The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it.
The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday at noon.
Today’s question:
Do you have any fast-food horror stories? If so, feel free to share them with us.
Talk about it….
Thank Goodness , NO!
We don’t eat out much and less of fast food places anyway.
Hi Roz…same with us. Nothing beats a home cooked meal.
I knew someone who claimed he found a bandaid in his late night take home pizza.
As much as possible, I cook at home. The only place I can get takeout is Panda Express.
While waiting for my order at a place that sells hot dogs in a mall, the staff needed more boxes, so one guy hopped up on the counter in his shoes to get some off the top of the cabinet. The soles of his street shoes were exactly where they prepared the food, and they did not bother to even pretend to wipe that counter down afterwards. I reported it to a County health department at the time.
The year that I worked as a manager for Red Robin was a horror story. The place was more fast food than fast casual, and there’s a good reason why employees know it as the dirty bird.
burger king by treat blvd. 2 double cheeseburgers. Worst food poisoning ever. 4 days!!!
mckeyd’s near-burger, a sour stomach for a few hours…
never again! LOL
Not so much a horror story, and only related to fast food in that I worked at a Wendy’s. While in school in chem lab one day we synthesized isoamyl acetate, which smells like bananas, a strong smell. Well, apparently, I smelled a bit much like bananas and was asked to take the rest of the day off, as I smelled stronger than the frying burgers and fires. Perhaps more humorous than a horror, but it did cost me a few ducats in lost pay (that was scary).
A friend ordered a chicken sandwich with no mayonnaise. He bit into the sandwich and found there was mayo on it. He took it back to get another one, and the person who took his order said they didn’t make it with mayo, per his order.
Instead, it turned out to be a pus filled boil on the chicken.
(I heard that a few decades or go, believe it or not)
I just spit up a little in my mouth.
Ordered some now off the menu fish selection at Carl’s Jr. and pulled into an adjacent parking lot to eat it before doing other shopping. Got a couple of bites down before I had to break the speed limit getting home. Trust me, you don’t want to hear the details.
Years ago when my girl friend and I was driving back from a Memorial Day week end with the Scandinavian Club, in Yosemite, we stopped at a Taco Bell in Modesto, the next day we both got sick, same symptoms. Obviously something was not right. Have eaten at some Taco Bells since here in Concord and Benicia. Don’t eat a lot of fast foods, but Taco Bells have a few items that are fairly healthy.
My first job was at McDonalds in Lafayette. On my first day, I knew this was not the job for me and gave my two weeks notice. He was so short-handed he made me work the two weeks. My ex-husband and both kids got hepatitis at derWeinerschtzel (so?) in Pittsburg. Never gone to one since.
That’s awful (the hep). I’m curious as to how you knew they got it from the Wienerschnitzel?
When one give 2 weeks notice it is customary that you work 2 weeks, and of course get paid for them as well. It is meant to give both the employee and employer time to come up with replacement. The more notice you give the better it looks. I don’t like to burn bridges so I try to leave a place of employment with as good an impression as possible.
… I didn’t even make it home after eating at that derWienersnitchzel … I think I had to stop at 3 gas stations to make it home
In and Out is the cleanest place to eat. You are able to see the food and the workers preparing the food.
Yes popcorn…they are well trained and make more money that other burger joints.
Kinder’s near DVC. Nasty.
Went to fill my soda beverage and the ice dispenser was caked with pink mold. Seriously. No one can wipe down the soda dispenser? That’s right they’re too busy slicing meat. Left my empty cup there and never will I eat at Kinders again. That’s a management thing, lazy.
A friend was traveling in Mexico with 3 friends. They stopped at a roadside stand and drank a couple beers. The gal asked if they wanted Tacos… Yes they replied.
She brought back many Tacos. After eating she asked if they would like to see what the Tacos were made from….Off in the distance was a school bus on 4 55 gallon drums, with a rotten sea turtle under the bus.
That was the Taco meat. He said they stayed on the beach for 2 days, feeling Horrible!
When I was young I worked in fast food. One place had cockrochs so bad, you would grab a food container and cockrochs would be in-between them. After months of this they fine had to rent a container and put ever in it, drill holes in the wall to spay. Also, the owner would have us put seasoning on raw bacon that was going bad and starting to smell.
A wad of hair in my burrito supreme at the old Taco Bell on Port Chicago….no sickness from it. I still order the burrito supreme to this day. Haven’t had any negative experiences at the newly built one. Love me some Taco Bell!!!
Went to a Burger King for breakfast. I ordered a sausage biscuit- no cheese. When I opened the wrapper, I had no cheese …. and no sausage either! A plain biscuit with nothing. But the worst was years ago in a soft-serve ice cream place. A parent went back to the counter with a little kid holding an ice cream cone. The kid had obviously been licking the ice cream. The Dad said that he had ordered a dipped cone. No problem — the girl working there just took the kid’s ice cream and dipped the already licked cone into the chocolate sauce. I don’t think I’ve ordered a dipped cone since.
I haven’t eaten fast food in a long time, but years ago I was at a Subway and when I walked in, the guy was mopping the floor. I ordered a meatball sandwich and he proceeded make the sandwich without washing his hands. When I asked him if he was going to wash his hands, he gave me a dumbfounded look. Needless to say, I immediately walked out without buying the sandwich.
