Employee nightmare of the week: ‘Better smash all the glass’
Let us bow our heads in reverence for the innocent days when restaurant pranks were harmless. We’ve lived through the rash of fire-in-the-hole stunts, where knuckleheads would order a drink via the drive-thru and then fling it back inside at the staff before tearing away, convulsed in laughter.
That resulted in a few burns, bruises, soiled uniforms and raised tempers—not excusable stuff, to be sure, but nothing compared to the damage being done by the restaurant practical joke of the moment. Twice in the last week, jokesters posing as safety authorities called a local fast-food restaurant and warned the staff that a buildup of gas was threatening the lives of everyone inside. The only way to avoid an explosion, the callers stressed, was to smash all the windows and aerate the place.
Which, astoundingly, the staffs of a Burger King and a Jack in the Box readily did. And if you’ve ever tried to smash the plate glass used on restaurant exteriors (don’t ask), you’ll know that’s not easy to accomplish. One staff reportedly raided their cars for tire irons. Resourceful souls at the other restaurant, a Jack in the Box in Indianapolis, used a fire extinguisher as a battering ram.
Those examples follow similar punkings from coast to coast, signaling that this is the modern-day equivalent of placing fake pizza-delivery orders (youngsters, ask your parents). One firefighter told local media that similar incidents have been reported in at least five states.