51 Drive-Thru Workers Share The Weirdest Things They’ve Seen In Customers’ Cars
I try to be on my best behavior at the drive-thru. I’m patient and polite the whole time because I know about the power they have in this scenario. I can’t see what’s happening behind those walls.
There’s no question that not everyone is doing the same. Think of the scenarios people are going through the drive-thru for. At best, it’s to get their kids a Happy Meal and a toy or something. Everything else is a hasty decision to just get something quick, which means most people don’t have time to hide what’s in the back seat.
Drive-thru workers get a brief look inside hundreds of cars, which is probably more access to the general public than anyone needs. You’re handing someone their fries, you glance past their shoulder, and now you have a story you’ll be telling at every job you have after this one.
These workers took to Reddit to share the weirdest things they’ve seen customers pull up with. I’ll be thinking about them the next time I frantically clear old coffee cups off my seat before reaching for a new one.
1. “Oh Honey, Those Aren’t Eggs”
“I worked at a Tim Hortons and once saw an old lady with like 50 cartons of eggs in her car. I made a joke saying, ‘Looks like you could make your own breakfast,’ and she got real straight-faced and said, ‘Oh honey, those aren’t eggs.’ Still have zero clue what else you would store in egg cartons…”
— BoltzTV
2. Ordered No Ice, Then Added Some Car Ice
“I was working the drive-thru at Burger King in a snowstorm. The driver orders a Coke with no ice. When I hand them the Coke, they empty it a bit, break off a couple of icicles hanging from the car, put them in the Coke, and drive off without saying a word.”
3. Starbucks Was Not Prepared For This Presentation
“At Starbucks, I had a woman order nothing, pull up to the window, pick up a stack of papers from her passenger seat, and in a pissed-off voice yell, ‘THESE ARE WHAT YOU CALL BILLS!’ She then drove away without saying another word…”
— B-ML-WDW
4. Six Kids Carried A Sofa Through The Drive-Thru
“Was working the drive-thru at Hardee’s as my first job. It’s about 10 p.m. on a Friday night and someone comes into the drive-thru. They order a strawberry malt. As part of my ‘scripting,’ I ask if they want to add two apple turnovers for $.99. They gleefully agree! Cool!
‘Your total is $3.14, pull to the next window.’
And they didn’t. They were laughing. And there was lots of noise. And the noise continued and there was more laughing.
Tentatively, I poked my head out of the window and saw six high school kids carrying a sofa. They hauled the sofa to the window and asked me to dump the milkshake all over the sofa. Whatever, they paid for it so I enjoyed it!
When I gave them the pies they proceeded to smash them and smear them all over the sofa. Then they carried it to the parking lot and loaded it onto a truck and drove away.”
— Plahblo
5. Her Business Took Off, And Apparently So Did All The Dogs
“This girl used to come through with like three dogs. I finally asked her, ‘Do you have to feed these beasts?’ And she explained that she just walks and grooms them.
Well, one day she came through the drive-through with like 15 dogs and she screams through the intercom, ‘MY BUSINESS FINALLY TOOK OFF,’ and got a bunch of chicken tacos for them.
Come to think of it… I think she may have been trying to flirt with me. Damn.”
— hondac55
6. Just A Quick Coffee Run With A Replica Bomb
“Not a worker but as a customer. One time I had to transport this huge replica military bomb last minute for a work thing and my car was full of decorations and sound equipment so I strapped it in the passenger seat.
The boss called and asked for coffee too so I stopped through a Starbucks forgetting I had this bomb in the front seat lol.”
7. The Grandfather Clock Made This A Walk-Thru
“Had a customer come through with a giant grandfather clock in the back seat. The thing was so huge it was sticking out the side window, which just so happened to be on the left side of the car.
Which meant dude couldn’t get close enough to the window to reach his food and had to step out, cursing the whole time.”
8. No Order, Just A Drive-By Fish Attack
“Someone threw a fish at me once. Didn’t order anything, just a drive-by fish attack.”
— PsyPup
“What sort of fish? Like a rancid sardine, or a full salmon that went straight to the BBQ?”
“Just a little tiny bait fish. I think they’d been fishing and wanted to show off the biggest fish they’d ever seen.”
— PsyPup
9. The Alpaca Would Like Some Apple Slices
“Only worked drive-through for a year but the weirdest thing I saw was an alpaca in a minivan. They asked at the window if they could order some apple slices for the alpaca. I just gave them two packs on the house.”
10. A Goat. In A Sweater. No Further Questions.
“A goat. In a sweater.”
11. The Pony Was Just Along For The Ride
“One lady came through the McDonald’s drive-thru and instead of a golden retriever or Lab poking its head up from the back seat of the minivan, there was a pony just chilling, munching on carrots or something. It was a bright spot in my day.”
12. A Dog, A Coyote, And A Deer Walk Into A Car
“Either the guy sitting with a dog in his passenger seat and a coyote and a deer chilling in the back, or the woman wearing just a bra, but that one is more traumatizing.”
“Were the coyote and deer alive?”
