Louisiana Sonic Employees Spat In Drinks
A representative for a Sonic restaurant in Eunice, Louisiana has admitted that two of their employees were spitting in customers' drinks. "It was brought to my attention by the manager of the store that the incident was brought to his attention that an employee had spit in a drink of a customer," said the rep. Oh, good. So long as something was brought to someone's attention.
Several customers at the restaurant said their drinks were spiked with saliva.
"(My daughter) came up here and got a soda and come to find out some girls spit in the drink" father Joe Lawrence said.
A Sonic representative told KFLY-TV that the incident has been investigated and action has been taken.
How can you tell if someone spit in your cherry lime? Beats us. It might be best to just request no spit the next time your order from the Eunice Sonic.
"Fast-Food Workers Spit In Customer Drinks" [Local6.com] (Thanks to Jian!)
(Photo: trekkyandy )
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Comments:
How could there be room for spit when Sonic fills their cups to the very top with their tiny ice-pellets?
They will obviously be 'taking the situation very seriously'...
I'm hoping this results in a wacky commercial of a couple in a drive-through with overdubbed sound effects!
I like how the Mickey D's in my area has an automated drink maker. Someone would have to be pretty bound and determined to do it there.
@BuddyGuyMontag: Yeah I like that couple on the Sonic commercials. Cheezy but funny, remind me of me and my fiance.
The fast food places I frequent (McD, Jack in the box, BK) either give you a cup to fill on your own or the soda machine is in plain sight.
I also can't stand places that use the pellet ice, fill the cup and then add the 2oz of soda to fill the cup.
I hope that their punishment becomes the sound effect for the stop-frame during all of the tv commercials.
I only wish there was a Sonic within an hour of my home. Best fast food out there, no question.
At least it was only saliva, eh?
Never been to a Sonics. But I'm guessing either this was a drive-thru incident, or they don't have self-serve soda fountains inside? Either way.. gross.
As a teenager I worked at a Wendy's restaurant and because of that job I no longer eat ANY fast food. I saw some gross stuff happen to people's food. Eat at home - it's cheaper and unless you've pissed off the wife, spit-free.
This sort of thing warrants more than just getting fired. Makes you wonder just how often this goes unnoticed. :l
I don't know where I am going to eat tonight ,tomorrow or any day in the future. But I damn well know where I'm NOT going to eat. Sonic. If they treat their workers this bad (or hire workers this immature and venal) then I'm outta here.
I will never see Sonic the same way again.
Yuck.
@LatherRinseRepeat: Sonics is a drive-in place (think old fashioned drive-in burger joint) but it does have a drive thru too (at least ours does).
@ruffedges: I worked at Wendys when I was a teenager (back when they had a Super Bar). I eat at fast food places, but I frequent the same fast food places that have good service and decent food. I do try to keep fast food to a minimum though.
Sodding Sonic! They only gave me two chili cheese coney's when I paid for three!
they are GOOOOOD though, and I love their breakfast toaster sandwiches.
mmmmmmm Sonic. Tasty. Miss 'em. None here in Maryland, though I am taunted with their commercials nonstop for no good reason.
Is anyone seriously surprised? This type of activity has been going on since the advent of fast food.
I worked at a pizza place when I was in high school where it was easier to count the food that was not "messed with". That's what you get when you staff your restaurant with grumpy, underpaid, overworked, easily offended teenagers.
"I guess we should feel some sort of guilt, but she broke the cardinal rule; never fuck with people who handle your food."
-Waiting
@ruffedges: Why did you not stop that gross stuff from happening? All it takes is one voice to stop it from happening. When I worked my Mcjob I never saw any bad thing happen to peoples food. Then again are food prep/cooking/assemble area was in full view of the customer.
And you wonder why they call it the chef's special sauce! Wack Wack Wack…
I know you guys are gonna think this is made up, but I SWEAR TO GOD it happened:
My sister's best friend's boyfriend in high school got fired from Wendy's, and before he left, he pooped in the frosty machine. She ratted him out.
And that justifies acting like a complete asshole, placing ones employer in legal jeopardy, not to mention placing oneself in a criminally liable (not to mention career-limiting) position. It's no wonder there's no work ethic left in America, no sense of honor, and no pride in hard work.
I'm starting to wonder if summary executions would solve a shitload of problems in this country.
@PHX602: It's decimation time!
Finally, I get to use the word decimate in its historically accurate meaning.
What is the protocol with tipping at Sonic. Do you give the girls (or guys) anything when they bring the food to your car?
How much am i supposed to tip when I only get two Cherry Limeade Slushs?
Hey at least it's better than when some Oklahoma employees shat in the chili...I wish I still had the news article my grandmother [who lives in OK] sent us. I remember going there when I was a kid getting lime slushes...those were the days.
I try to fill my own drink whenever possible, with most of the time not getting a drink at all.
However, out of sight, out of mind, generally keeps me from going crazy about it. If someone wants to spit in your drink, they'll do it and get away with it.
Where's the fun if the victim doesn't know their food/drinks have been tainted?
Man!!! What I would give for a decent Sonic. Sadly I have never seen one. My closest always serves food frozen in the middle. (Hot stuff not drinks) :P
Another one refused to sell me a 32 oz Hi-C Fruit Punch because it "Costs too much for that much fruit juice in one cup so no one wants to buy that size." I was like um... it is a fountain drink!!! (I went to Wendys and got my drink instead.)
