Hi, I’m not super familiar with the sub so apologies if I format this wrong or it’s not the right type of content. I’ve got a few stories from work that I found creepy and thought I’d share, just in case anyone has similar experiences or maybe just to get it out. I don’t know, feels like I should write this and I don’t know anywhere else. Again, sorry if it isn’t the right content.
So, I used to work nights at a McDonald’s. I just started university, and since I started my A-Levels I’d been working there part-time (left as I wrapped up my A-Levels), doing evening/night shifts after college. The first month or two were fine, but then I started to notice strange stuff happening at night, and it seems like it’s common enough to warrant an unwritten (or maybe written somewhere) policy?
I can’t think of how else to really lead up to it so I guess I’ll just tell you the first story. It was about 10 at night and the place was dead, only two guys on the front and everyone else working on closing up. Very common, even at the busy restaurant I worked at. And we get an order, which I start working on. Just a meal, nothing wild. I put the bun in the toaster and go to see if the person’s waiting.
I really hope this doesn’t sound mean or rude or anything but the guy that was stood there didn’t look like he needed any more McDonalds. Big round gut, neck flab, and there was something about his face that just looked wrong. I couldn’t place it at the time, but I felt uncomfortable looking at him. Not just because his face was offputting but like, I felt bad for the guy. You don’t get that big without something going on, y’know? And companies are happy to take advantage. I felt guilty, but work’s work.
Anyway I hand the dude his order and he sort of looks at it for a minute as I hand it over, just standing there with his mouth slightly open. I asked, “Is that okay for you?” like I always do, expecting him to ask for sauce or agree and leave. BTW, unless I say otherwise all the quotes in this post (and any follow-ups) aren’t actual quotes, just how I remember it. I’m not known for perfect recall. Either way the customer looks up at me when I ask him the question, nods real slow and starts walking away. He started stepping backwards and then turned mid-stride, like a Skyrim NPC; kinda thought he was gonna trip himself doing it.
Went back to the guy I was on front with, a bit creeped. “Bet that dude has a bodypillow waiting at home.” Not a good joke, bit of a low blow, but I wasn’t really going for funny.
“What?” There was a pause. “Wait, is that your first customer?” My coworker, we’ll call him Jack, seemed genuinely shocked.
“I’ve been here on present all day, what do you mean?” Present, if you’re not familiar, is just the role of handing out orders to customers. Our store is in a shopping centre so we just give out orders and sauces and stuff then let the customer wander out into the centre to find seats, no seats in the store.
“Not your first customer, your first Customer.” That one is a direct quote, because I haven’t forgotten how Jack said it. The way he emphasised it. Like how you’d differentiate between seeing a thing (just anything normal) or seeing a Thing (from the John Carpenter film).
I tried asking what he meant, but kept getting the same answer: speak with a manager. The rest of the night was fine, and to be totally honest I forgot about it by the time a manager came by.
Anyway, maybe a week or two later (I only do 2-3 shifts a week) I was having another quiet night. This time it was after ten, and I know it was after half ten because most nights either ten or half past they send all but one of the front crew home, leaving just me and the manager that’s doing the front close.
Not much happened that night, but as I was clocking out I heard the manager taking an order at the till. Whoever they were speaking to was speaking slowly, fumbling their words, and for some reason reminded me of that night with Jack.
I must have been pretty creeped out, because I tripped and almost fell on my face as I was walking to the back. It felt like I’d gone to move and accidentally found the first step of a staircase, my foot falling further down than it should have. Had to catch myself on the dressing line.
Then as I was leaving a minute later, walking back out through the front, I saw this customer (or, as I suspect, Customer). They had a big, baggie hoodie with a logo on the chest with the hood up and strings pulled. Unlike the first Customer, there was something I could point to that made me uncomfortable. The edges of the hood, where it was scrunched up from the strings being pulled and it closed around their face. It looked like their skin was bulging out past the hood, like they were leaking out of it. I couldn’t tell where the hood ended and their flesh began.
Needless to say, I had an eye over my shoulder as I went to the bus stop. Once I was safely on the bus, I messaged a manager I trusted using the work chat app and asked what Jack had meant about Customers. This is what they replied with:
“Hi [me], thanks for reaching out. [Jack] was right, you should bring any questions to a manager. A Customer is pretty easy to spot, they’re usually pretty absent and act weird but as long as they get what they want they’re harmless. You should prioritise Customer orders, don’t interact with them unless another crew member is around who can see, try not to upset them.” They also sent another message. “If you see a Consumer go get a manager, don’t worry about it too much.” I’m gonna assume they meant to say Customer and it auto-corrected.
Anyway, this post is miles too long as-is, so I’d best wrap it up. I have more stories about Customers being creepy so if you’re interested in those let me know. Sorry that this isn’t super scary, but it sure as shit spooked me to live through.