“Yeah, from what he said he raised them from when they were young together.”
13. An Entire Flock, Apparently
“No joke, like 400 birds. Not in cages, but just sitting around. They were all flying around and st and he had this plastic thing that kept them inside. S**t was bonkers.”
14. Ten Dogs, One Tiny Car
“Someone in a tiny car had three Great Danes and about seven Chihuahuas with them.”
— spiryn
15. The Monkey Also Expected A Toy
“These people came through and asked for a separate toy for their monkey. And sure enough, a monkey hopped up on the driver’s shoulder.”
16. The Duck Had Already Called Dibs On The Fries
“A guy drove through with a live duck riding with him. The duck immediately went for the bag of fries!”
17. A Raw Chicken Riding Without A Seat Belt
“A raw chicken in the passenger seat. No tray or anything wrapping it. Just a baked chicken ready to be cooked.”
18. The Pizza Had Its Own Blanket
“I worked at Domino’s and one lady used a hand-crocheted blanket to keep her pizzas warm. Kept the blanket in the front seat and draped it over the boxes. I crochet, so I know how much work went into that blanket…”
19. His Passenger Had Been Waiting A While
“As a driver, I like to keep a skeleton in my car, buckled up. I like getting the employees to laugh since I can’t really decorate the outside of my home.”
“I have a skeleton that has been my passenger for a couple of years. Most of the jokes are about forgetting to feed him…”
20. The Mannequin Was There To Beat Traffic
“I used to see someone come through with a lifelike mannequin in their passenger seat. I asked about it and turns out they did it to use the commuter lanes on the highway. You must have more than one person in the car or cop a fine.”
21. A Wolf Was One Of The Regulars
“I had a regular who would come through and he had a full wolf in the back of his truck. Not like a dog that was wolf-like, but a full-blown fresh-out-of-the-wild wolf. She was really sweet though.
She apparently had a brain condition where she didn’t really know she was a wolf that had to be aggressive to survive, so he found her and took care of her.
I think about her regularly. We would feed her plain Timbits. The best part of working at Tim Hortons in high school.”
22. Fourth Of July Came Early That Year
“I worked at a Taco Bell back in high school and this obviously very rich guy came by weekly in his convertible, Hawaiian shirt, and a blow-up doll in the passenger seat.
One time he had the usual passenger seat one and two in the back, and I asked him what the occasion was.
He said, ‘Fourth of July, duh!’
It was May??”
23. That Was An Awkward Next Day At School
“My gym teacher, he was drunk. He started eating the tacos at the drive-through window. He was there for over five minutes, just eating. I saw him the next day in school, and we both acted as if nothing happened.”
24. The Agent Had An Imaginary Passenger
“I worked a drive-through at Arby’s and a DEA agent came through in his squad car. When he pulled up to the window and I handed him his food and he thanked me, he turned around into the criminal holding area and screamed, ‘SHUT UP BEFORE I BREAK YOUR NOSE!’
I was clearly mortified.
Then he turned back to me and said, ‘Just kidding, there’s nobody back there,’ laughed, and drove off.”
25. A Prison Van Full Of People Committed To The Bit
“Many years ago, as a 16-year-old girl, I worked the drive-thru at McDonald’s. A white van with black curtains on the windows pulls up and two men in uniform pay for their order. I see that it’s marked as a prison van from our local penitentiary.
The line is stalled up ahead and not moving. During the wait, I am casually peeking behind the driver to see who or what may be onboard.
Suddenly, a prisoner in the back moves the black curtain aside and proceeds to shake his head from side to side, screaming and wagging his tongue and just genuinely acting crazy, all while in cuffs.
I about jumped out of my skin, scared the c**p out of me! The guard who was driving could not stop laughing. I could hear the roaring laughter of the whole van.
They pulled forward and got their fries, and I tried to never be so nosy again!”
26. The Parrot Did Not Approve Of The Transaction
“Guy had his parrot on his shoulder. It tried to bite me when I handed him his change.”
“If the bird’s name was Jaques and had laser eyes, I know the guy.”
27. The Bearded Dragons Were Also Getting In-N-Out
“The couple pulled up to the In-N-Out window and the only thing in the car aside from them were five or six bearded dragons ranging in size from fully grown to maybe three inches long.”
28. The Snake Was Apparently None Of Their Business
“A snake. Just chilling with the passenger. Nice little ball python.
They got their food and I wasn’t the person at the window but no one mentioned the snake and they just drove off.
We all laughed about it after they left though.”
29. Sometimes You Have To Take The Sheep With You
“I admit I have gone through the drive-thru with sheep in my backseat.”
30. The Card Got A Bleach Bath After Every Purchase
“A lady, who was a daily regular at a drive-thru Starbucks, kept a one-gallon bottle of bleach in the car.
Every time after handing back her card she would hold it outside her car window and dump bleach all over it before putting it back in her wallet.
She also always wore a face mask and disposable gloves. This was in like 2004 too, making her completely stand out.”
