Late this afternoon, while I was taking my lunch, a meal which I generally enjoy late in the day, I witnessed a curious example of customer service. Those of you who know me well know that I am employed at the circulation desk at the library of an academic institution, and one of my duties is to assist patrons as necessary, so it should come as no surprise that I always try to note with interest any unusual or innovative methods of dealing with customers.

Anywho, there I was at the Burger King, placing my order for a Double Cheeseburger and a Chicken Tenders Sandwich with a medium Coke, and as I was waiting for the hard-working chefs in back to fill my order, a portly fellow in a beige jacket and glasses came up to the counter with a large grocery bag. He set the bag on the counter and began describing to the cashier on duty that he had bought a large quantity of french toast sticks that morning and had not had the opportunity to eat them. The cashier watched him as he rooted through his large plastic grocery bag and pulled out what seemed to be an impossible number of cardstock containers full of french toast sticks and set them on the counter. The portly man stacked the boxes and slid them across to the cashier, who stared at them, confused as to how he could help this man. Was he returning them? Did he want a refund? Did he want new ones? What was the deal? After a few awkward seconds, the customer finally offered what he wanted, which was for all five hundred of the french toast sticks to be reheated.

Now, if I had been the cashier, I would have laughed in his face, or possibly pointed out that the french toast sticks were at least six hours old and were probably bad, but this cashier picked them up and set them on the counter behind him for the cooks in the back to heat up, as if this were a common request. I stood there gaping in mild disbelief, and as the cute female cook in the back scooped up the french toast sticks to reheat them, she gave me a knowing look, shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

The fast food industry is not renowned for its variety of services available to customers, but let us now praise the Burger King cashier for going above and beyond in the face of an eccentric middle-aged nerd, and let us praise the cute brunette in the kitchen for her facial expressions. Cheers up to your ears!