Texas Chick-fil-A customer returns to drive-thru after worker forgets her whipped cream. What happens next is horrifying

As temperatures remain hot, drinking a milkshake can be a tasty way to stay cool. For one Chick-fil-A customer, an adventure to try the new S’mores Milkshake left a bad taste in her mouth.

“I went to Chick-fil-A yesterday to try the new S’mores Shake,” Texas journalist and TikTok creator Lealer (@lealerimani) begins her clip. “They gave me the shake, but they forgot the whipped cream. So, I turned back around and went back to the drive-thru.”

She then pulled up to the window and raised this concern to a female employee. Once the employee took her original shake, what the content creator allegedly witnessed disgusted her.

What Did She Do With the Milkshake?

“She took my shake back, and then she put it back in the ice cream machine, added more ice cream,” Lealer recalls. “But I had already drunk out of the shake out of the cup. Then she did add the whipped cream.”

After what she saw, it stirred thoughts in her mind.

“If you put my sipped-on shake in the ice cream machine, what other unsanitary practices are they doing at that Chick-fil-A?” she asked.  

While she gives the employee the benefit of the doubt, the content creator worries about cross-contamination, which Cleveland Clinic states can cause food poisoning, foodborne illnesses, and allergic reactions.

“When someone gives you something back due to an error, just throw it in the trash and give them a fresh one,” she says.

Before Lealer wraps up the video, she urges, “Be careful where you eat. Stay vigilant.”

The Chick-fil-A Incident Deeper Dive

Lealer elaborated more on the incident at Chick-fil-A.

“I wanted to try the new S’mores shake. That’s the only thing I ordered,” she told the Mary Sue via email. “Once I left the drive-thru, I then turned around and got back in line.”

Despite what she saw, she decided to still eat the milkshake, though it didn’t agree with her.

“I consumed it; my stomach kind of hurt after, but I think that’s because of the dairy in the shake,” she said.

There’s a first for many things and this was the case for her.

“No, I have not, but I am aware that it happens,” the content creator revealed.

So, does Lealer intend to return to that location again? Essentially, unlikely.

“Probably not. It’s not that close to where I live,” she said.

Viewers Are Virtually Disgusted

Lealer’s story garnered over 16,0000 views, leaving many in the comments section disgusted.

“That’s sick. She could’ve just remade the shake,” one viewer gagged.

“That’s absolutely disgusting. And needs to be reported to the highest,” another remarked.

Furthermore, self-proclaimed Chick-fil-A employees joined the discussion by condemning the alleged one in the story.

“Yeah she shouldn’t have done that, coming from a cfa employee,” one worker commented.

“Girl call the manager. That employee was not supposed to do that, she should’ve thrown the drink out and make u a completely new one. Plus, there was no reason to put the shake in the mixer again,” another stated.

“As a Chick-fil-A worker, you should’ve said up front there was no [whipped] cream instead of drinking out of it and coming back. But she also should not have put the ice cream back into the mixer. We don’t even wash the mixer part just the inside and outside,” a third said.

Serving Up Ice Cream Illnesses 

Besides the worries of cross-contamination, the ice cream machines themselves are causes for concern. As a rule of thumb, ice cream machines are notoriously filthy. Although the machine should be dismantled for daily cleaning and sanitization, this isn’t always the case. Because the process is arduous, since it requires the machine to be disassembled, washed, and sanitized, the task is completed infrequently and sometimes incorrectly, which leaves room for dangerous bacteria to grow.

For example, Mashed reported a case in which the FDA found that 19 of 89 ice cream facilities tested positive for listeria and one for salmonella in a 2017 inspection. Moreover, there is a recent incident from 2023 where a Tacoma restaurant was at the epicenter of a listeria outbreak, claiming the lives of three people and hospitalizing others after drinking contaminated milkshakes, according to FoodRepublic.

Whether you have a hankering for a soft-serve dessert or want to taste the latest flavor, proceed with caution.

@lealerimani Scared to eat out #chickfila #crosscontamination #food #cfa #fastfood ♬ original sound – The Lela Show

The Mary Sue reached out to Chick-fil-A via press email.

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