A Black Chick-fil-A customer who was left "disgusted" and "humiliated" after seeing what he had been called on his order ticket has spoken out further about the incident.
Over the weekend, it was reported that 52-year-old Marquise Vanzego - from Maryland - visited his local LaPlata Chick-fil-A branch on August 23 to order some food.
Speaking with an employee he describes as a "young white male" at the drive-thru, he input his order of some chicken strips, fries, and an iced tea/lemonade drink.
In an interview with NBC4, Vanzego says that the order was given face-to-face - not over an intercom system - and when the employee asked for his name, the customer replied; "Marquise".
However, after collecting his order, he was appalled by what he saw on the ticket.
Where the 'guest name' should be, he saw the word "Monkeys" - which has long been a racial slur against Black people.
"It was devastating," Vanzego told NBC4. "It just set me back years. As a Black male, we've gone through a lot, and it's a constant reminder, just when you think you're healing from a situation, someone opens that wound back up."
In a letter to the company, he explained that the name he provided was "clearly communicated", and even took to social media to share the moment he spoke to a woman claiming to be the store manager about the incident.
In the clip, the woman apologized and said that his meal would be refunded. In a second video, Vanzego records himself entering the restaurant, explaining that he wanted to confront the employee. However, he was told by the other staff on duty that he would not be able to do so.
Elsewhere in his letter, Vanzego says he spoke to the branch owner, who allegedly explained that he would not be firing the employee because he was 17 years old and "put down the name he thought he heard [Vanzego] say".
To which, Vanzego says he questioned the owner over if he had ever "heard of a human being [named] 'Monkey'." There's conversation came to an end shortly after, with Vanzego still feeling like not enough had been done.
Speaking to TODAY about the pain he felt, he said: "Your heart has that little sting in it. That’s what it felt like."
He also revealed to NBC4 what he believes the punishment should be for the employee, saying: "I think the employee should've been terminated on the spot. It's unfortunate that he might end up losing his job, but that happens. He needs to learn from this."
The upset customer doubled down on his comments to TODAY, explaining: "I understand, he’s a young man, he’s 17, he’s still learning.
"But he also needs to know that there are consequences when you do things like that.” Speaking about his own children, who are now adults, he says, “When they did things, they had to deal with the consequences."
Vanzego informed NBC4 that he is now considering taking legal action against the restaurant.
Although, after sharing his experience to Instagram, social media users were left divided.
While there were many who agreed that the error should never have been made and that Vanzego is right to pursue the issue further, others have voiced concerns that the young employee may have just made an innocent mistake and misheard the name.
Although staff from the LaPlata Chick-fil-A branch declined both TODAY and NBC4's opportunity to comment on the incident, the corporate office has issued the following statement: "This Chick-fil-A is independently franchised and operated. The franchisee of this restaurant has apologized to the guest.
"However, this experience does not meet our expectations and is unacceptable."
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