Burger King fires employee who allegedly denied service to deaf woman
A Burger King employee has reportedly been fired after he refused to serve a deaf woman at the drive-thru because he was “too busy”.
Rachel Hollis said she was attempting to order at a Burger King in Oklahoma when she was refused service.
According to Hollis, she had written her order down on her phone before pulling up to the drive-thru window, a process she has relied on in the past.
However, rather than serving Hollis, the Burger King employee refused to take the order, and instead handed Hollis a note that read: “Can’t do a full order at the window. Too busy.”
The employee also told Hollis, who recorded the incident, that she would “have to come inside” to place her order, before adding: “it has nothing to do with your disability, I have a disability too.”
The restaurant then reportedly called the police on Hollis when she refused to move from the drive-thru.
According to Hollis, the incident was especially upsetting because she was with her two children.
“My kids didn’t need to see something like what happened last night,” she told KTUL, adding: “I want to make sure all deaf customers are able to use drive-thrus with no issues in the future” and that she hopes this will serve as a way of educating people “who maybe don’t know how to work with deaf people in the food industry”.
In a statement to KTUL, Burger King said: “All guests should be treated with respect and provided with a high level of service at our restaurants.
“The restaurant owner has reached out to the guest and her family to apologise, the employee was terminated and all employees at the location will undergo additional sensitivity training to ensure our customers always feel welcome.”
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The Independent has contacted Burger King for comment.
