Teenager Gets His First Job at Carl’s Jr, Only to Lose His Employment Because of a Cookie: ‘All Hell Broke Loose’
All because of a cookie.
A teenager believed he was offering great customer service and maintaining customer satisfaction in his first fast-food job at Carl’s Jr, only for a single act to ultimately end his employment. Maxwell (@maxwellsvision) shared in a video on TikTok how he supposedly gave away a cookie without managerial approval and quickly faced repercussions for that decision the same day.
In his video, which has since accumulated over 1.8 million views, Maxwell claimed the incident happened over a decade ago when he was a teenager. According to the TikToker, he had worked at Carl’s Jr for four months and spent most of his time handling orders at the drive-thru.
While the job was supposedly “easy” and usually slow, Maxwell said the store unexpectedly became busy on a regular Tuesday and triggered chaos. “One of my coworkers left for her lunch break, and as soon as she left, I ain’t gonna lie. All hell broke loose. It was crazy,” Maxwell said.
Maxwell’s coworker allegedly yelled at him
Despite the sudden influx of customers, Maxwell said he felt “excited” at the sudden rush. However, he was also worried about the number of customers, as it was only him and another coworker named Esmeralda handling the orders at the time. Eventually, around 10 cars queued at the drive-thru.
“Now the drive-thru has 10 cars back-to-back. So my only job is to get all the drinks ready and do the fries from my side,” Maxwell said. “[Esmeralda’s] job is to make the burgers, tenders, all that stuff.” While there were only two of them managing the orders, Maxwell praised Esmeralda for “going crazy” in quickly sending out the orders. However, by the fifth car, things took a turn, and Maxwell seemingly learned who the “real Esmeralda” was.
Esmeralda supposedly asked for Maxwell’s help in making the burgers due to the large volume of orders. While Maxwell did try to prepare the burgers, he claimed to have struggled, as Esmeralda allegedly kept correcting his sauce ratios and later escalated to yelling at him for making mistakes on the Double California Classics.
“Mind you, shorty, she’s been working here for like 15 years,” Maxwell said. “Respect to you. But […] I am 16. I need you to get out of my ear with that.” He told viewers that he couldn’t handle Esmeralda’s complaints, as he needed to keep himself in a good mood because he was the one talking to customers.
“Hey, can you stop yelling at me? You’re lowkey making me nervous,” Maxwell told Esmeralda. But in response, Esmeralda allegedly told Maxwell that he “needed to be fired” if he couldn’t handle the pressures of the job and supposedly threatened to call the manager on him that day.
Maxwell said he left Esmeralda to prepare the burgers while he returned to the drive-thru to appease the customers who had been waiting for over 15 minutes. According to Maxwell, one of the customers became irate, and the TikToker had to explain that he was new and that they were short-staffed.
Carl’s Jr allegedly fired him despite his customer service skills
Despite the issues their store was facing, Maxwell said he asked the customer whether there was something he could do to make his Carl’s Jr experience better. “My customer service skills, even though my patience was low, […] was at an all-time high,” Maxwell said.
Maxwell said he offered the customer a cookie from the display case and some milk, which seemingly improved the customer’s mood. “After I handed him his cookie and his milk, I see a smile on his face,” he said. But while Maxwell praised himself for averting a possible complaint, Esmeralda allegedly confronted him about the free cookie and threatened to call the district manager again.
Maxwell claimed to have talked to another coworker about the argument and learned that they also gave away free cookies at times, seemingly easing Maxwell’s worries. However, a manager arrived when they were closing the store and informed the TikToker that he had been let go from the job.
Maxwell said the manager confirmed that the reason was due to the cookie he gave away without consulting a manager. “I’m ‘bout to tweak. I’m ‘bout to lose my mind. Fires me on the spot. I go home, tell my mom. She’s like, ‘You’re not gonna be anything in life because you got fired after four months.’ All because I gave […] a cookie. Thanks, Essy,” Maxwell concluded.
Despite the outcome of his handout, some viewers praised the TikToker for trying to rectify the situation with the customer. “Your customer service skills are top notch! If only everyone was like that, it can make or break a business!” a comment read. “That is actually so infuriating. Any reasonable business would have rewarded you for ensuring customer satisfaction,” another said. Others wondered if Esmeralda was still working at Carl’s Jr, saying, “I bet Esmeralda is still there.”
As Carl’s Jr’s employee handbook and policies are not available to the public, it is difficult to verify what exactly the company’s policy on free items is. However, as a rule of thumb, most fast-food chains and restaurants prohibit their employees from handing out free items without approval due to concerns about food safety, inventory, and liability.
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