31. A Glass Eye Keeping Watch On The Dashboard
“A glass eye on the dashboard. Sixteen-year-old me nearly fainted.”
32. His Passenger Had A Fedora And A Backstory
“I have a monkey lizard from Star Wars, wearing a fedora and tinted glasses, sitting on top of my passenger seat. Definitely got a lot of funny looks at the drive-through.”
33. Exact Change, Handled With His Toes
“NGL the damnedest thing I ever did see working Taco Bell drive-through was a dude with no arms, who gave me exact change with his toes, took his bag between them, and drove away with his feet. Northern WV.”
34. A Christmas Eve Conversation That Took A Turn
“On Christmas Eve this guy comes through and I’m taking his money when he asks if I want to see his stump. I wasn’t really thinking and said sure.
The guy opens his car door and reveals that his left leg was amputated from the knee down. Again, without thinking I asked him if he was alright.
He said he was, and while closing his door he mentioned that he needed to be careful when getting out because he has fallen on his face before.”
35. Every Seat Was Taken By A Plushie
“Just today I saw a man with easily 60 plushies in his back and front seat. He was very sweet, very obviously had some mental disability, but was an absolute pleasure to help.”
36. The Passenger Was Buckled In And Ready To Go
“I worked at Taco Bell a while back, and the most memorable/strangest thing I saw come through the drive-through was an elderly man, probably late 50s or early 60s.
He had a large, loaded glass bong buckled in the passenger seat. Told him it smelled good in there and he responded, ‘It always smells good where I am.’
What a badass, I’ll never forget that.”
— PCT49
37. They Offered More Than Exact Change
“Two guys were hotboxing and decided to come to the drive-thru. They did not stop smoking even when they pulled up to the window.
I swear a cloud of smoke rolled out the window when they lowered it to pay. They offered me a hit and I politely declined.”
38. A Four-Foot Hookah Was Ready For The Road
“Four-foot hookah prepped and ready to go.”
— 187-MDK
39. A Full Car And Absolutely No Dress Code
“A car pulls up, and all four people are just completely naked, just casually chilling.”
40. Apparently This Was A Multi-Restaurant Trip
“Does a naked man with bags from Burger King and Taco Bell already count as a ‘thing’?”
“That is the most thing thing to ever be considered a thing.”
41. There Was Barely Room For The Next Food Bag
“The entire car was filled with trash. Like legitimately up to the ceiling in the back seat and up to shoulder height in the passenger seat. I was so stunned I nearly forgot to give them their food.”
42. The Wrong-Side Window Was Somehow The Employee’s Fault
“It was either the 12-year-old driving or the lady in a right-hand drive car. The fact she had the audacity to get mad at me because I couldn’t reach her money…”
43. The Minivan Had An Unfortunate Custom Paint Job
“A woman came through with ‘B***H’ carved into the side of her minivan. My coworker asked her about it and the lady said her teenage son did it.”
44. That Explanation Raised Several More Questions
“I saw a drunk person ordering, and he asked for two large fries, a chicken sandwich, four large salads, and two small lemonades. I asked why he needed that much food, and he said it was for the kids in his basement.”
45. One Memorable Shift, Two Very Different Customers
“I worked at McDonald’s and saw some pretty odd stuff to be fair.
One dude had dyed his mohawk blue, had a parrot, and ordered like it was nothing.
Had some other woman just sat there drinking a bottle of vodka at the wheel, at like 11 p.m. I couldn’t do anything about it so I just sent her down to the next window.”
46. Making Room In The Cup Holder The Worst Possible Way
“Had a guy come through Tim Hortons in the morning. Go to give him his coffee and he asks me to wait a second.
Grabs the beer from his cup holder and chugs the rest of it. Throws it out the open passenger window, takes coffee from my hand, says thank you, and drives away.”
47. That Is One Way To Make Sure The Order Gets Checked
“When I was working at DQ in high school I remember a woman coming through the drive-thru with a shotgun sitting in the passenger seat, riding shotgun if you will.
She had three teardrop tattoos. Naturally, we made sure her order was correct.”
48. The Salsa Was Already Free
“Someone pulled a gun on my brother because the salsa containers weren’t completely full. You can get as many as you want for no extra charge.”
— NetDork
49. Nobody Wanted To Get This Order Wrong
“Saw a car riddled with bullet holes. The occupants were actively messing with handguns as they came through. We did not mess up their order.”
50. The Cash Came With Some Unwanted Moisture
“Not a thing, but I worked a Pizza Hut drive-thru and saw a lady pick her kid’s nose before reaching into her bra to extract some crumpled, moist money for her food. I hated that job.”
51. A First Shift That Was A Lot To Take In
“Used to work at McDonald’s back in the day. I was training a new girl and told her to hand the man at the window his drink.
The window opens, and I notice the adult man driving is wearing a bib… Weird, but to each their own.
As the new girl reaches out her hand to pass the man his drink, he just starts vomiting on himself, violently so… There was splatter.
The new girl stood there in shock, so I grabbed her and pulled her back. The window automatically closed and the man eventually drove away.”
— rah-kooc