OKLAHOMA CITY -- An Oklahoma woman says she is frustrated after being refused service at a Burger King in Oklahoma because she is deaf, according to KFOR.
Rachel Hollis says she was stopping to get food after taking her two sons to hockey practice.
“I had my order ready, I had it typed on my phone. I do that often when I go through drive-thrus, it hasn’t ever been an issue," Hollis told KFOR through an interpreter. "I show him my order, and he gives me this face of frustration.”
Hollis says she started taking a video of the incident because she was feeling uneasy, then in the video you can see the employee hand her a note that says, “Can’t do a full order at the window. Too busy.”
Eventually, the employee comes back to the window and starts arguing with Hollis.
“You have to come inside. It’s too busy. Too busy ma’am, I can’t do a full order at the window I’m sorry," the employee says to Hollis. "It has nothing to do with your disability, I have a disability too."
After that, he slams the window shut.
Hollis says one of the worst parts about the whole experience was that it happened with her kids in the car.
"I could tell they knew something was going on, I was just trying to keep them calm," Hollis said. "I said I’ll explain it to you when we get home. But they knew something was going on.”
Hollis says she tries to stay calm in that moment, but she’s tired of people being treated that way.
“When I got home, that was when I really broke down. I was very upset, I was crying, I was very tired. I’m tired of discrimination,” Hollis told News 4 through an interpreter. “I’ve never experienced anything like that, for someone to call the police. That’s crazy, it just doesn’t seem right.”
News 4 reached out to the Burger King corporate office about the situation, in a statement Burger King said:
All guests should be treated with respect and provided with a high level of service at our restaurants. The restaurant owner has reached out to the guest and her family to apologize, the employee was terminated and all employees at the location will undergo additional sensitivity training to ensure our customers always feel welcomed.
