Rebecca Meyer
Yesterday, this 18-year-old woman, who lives in Maryland, was working at a well-known burger joint. Unfortunately, she had an encounter with a super creepy customer.
She works at the drive-thru payment window, and she has to stand at the window for her entire shift.
“I’m very friendly. I know sometimes a smile and a compliment can make someone’s day a little better. Just this same night, before the creeper came, I had a customer tell me I was ‘So happy,’ and she loved me for it. That gave me the courage and energy to survive this next interaction. I’m used to the awkward comments and stares from old men. I’m sure it’s my friendliness that attracts them. Our uniforms aren’t revealing. They think I’m naive,” she said.
While she wondered if maybe she was a bit blissfully unaware of how dangerous people can be, she still knew that something bad could happen to anyone, anywhere.
At almost 6 p.m., an older man drove up to her window. Apparently, a lot of older men who come through the drive-thru at her job will often feign that they didn’t hear her tell them their total, and this man was no different. He chuckled as if it was a joke between the two of them, and she repeated his total.
This man then jokingly waved his money around out his car window, forcing her to awkwardly reach for and “chase” the money. Unfortunately, this behavior also isn’t uncommon for her to experience with older male customers. Finally, she was able to grab the money from his hand.
As part of her work uniform, she has to wear a shirt with the restaurant’s name on the front. She also doesn’t wear a name tag because of the uncomfortable situations she’s been subjected to from customers like this man.
“He stared at the company name on my shirt and asked if that was my name. I joked that I was going to change my name permanently to that. He perked up. At this point, I should state that he was white, mid-60s to 70s, and driving a small, white SUV with a kayak on top. He had some scruff on his face and was holding a phone to his ear this entire time. When I finally began to engage with him, he moved his phone in my direction. Looking back, I believe he was recording me. At no point did he speak into the phone or acknowledge it in any way,” she explained.
Then, the man started asking her more personal questions, including trying to find out what her name actually was.
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