That all being said, I can't get my wife to stop buying drinks there. lol
I haven't eaten fast food in probably 10 years. It's inherently bad for you - obviously - plus it's like playing Russia Roulette with the "employee added content". I not naive enough to think this kind of activity is limited or isolated.
It's safe to assume the more fast food joints your frequent, the greater chance you are eventually going to be exposed to some rather nasty additions to your food, weather you realize it or not. Shit in the refried beans, semen in the cottage cheese, urine in the salad dressing...
I'd rather not risk it.
Mmm... Sonic.
Unprovoked spit surprises me.
I worked at a BR as a teenager. A new employee was having a hard time making a strawberry shake thick enough for the bitchy customer. After the third shake (the first one WAS thin, two and three were fine) and the woman positively shrieking at this poor girl (she was so socially awkward), I took over and chipped the rest of my red nail polish into her (thick enough) milkshake.
Not my most mature moment... hilariously, my first semester of college, the grateful employee that I saved's mom was one of my professors. She remembered me for helping out her daughter and I got a couple of nice extensions on assignments.
I'm going to guess that the girls who spit in the drink probably did because they knew the customer and had some drama with her at school or wherever.
I know I had to stop eating at a Sonic for a while because one of the workers there probably would have spit in my food since I was the investigator who turned her in for some major policy violations at her last job, and she was subsequently fired.
@mountaindew: Yea tell the customer you messed with his food and have a big laugh when you are fired and arrested. For some stupid reason the legal system doesnt find this stuff funny.
Man, when I order, my eyes follow the server, so there's no funny business.
man, and here I was hoping that someday Sonics would come to Northern Ohio and Mid Michigan. Yuck.
@amyschiff: Yeah, because this problem is exclusive to Sonic. Every other fast-food chain can say that they have never, EVER had an incident like this, and every Sonic in the nation has this very issue. Such a shame.
Seriously, can we stop saying "well I'm never going there again!" whenever these types of stories come up? At this rate, half of Consumerist's readers should be living in total seclusion in order to actually be able to boycott as many businesses as they claim to.
People are gross as a general rule, why are people so gross? I just don't understand....
One of these days we'll have completely roboticized fast food stores (porcuswine burger, anyone?) Then we'll never have to worry about poorly paid employees spitting in the food there.
We'll just have to worry about poorly paid employees doing things to the food at the factory. (damn. The porcuswine burger factory is also a meth lab!)
That's the first thing that came to mind. That this girl knew the other girls who were serving her that drink. Teenage girls are just absolutely evil towards other girls they dont like.
Can anybody say "District Attorney" ?
How about "Louisiana Department of Public Health" ?
I see a pair of handcuffs for all those involved.
Eunice is a town that was once very prosperous, but is now little more than a wide spot in the road. The main industries there are farming, the private prison down the road, and cockfighting.
Not that it has much bearing on this case, but I grew up near there. It's not someplace I'd stop for a slushee, that's for sure.
That's technically considered assault in some states. Bravo, geniuses.
Sonic, if your listening open more restaurants in California outside of Bakersfield
Whoa...when did little Joe(y) Lawrence become a father?
SEMI LONG RANT ABOUT BAD EMPLOYERS=BAD EMPLOYEES
I used to work in many fast food places while I was a student.
I can give an example of two McDonald's I was in.
The first store, was in Hicksville, NY. I was one of the shift managers. We had fun there. Half the crew is made up of fourteen year old kids. Something that is very important to remember. It's not just a job, but life training for them. Everything there was clean. No one messed with any of the food ever. The kids did a great job. As soon as corporate watch dogs were out of the store, I would organize little events for the crew, such as pirate night. Or I would bring in the guitar hero for a contest. Dealing with school and work, stress gets very bad on these kids. Adding some fun and creating a relaxed workplace allows them to not only treat the customer better, but that becomes their goal.
Soon a new owner came in. When they started kicking out customers who weren't classy enough, (the old man who lives next door to me was kicked out for coming in with cans.) I decided it was time to leave. I went to the Mcdonald's in Syosset, NY. Horrible. One manager in particular was the problem. I was in training to join their management staff. They continually disciplined me for not showing up for shifts that they scheduled during my classes. Which is why I eventually quit. While I was there, I saw things that make me never want to eat there. First they used cooking untensils meant for food prep to clean crud off of counters and whatnot and then continued making the food. They would leave full garbages over night to attract bugs. I have seen the grill people not wash their hands and then not use gloves. That bothers me. They were also terrible to their crew. One person left a class early to cover a shift as a favor to the manager. He came five minutes late to the shift, and she punished everyone else on the shift.
When it comes to food services, when you treat your employees like crap, they are likely to crap in the food.
@mws: I'm also curious about the tipping At Sonic. I never -do-, because they just walked ten feet to bring me something, but I always drive away thinking "Hmmm...."
@Carl Everett's Fossil Collection: Don't forget. You can survive by eating all the cash you've won from all the OMG SUEING you've done.
our sonic has a sign that says not to tip, and the car hops will turn you down if you do.
Obviously this has some serious health risks, so I hope getting fired is the least of their punishments.