Former McDonald’s Worker Goes Back for Free Fries and It’s Awkward

Leaving a job can feel a bit awkward, but returning to your old place of employment can be even more awkward—especially if you come into contact with folks you may have previously had issues with while on the job.

That made a TikTok video created Gab (@gab13) relatable to viewers. She returned to the McDonald’s she used to work at to pick up free fries for the chain’s Fry Day promotion.

@gab13 Im not working at McDonald’s again…. #freefryday #fryday #like #fyp #quit ♬ original sound – ItsGab

Gab writes in an on-screen caption: “This is how I got caught by 2 managers for quitting McDonalds” while she records herself in the drive-thru of the location she previously worked at.

Upon seeing the managers off camera, she gasps, looks into the lens in disbelief, and then covers her mouth and stares out ahead of her vehicle’s windshield.

She delineates what happened in the rest of the video by delving into a story time. The clip transitions to her pulling into the drive-thru, giving a recap of the events that led up to her awkward moment she began her TikTok with: “So I was getting free fries for Fry Day, my app was glitching when I pulled up,” she writes as her car nears the ordering loudspeaker.

She then sets up a “spy cam” as she nears the window to pick up her complimentary french fries. The employee and Gab exchange cold glances with one another. She begins scratching her head and then turns away to make a face at the camera.

She then noted, via another on-screen caption, this person was “one of the reasons why I quit,” suggesting that there may have been some workplace beef.

One commenter, remarking on the cold exchange of glances between the two former co-workers, remarked, “Bro the tensionnnnnn at the first window…..”

It’s at this point in the video Gab sees the “manager” she used to work for, which is what prompted her visible reaction. She then uploads a snippet of their conversation, which seems to be about the circumstances leading to her eventual exit from the company: “I told her that they simply don’t know how to talk to or treat people and she said ‘it wasn’t me’ and I said ‘I know.’”

Gab recorded a follow-up video that talked more about her Return to McDonald’s drama: “They pulled me up for a large fry,” she writes, before the video cuts to her talking to the second manager, whose voice can be heard off-camera.

@gab13 Part 2….yeah im never working at McDonald’s again #fryday #freefryday #fyp #part2 ♬ original sound – ItsGab

“It’s fine,” the man can be heard saying while she laughs.

The man goes on: “Come back. I’m the manager now; I know how to treat people.”

“Really?” she says enthusiastically, “Oh okay. Well I’m finna go to Costco.”

She added via on-screen caption that the second manager said that the issue had to do more with the managers who worked the morning shifts—and the reason why she had a bad employment experience at the location was because she was clocked in during those times:

“They told me I should’ve never worked morning shifts,” she relayed, “because the shift managers don’t know how to treat people.”

It’s unclear by the end of the clip whether or not Gab intended to go back to that McDonald’s to work at a different time. In spite of the awkwardness, she appeared to be happy with her visit. “At least I got free fries,” she expressed, showing off her bounty.

Some viewers who replied to Gab’s video said that they too left the chain due to issues they had with management.

One person noted, “I quit because they cut my hours down to one day for less than 4 hours a week.”

Another stated, “Girl i have beef wit mcdonalds”

Someone else relayed a comment that deserved its own story time: “I quit because I worked so I helped a girl get her job back and in 2 months she was a manager and she tried to fight me.”

At least one individual who agreed with the second manager’s assessment of the different attitudes different McDonald’s shift employees possess: “They aren’t wrong, afternoon managers are amazing”

The Daily Dot has reached out to McDonald’s via email and Gab via TikTok comment for further information.