A Joke?
It started out as just an ordinary day. He can’t believe it. Was this note some kind of joke? Wiping away the grease from his fingers, Daniel takes a closer look at the note and the message written on it. His girlfriend sat opposite him, equally speechless. This was completely uncalled for.
He never asked for this, all he wanted was some chicken nuggets.
Hungry And Tired
Earlier in the day, Daniel and his girlfriend had spent a successful morning shopping for their new apartment. They had bought everything on their list and even managed to get a few bargains. With their stomachs growling, the couple pulled into a Chic-Fil-A restaurant to get some take-out.
Little did they know they would be getting more than just some fried chicken.
He Was Excited To Get His Food
Stepping into Chic-Fil-A, the smell of spices and herbs linger in the air, while a downpour of rain from outside hits the windows of the restaurant. Throughout the restaurant, children and adults are scattered amongst the table and chairs, tucking into their fried chicken. A burst of laughter from a baby fills the room and Daniel smiles to himself.
He was so excited to get his food.
What Was His Problem?
After waiting what seemed like forever but in reality was only 10 minutes, finally, Daniel was at the front of the queue! With his stomach grumbling and his patience wearing thin, Daniel walks up to the till. Before giving his order, the cashier looks Daniel up and down with a smirk plastered on his face.
What was his problem?
He Can Feel Them Staring
Daniel pays for his food and the cashier smiles at Daniel. “It should be around 10 minutes,” the cashier says before smirking and turning around. Daniel walks over to the waiting area. He can feel the cashier and other members of the staff’s eyes burning into his back.
All of a sudden Daniel felt his cheeks blush and his heart sink.
All He Wanted Was His Food
It had been 10 minutes since Daniel placed his order and he was still waiting while trying not to give eye contact to the members of staff that were staring at him. Tapping his feet, with his appetite getting more and more hungry by the second, all Daniel wanted was his 30 piece chicken nuggets box.
Suddenly Daniel heard a scream.
A Fight Breaks Out
Behind Daniel and his girlfriend, a fight had broken out between two teenagers. Members of staff flooded over and broke the two boys up, eventually kicking them out. “It’s too early for drama!” jokes a member of staff to Daniel before cleaning a table. Daniel smiles and agrees.
Little did Daniel know there would be more drama to follow.
Finally… The Food
“Order number 17” shouts the cashier, clutching a paper bag. Daniel jumps up and walks to get his order. As he’s handed his bag of fried food, the cashier hands Daniel what he thought was a receipt. He crumples it up and puts it in his bag of food.
The cashier smirks at Daniel as he walks off.
A Surprise Awaits
Sprinting across the car park with rain hammering down, Daniel and his girlfriend jump into their car. They’re drenched in rainwater but they were too hungry to wait to eat. So they turned on the radio, sat back and decided to tuck into their food.
Little did they know what else they’d find in their food.
The Discovery
Ripping the paper bag apart to feast into their chicken nuggets and fries, a piece of paper falls onto the floor. Thinking it was a receipt, the couple ignored it and continued to eat their well-deserved lunch. It tasted so good! Definitely worth the wait!
But then Daniel notices something on the piece of paper.
Was This Some Kind Of Joke?
Daniel was so confused. He had picked up the note only to read the words Ugly Sweater written on it, along with Daniel’s order. He was speechless. Was this some kind of joke? Is that why the cashier was smirking at him? Thousands of questions run through his mind.
Daniel lets out a laugh but then suddenly his heart sinks.
Why Would They Do This?
His girlfriend snatches the piece of paper to get a closer look, and like Daniel, she’s both speechless and confused. His girlfriend turns off the radio and the couple looked at each other, an eerie silence filling their car. Why would the cashier say that? What was his problem?
This jumper had a sentimental value to Daniel.
More Than Just A Jumper
The jumper that the cashier called ugly was a piece of clothing he’d always cherish no matter what. It was a family member who left it for Daniel when they passed. Fair enough the style may not be in trend with what’s hot now, but still, this was more than just a jumper.
He knew he had to do something.
Taking Matters Into His Own Hands
Feeling both frustrated and confused, Daniel decided to take matters into his own hands. Quite literally. He put the note on his lap, cleaned his fingers from the grease, rolled up his sleeves and slipped his phone out of his pocket to take a picture of the note. They weren’t going to get away with this.
He knew exactly what to do.
They‘re Not Going To Get Away With This
Daniel had a relatively large following on Twitter for a while now. An aspiring musician with a passion for Twitter memes and videos of cute animals, he knew that if he was to post a picture of the note, he’d instantly get a response. If not from his friends, then definitely from his twitter followers.
And oh how he was right.
The Piece Of Paper That Went Viral
A few minutes had passed since Daniel tweeted an image of the piece of paper and a selfie of himself with a rude hand gesture showing his knitted jumper. For a brief while, there was nothing, just a notification from Daniel’s group chat with his friends about the latest Kanye video.
But then the clock ticked to 1:46 pm and everything changed.
Overload Of Notifications
The next thing Daniel knew his phone crashed and went to black from the overload of notifications from his post. Daniel screams out in frustration. “Calm down” his girlfriend says, before giving him her phone. Quickly, he logs his girlfriend out, and logs himself in. The two huddled together and scrolled through the hundred of responses.
But they never expected what they’d see.
Another Surprise
Some users complimented the jumper while others agreed with the cashier, claiming it was ugly. Some even criticized his order, but Daniel confirmed that the 30 piece nugget box was for himself and his girlfriend. The majority of responses, though, agreed with Daniel thinking it was rude of the cashier to write that.
However, there was one user that could definitely relate to Daniel.
What A Coincidence!
“No way!” Screams Daniel as he reads a comment from a twitter user. A teenage girl has replied to Daniel’s post with a picture. A picture of her wearing the exact same jumper! What a coincidence! Daniel laughs with his girlfriend before another notification pops up. Daniel looks at it.
It’s from Chic-Fil-A…
The Confrontation
It’s an email from Chic-Fil-A… Pausing and taking a deep breath, Daniel feels anxious to hear what they say. He opens the email and they’ve asked Daniel to ring them. Calling the number they provided, Daniel feels a lump in his throat. But he shakes it off, he shouldn’t feel nervous or scared.
This wasn’t his fault.
A Misunderstanding Or Just Rudeness?
Speaking to Chic-Fil-A, the management apologized massively for this misunderstanding. It turns out that the paper he received is what cashiers use to call out the order or name. It’s a cheat sheet so staff can remember a name or in this case, a jumper.
But Daniel wasn’t expecting to hear what they said next.
He Didn’t Want This
It turned out that the management at Chic-Fil-A had fired the certain individual that wrote the offensive note. But Daniel didn’t want this nor did he expect it to happen. He even refused the free food they were offering, in exchange for the cashier to get to keep his job.
Ultimately, management at Chic-Fil-A was certain with their decision.
Driving Away
“What a strange day,” thought Daniel. After ending the call with Chic-Fil-A, Daniel and his girlfriend finished off their food, while discussing the events of their day. As they split their last chicken nugget, they drove off back to their new apartment.
Leaving behind an empty box of chicken nuggets, but still keeping the “ugly” jumper.
It’s Nice To Be Nice!
Well, there we have it. This story just goes to show that by being mean, cold-hearted and quite frankly a bully, not only can you ruin someone’s day and make them feel a range of emotions, but you yourself can also suffer severe consequences as a result of your actions.
Remember that it doesn’t hurt to be nice!