I used to work at Arby’s from the age 17-19. Let me tell you, working in a fast food restaurant is hard enough, but as a feminine presenting person it’s even harder. You have to deal with harassment not just from customers but from your coworkers as well. There’s so many instances of harassment that I endured that I can count on both hands, but I will just get into one instance that stands out to me. I have definitely put my two weeks in.
It was actually my AM shift that this first initially occurred. I remember being at the lobby register organizing when a man approached. He was tall and thick and bald. He kind of intimidated me, but I put on my best Arby’s smile and did the classic intro I had memorized,
“Hello, Welcome to Arby’s. I can place your order whenever you’re ready!” I said with my best customer service voice.
The man smiled, a warm smile, but it wasn’t innocent.
“Say, I’m from England and I don’t know what’s good here..What do you recommend?” The man says, he folded his hands in front of him and leaned a little closer.
He tells me that he is visiting the U.S due to work and he was staying in the hotel that was in between another fast food chain and our establishment. Not necessarily sure what to say to that, I tell him my favorites and also our deals at the moment. He thanks me and orders what I had suggested- which was a Beef ‘n Cheddar if anyone was wondering. He then turns to go sit down at a table when he turns back and asks, “If I don’t finish this, want to head back to the hotel room with me so you can?”
I froze. I gripped onto the register. Nothing prepares me for when customers take it way too far. It sucks because you think you’d know all the right things to do at this moment. And it wasn’t even a difficult thing to say. I finally found my voice and I stuttered and told him that I can’t because I was in the middle of a shift. You know, we have to be polite. He then says, “Oh, another time then.” and stalks off to a table after receiving his food. Except he sits at a table clearly facing me. As I am getting things ready for new orders and taking other customers orders, I can feel his eyes on me the entire time. I don’t dare look up.
He finally leaves. I know this because I finally had to go out to the lobby and give it some TLC. I wouldn’t look in his direction. And I could no longer feel his beady eyes on my body. He left all his trash on his table. I rolled my eyes and thanked a non-existent god that that was all he was. Just some creep who is weird and leaves trash on tables.
It wasn’t until my next shift that I was proven wrong.
I worked again two days later in the afternoon, this time until 10pm. I was not very excited to clock in that day because of last shift’s events, however I tried to rationalize as I remembered I am working with the general public. Of course there are gonna be creeps here and there.
I clocked in and headed to the register to start organizing and restocking when I heard the bell go off on the door. Someone had walked in.
And it was him, again.
I tried not to freak out. As he stated himself, he lives in the motel that is right next door. Of course he was either going to come here or the other fast food place. He probably just went there yesterday and wants Arby’s again. I keep telling this to myself all the while he is walking up to the counter.
He finally approaches and asks me what I recommend again. This time I shared the deals with him once more and recommended a new item. He had just paid when he repeated his offer from two days ago,
“Want to head back to my room to share with me?” he said, a smile on his face. A fucking smile. Like it was normal to ask random workers that.
I told him that I couldn’t because I was working. He then quickly said, “What about after?”
This freaked me out. I was done playing at this point. So I made up some excuse to go to the back where I ended up telling my manager about what was happening. My manager came out and started talking to him. My other coworker came to the back where I was hiding out and told me that the ENTIRE TIME I was talking to my manager, that man was asking to speak with me. He kept asking for me. I wanted to vomit. He ended up staying in the restaurant for another hour, while I had to stay in the back and away from him per my manager’s request. When he finally left, my manager and a male coworker went out to investigate the lobby and bathrooms to make sure he wasn’t hiding. He was gone though. At least we all thought so.
It was just after 10:30pm when I had clocked out and started walking to my car. I was naïve and did not think I needed supervision at all. That man really wasn’t on my mind at the time.
I was just about to reach my car when I heard the sound of shoes against the pavement. I quickly turned around and there the man was. Running full force at me with an object in his hand. I couldn’t really tell what it was because he was moving so fast, however I knew it was probably not good.
I veered to the side and slammed up against my car. The man ran into my car face first and grunted angrily. I then took my leg and kicked him extremely hard in the sensitive areas and I quickly started taking off in the direction of the building. Now this was a very dark parking lot, not really any lights illuminating it. The only light was coming from Arby’s and most of them were off. I quickly grabbed my phone out of my pocket. I wasn’t going to be able to call 911 while I was running, but having it out might scare him enough to stop.
But I heard running from behind me again as I ran towards the building. I guess he got over that kick quickly. I finally arrived at the doors and pulled hard, but they were locked. I almost started banging on the doors when I realized that everyone had left already, and the manager usually had headphones in counting the drawers.I screamed obscenities inwardly as I decided that I wasn’t going to get anywhere with this avenue. Before I could think of something else, the man had caught up to me.
I turned around right as he slammed me up against the building. His forearm against my neck. He started to crush my skull into the concrete of the wall as he tried to raise me in the air, switching from his forearm to one hand around my neck. I tried to get a look at his other hand but I was really trying to break free from his grip. I was clawing at his arm and trying to reach his face. He laughed and would always move his face out of range when I got too close. As for his arm, it was like he was immune to the pain. Or almost like he’d done this before.
I could feel my energy slipping away and my eyelids drooping. I really thought I was going to die at that moment. There was really no other option.
That is when I heard a loud crack. I felt the man’s hand release me and I sank down to the sidewalk. I opened my eyes to see the man holding his head while laying on the ground. He was cursing and looking at me like I had done something. I was literally inches from death.
Then I saw something.
A figure, coming out of the parking lot shadows. There was a white outline of the figure that glowed lightly, but the darkness that was the center overpowered any lightness. There were no features on their entire body. Just encompassing blackness that you could feel in your bones. I saw it walk over to the man and crouch down, holding a rock in its hand. The rock was bloody.
The man began to beg for mercy, as the figure just stared. It was unmoving, leaning over the man as the man sobbed and held his head in pain. I saw the figure reach into the man’s pocket and pull out an object. It was a knife.
Without second thought, the figure took the knife and plunged it down into the man’s chest. I heard the man gurgle and scream while blood pooled on his chest and began seeping into his clothes and the concrete. After about 5 minutes, the man stopped moving around and gurgling. He was dead.
I ripped my eyes off the man and onto the figure once more. It was now just looking at me, I knew it was. I thought I was next. I thought that this was some vengeful spirit ready to attack me too. It wasn’t done with its bloodlust. I took a deep breath from my airless lungs and tried to scramble away but realized I was paralyzed with fear. I was panicking. Great. I go from one death situation to another.
But then it just walked away. The figure went up from the parking lot ground and just walked right into the Arby’s wall and vanished. Leaving nothing behind except for a very dead man and me, a panicking and startled 19 year old.
I called the police after, obviously. I told them the truth. Well kind of. I told them that the man had frequented the Arby’s prior to this. And that he had been a creep wanting me to come back to his place. I also told them about the attack on me. I then had to fabricate and state that someone else came in and saved me, then ran away. I mean I guess it wasn’t that wrong. They were a little on the fence with this but they didn’t have any of my DNA on the knife or rock, so they looked elsewhere.
I put my two weeks in. I am done working in the fast food industry, hell I might be done working with the general public for a long time. I realized that getting assaulted and harassed really isn’t worth the minimum wage. I don’t know what I am going to do with myself, but thanks to that figure I can live to see it.
So whoever-whatever-you are, thank you.