I used to love 5 Guys. The last time I was there was several years ago. I ordered a veggie and cheese sandwich for my vegetarian daughter. When I got the order home, she found chunks of burger stuck to the cheese. It was obvious they made a cheeseburger and tried to de-burger it. I left a negative yelp review and emailed corporate, but they ignored me, and I haven’t been back.
What happened to dirty dining? Restaurants are still open for takeout.
I worked at Jack in the Box many moons ago. I was tasked one day with slicing tomatoes. I put the tomato ends to the side to be disposed of. At the end of my slicing duties, I wrapped the tomato ends in a hamburger wrapper to dispose of later.
I think you know how this ends. At the end of the shift, there was exactly one hamburger left. And inside the hamburger wrapper was an actual hamburger. Some poor customer had received the tomato ends instead of their burger. My manager asked me about it the next day, and I’m afraid to say, I did NOT man up.
Since the statute of limitations has passed on this offense, I can now say “Sorry Bob, it WAS me.”
Did they cut the tomato slices with a badass knife with a very cool slicing guide when you were there? I wanted that thing in the worst way. Finally I have a similar one, but it’s not as large.
No slicing guide, Silva. Just a few cut fingers along the way. I don’t think they had invented slicing guides when I was working there. It was almost the stone age back then.
Oh.😄
Ahh, but in college, after more than a few barley sodas, the White Castle burger was ambrosia!
No foolin’!
Krystals are much better than White Castle.
Oh yes, I have one. When we lived in West Oakland in the 1980s we sometimes went to an independent hamburger stand on Telegraph Ave., just about three blocks south of Ashby for burgers and shakes. I can’t remember what the name was, it was decades ago. All things considered it seemed decent, the hamburgers were actually really good and they had a gimmick, there were about about 28 flavors of milkshakes on the menu. One evening as we enjoyed takeout from there at the house, after I’d eaten a good bit of my hamburger I went to try my boysenberry shake. After I’d pulled a small amount up through the extra wide straw, I couldn’t get any more. My straw was blocked with.. something. I don’t fully understand what I was thinking, or what possessed me. Maybe it was the little bit of delicious boysenberry flavor I’d had, but I sucked harder, then even harder, then harder again, and suddenly along with a flood of milkshake, I had what I knew could only be a JUMBO sized fly in my mouth. I didn’t have time to examine it, but I knew what it was as I ran through the house and out the door to spit a mouthful of boysenberry shake and giant fly out into the quiet night, and as I stood there spitting for a while.
Silva, I can kind of relate, growing up in the country, we would often pick apples, plums etc. right off the trees and eat them right there. We wiped them off in our clothes and take a bite, more than once someone all of sudden saw half a fly or bee on the fruit. Of course our mothers would not have approved, they wanted us to bring the fruit home and wash it properly before consuming it.
@Silva – I think you went to The Smokehouse. I loved the place in the 1970s. It’s still in business and is at 3115 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, CA 94705
WC Resident, Yes! The Smokehouse it was. Funny thing, I don’t recall ever going back. Some person leaves the shake machine uncovered ten minutes, and a whole household of fans disappear. POOF!!
Silva – it sounds like the Smokehouse. We use to do lunch runs to there and Rose’s Deli when I worked at the dealership in Berkeley. Great burgers.
I found a complete press-on nail in my Subway turkey sub once. The owner didn’t want to refund my money. She offered to make me a new sandwich. I insisted on a refund. I can’t believe she would risk me taking it to social media over a $7 or $8 refund.
I stealthily checked all the employee’s hands and all the women had food service gloves on and did not appear to be missing a nail. The nail was the gaudy type commonly worn by a certain demographic.
The owner said it probably got into the lettuce at the distributor in the Central Valley. All the food is shipped in and the lettuce comes pre-shredded in large bags.
She was probably right. But they should at least eyeball the lettuce for foreign matter while making the sandwich. Is that too much to ask? I don’t think so. I took my refund and left. Never ate their again.
KFC was taking forever and finally gave me my $5 fill up meal (it was supposed to be a chicken breast) they gave me one skinny chicken wing!
Daughter & Mom went to the same place a week later, ordered food and waited 1/2 hour parked in front of the store before they went in to complain. So 10 minutes later an employee runs out and gives them the food. When they got home and opened the bag there was no chicken… just side orders.
We don’t go to that one anymore.
PSA !! I went to BK on Clayton Rd wed for lunch at 1:30 had Rodeo burger ( hamburger bbq sauce with 3 onion rings) 1 1/2 hours later in bathroom until 2 in the morning NEVER AGAIN🤢
It is so true that if you can see who is cooking your food ( hygiene, hair showing, tattoos, cleanliness of uniforms and restaurant as well as attitude of staff ) you’ll likely have a positive experience. I agree with popcorn in that In and Out is the best!!! Look at the workers. Young, personable, clean, energetic, positive, great grooming standards, and no visible tattoos or piercings. How refreshing. Why do you think there are always long lines?
Raw chicken burger at Denny’s when I was about 12. Thankfully I looked first; something seemed off. Upon telling my parents, we opened the sandwich and lo and behold! Disgustingly raw chicken breast. The waitress was very apologetic, comped my meal and I got a free slice of chocolate cake 🙂
Guess I’ve been mighty lucky….. worst thing I’ve had happen is going to the Popeye on Clayton Road…. actually going inside because I wanted to ask the cook for unspicy popcorn shrimp. He assured me that the mild ones were “not strong at all”. Got home, took one bite…. into what tasted and felt like a Habernero (sp. ?) rock. That is expensive stuff to make sail over the fence onto CNWS property!