Threat Level: Chicken Sandwich

Story by Matt Starr (@BlameTag)

Two things have peaked in recent years: American gun culture and customer entitlement. As such, incidents of customers violently lashing out have risen. At times, it feels like the violence is unavoidable. However, one fast-food fried chicken restaurant has implemented a proactive plan to keep their staff safe in a worst case scenario.

It seems every other week there’s a new story about a fast food restaurant that ran out of one item or another and found itself the victim of a violent attack at the hands of an irate customer. Franchisee Tessa Ramirez noticed the pattern and decided she would do whatever it took to protect her workers from the inevitable.

“We take the threat very seriously,” says Ramirez, “which is why we’ve implemented a series of procedures and protocols to keep our workers safe in the event an item is out of stock.”

In addition to mandatory training, safety drills, and the installation of bulletproof windows and bank-style passing drawers, Ramirez had devised a threat level system to be sure the staff is prepared for the onslaught of violent customers.

“Not all situations warrant the same level of vigilance,” says Ramirez. “Like you wouldn’t go into full lockdown because we ran out of Diet Sprite the same as you would for honey barbecue wings. That being said, people have blown up over stupid crap like ketchup or sporks, so you can’t look at any outage as being perfectly safe either. It’s a strategy of assessing individual risks as they arise.”

In order to aid her staff in understanding exactly where any potential threat stands, she created a scale of preparedness that management can manipulate at their discretion to keep everyone alert and in control of the situation.

“Yes,” says Ramirez, “I am particularly proud of the threat scale and hope to see other stores adopt it going forward.”

The threat-level scale utilized in Ramirez’s store has five levels of increasingly dangerous inventory outages:

Threat Level 1 – Mustard

At this level, workers are asked to be on alert for potential danger from disgruntled customers and generally act in a cautious manner. As threat-level mustard covers items customers are less likely to ask for or get upset about (mustard, salt packets, skinless grilled chicken breasts, salads), it’s more about being aware and less about proactive action. Most workers have even taken threat level mustard to be the default even when all items are stocked and available.

Threat Level 2 – Dippin’ Sauce

These items are meant to be add-ons that some customers could consider important. These include ketchup, bbq sauce, sporks, and prepackaged cookies. Contrary to its name, it does not include ranch dipping sauce as that is considered level 3 or 4 product. If this level is indicated staff are asked to don kevlar vests under their aprons, to not stand directly in front of the drive thru window, as well as actively monitor all dine-in patrons for suspicious behavior. Curbside orders are left on the hoods of customers’ cars and only if they agree to keep both hands on the steering wheel throughout the entire transaction.

Threat Level 3 – Coleslaw

A coleslaw level threat is where Martin Lawrence might say shit gets real. In this event the drive thru window is shut and locked, with any cash or food passing through the security drawer. Workers on registers are encouraged to try to keep their entire bodies behind the counter which is reinforced with bulletproof panels. Protocol at this level limits the amount of people allowed to dine in the restaurant, excess chairs being removed from the dining area to restrict sitting space and because chairs are common projectiles. Missing items that could trigger this threat level are popular side dishes (such as coleslaw or corn on the cob), biscuits, Coca Cola, apple pies, or popcorn chicken.

Threat Level 4 – Extra Crispy

Staff are trained to know that when a store is elevated to this level that they should not only be on high alert for violence but to be expecting it. Threat level extra crispy is for when the missing item is so essential to a customer’s visit that it absolutely justifies violence. These items may include extra crispy breasts or thighs, gravy, and kids’ meal toys. At this level no customers are allowed to enter the actual restaurant, safety panels are secured over every window and doorway, and curbside orders are suspended. Additionally, all customers are notified of the outage at the start of each order to identify violent customers early in the order process.

Threat Level 5 – Chicken Sandwich

At this level the restaurant is locked down entirely and the staff cell phone policy is relaxed to allow workers to contact their families and loved ones.

While it may seem drastic, Tessa Ramirez assures us that this is the best way to ensure the safety of the people working for her while maintaining relatively normal business operations.

“It may seem scary or daunting to new hires,” says Ramirez, “but that fear might just keep them and their coworkers alive.”

Besides, it’s probably too much to ask that people feel safe in the workplace. After all, what’s the safety of a few restaurant workers weighed against the perceived freedoms of an entitled fringe?