TikTokers defended Wendy’s workers after a user named Joe (@mrjoebanks) criticized a location’s employees for not swapping out the breakfast menu signs.
Joe’s clip went viral, clocking in over 22,000 views as of Saturday.
The clip begins with a woman finishing up a sign swap on the drive-thru menu.
“When no one at Wendy’s can do their job so you gotta get out and flip the menu, cause it’s so hard making a burger,” a man says off-camera as the woman takes her hands off of the drive-thru menu, turns to the camera and says, “Dumba**.”
Joe writes in a caption for the video, “@Wendy’s y’all really need to get it together.”
@mrjoebanks @Wendy’s ♬ original sound – mrjoebanks
A lot of folks in the comments section didn’t appreciate Joe’s sardonic tone. One person pushed back against his speculation that flipping the menu around isn’t all that difficult to do, writing, “It is hard sometimes when it’s busy.”
Another person said that fast-food breakfast rushes can get very hectic, especially when folks are attempting to make the cut-off for when breakfast items stop getting served.
“That last minute breakfast rush is no joke,” the user wrote. “And legit don’t have time to go out and flip the menus.”
One individual was less kind to Joe, writing that it’s because of customers like him that people in the fast-food industry have a strong dislike for their jobs.
“You’re the reason why food service people hate their f*cking life,” they shared.
Another commenter who claimed they were a Wendy’s employee wrote that based on Joe’s behavior, they would never serve him.
“As a wendys employee, we wouldn’t serve your ass,” they stated. “Sometimes we forget to flipp em. showing this to my boss and banning yall from my location.”
One individual couldn’t understand why Joe was being so intense in his clip about a relatively innocuous problem.
“It’s never that damn serious sometimes they forget maybe you should cook at home if it makes you that angry,” they commented.
Another TikToker was shocked that Joe wasn’t already familiar with Wendy’s menu and that he already didn’t have an idea of what he wanted before entering the drive-thru.
“So you don’t know the Wendy’s menu? Like you didn’t order the same thing,” they quipped.
Joe addressed all of the hate that he was receiving in the comments section of the video, stating that he doesn’t disrespect food workers. He speculated that the majority of the hate coming from folks was probably from McDonald’s workers.
“You guys are all crying about this video prob cuz you work at McDonald’s and suck,” he wrote. “However, I don’t disrespect people or any service workers so calm it.”
According to a 2014 article from USA Today, the breakfast rush was considered the second busiest time, on average, for fast-food chains. According to a 2019 Indeed post, afternoon and evening were considered the most “hectic” times of the day, attributing the popularity of the 4 for 4 combo meal as a huge reason why Wendy’s locations were receiving so much consumer traffic.
In February 2020, QSR Magazine reported that Wendy’s was making a significant effort, backed by a significant budget ($80 million) into marketing its breakfast offerings to customers, writing, “The company told investors it’s dropping between $70 million and $80 million on advertising alone over the course of 2020 to promote awareness. And that’s incremental spend; Wendy’s still plans to fund lunch and dinner campaigns like it usually does. In total, the chain’s media rates will run about 30 percent higher than they are today.”
Was its sizable investment worth it? According to a 2022 article from Nation’s Restaurant News, it seems like it has been as Wendy’s has added about $3,000 a week per restaurant in breakfast sales. Not too shabby especially when you consider that there are 7,095 Wendy’s restaurants worldwide.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Joe via TikTok comment and Wendy’s via email.