fuel to the fire. He argued that the workers should have prioritized serving customers first, then fixed the system afterward.
As tensions escalated, the customer and the Chipotle worker exchanged more heated words, and at one point, the man slapped the employee’s hand in frustration. He then declared that because of the long wait time, the restaurant owed them free food.
As if trying to rally support, he turned to the other waiting customers and asked if they also wanted free food. Meanwhile, the Chipotle employee stayed on the phone, possibly speaking with a manager or IT support, while also checking the computer screen for updates.
The incident in Long Island quickly gained traction online, drawing a wave of attention and ridicule. Many internet users mocked the man’s behavior, calling him entitled and privileged. One commenter wrote, “As soon as he hit that guy’s hand, he should have been carried out.” Others pointed out that if he was really that hungry, he could’ve simply left and gone to another restaurant.
