That’s one side that no one wants with their fast food order.
A customer’s fast food dinner came with a terrifying one-word note — leaving them unsure on how to handle the situation.
The individual took to Reddit in the r/Weird subreddit to share their unexpected, head-scratching experience at a Freddy’s in Lake Wales, Florida.
A Reddit user shared a concerning photo under the text, “Should I call the cops? My bf thinks they were just trying to be funny but I truly don’t know…”. The image showed their burger in a takeout box with the word “help” scrawled in black marker, as well as the order receipt where the same unsettling message was typed.
The customer was understandably uncertain whether this was a prank from an employee or if it signaled a serious issue within the restaurant that warranted contacting the authorities.
In less than 24 hours after the Reddit post went live, 10,000 people flocked to the comment section, all expressing the same shock and concern as the individual who shared the strange incident.
Most people felt strongly about the customer calling the cops to play it safe, in the event that an employee actually was in danger.
“Seriously, this seems legit. I’d rather call it in and be wrong, if they are playing, putting it on the receipt is too far,” suggested one person.
“Call 911. I wouldn’t risk this being a joke. Seriously,” read another comment.
Another person offered helpful advice: “I work in emergency communications. Most 911 services can do welfare checks and other things if you have any questions about someone’s safety.”
“Most will also let you stay anonymous if you tell them. If it’s no problem then they will walk away with absolutely no backlash. Better to be safe than sorry,” they continued.
Then, an actual cop commented with the same sentiment as the others: “I’m a police officer. Doesn’t hurt to call. We’d show up 2-3 officers and investigate what’s going on. Best case, its a joke. Worse case, they’re being held up. I personally wouldn’t arrest anyone involved but would ask that they not do this again if it were a joke.”
Eventually, the original poster gave an update, which read:
“I called them [the police] about ten minutes ago! They said they’re sending someone there. I was hesitant because my boyfriend was so persistent, it was just a joke because the guys in the drive-through were making a lot of jokes, but I never saw a woman once and a woman’s name is on the receipt so yeah… I just wanted to call them to be safe.”
It turns out, this OP and her boyfriend got caught in the crossfire of a bored employee’s prank.
“Yes, it was an employee playing a prank. A million people called to find out what happened, and that is the conclusion. There will be no further update unless I receive a call from the police, which I do not see happening,” the OP wrote.
