If you ordered a pizza and were short 60 cents, would you expect the worker to say, “Don’t worry about it,” and use their own money to pay the rest? Or would you make a scene, record them without consent, and post the video on TikTok, then bash the worker for ‘doing too much’ (in now-deleted videos) about the change you didn’t have?
It’s easy to speculate about what we’d do in that situation, but I know what I wouldn’t. Recently, while browsing TikTok, I came across a video of a mother yelling at a Little Caesars employee because she couldn’t pay for the pizza she’d ordered for her child.
While 60 cents may seem small, there could have been serious consequences for the Little Caesars employee.
According to the mother, she had $7 but was short of her total. After watching the 36-second video, it appeared the customer didn’t think it was a big deal. In her eyes, she was simply trying to feed her child, and the difference seemed minor.
While I felt sympathy for the woman because you can hear her crying, I don’t agree with casting the employee as the villain.
Some commenters sided with the mother, arguing that the employee could have let the pizza go. Or even covered the cost, especially given how tough times are for many families. Yet most argued that if the register came up short at the end of the shift, the employee could have been fired or faced consequences for paying out of pocket.
Resources for those in need of food
I don’t think anyone should be ashamed of asking for help, but it shouldn’t be expected. Across the country, food pantries offer free groceries to those in need. While it might not be a hot-and-ready pizza, it’s food that can help prevent hunger. If you’re a parent or anyone in need, I recommend visiting Feeding America’s website. Enterin your ZIP code to find a local food bank or meal program.
Header image credit: Instagram/@littlecaesars
