US3 min(s) read
In February 2023, a visit to a local Chick-fil-A restaurant turned into a distressing situation for a family in North Carolina.
Nyiashia Jackson, a then-19-year-old resident of Charlotte, ordered food at a Chick-fil-A on Corning Place in northwest Charlotte. When she received her order, she discovered that an offensive racial slur had been printed on her paper ticket instead of her actual name.
The young customer was alerted to the situation by another employee working at the drive-thru window. The employee gave her a heads-up regarding the printed name, prompting her to pull over in the parking lot to look at the ticket himself. Jackson stated that the experience left her deeply shaken and unable to eat her meal.
Her mother, April Jackson, publicly condemned the incident and expressed profound anger over the ticket printing. The family retained legal representation and initiated steps to sue the fast food chain over the insult.
Meanwhile, the corporate team and the independent store operator sought to handle the fallout from the viral complaint.
According to the family, Nyiashia clearly stated her name to the worker taking orders. Instead of typing Nyiashia, the employee printed a ticket displaying a racial slur spelled with a single G. When Nyiashia pulled up to collect her food, the worker at the window advised her to check the receipt.
"He was like, 'You might want to look what they put your name as,'" Nyiashia Jackson told WSOC. "I was just in shock. I literally parked right there. I couldn't eat the food, I was just in shock."
April Jackson spoke out regarding her daughter's ordeal, stating how unacceptable the action was. "She told her her name was Nyiashia, and 'the worker' put on her ticket N****," Jackson told the outlet.
Following the incident, the corporation issued an official statement regarding the situation at the Mountain Island location. The company characterized the printing as an unintentional typing error rather than an intentional act of malice, though they recognized the harm caused to the guest.
"The Operator/Owner of Chick-fil-A Mountain Island has thoroughly investigated and tried to connect with the customer to better understand her experience and apologize for the situation.
"Though we understand this to be a misspelling of the customer's name that does not negate the impact or experience had by our guests.
"The Operator has started additional training at his restaurant to ensure this doesn't happen again. We sincerely apologize for the harm caused by this incident."
Chick-fil-A Inc. further noted in their official statement, "It is Chick-fil-A, Inc.’s expectation that guests at all Chick-fil-A restaurants are treated with honor, dignity, and respect."
The company confirmed that local management initiated extra staff training, while leadership attempted to contact the family directly to offer apologies.
The family rejected the company's explanation of a misspelling, maintaining that employee training was an insufficient resolution for such a grave offense. April Jackson demanded immediate termination for the staff member involved in taking the order.
"You shouldn't have to be trained to not call someone a N****. I'm just being as honest as I can be, I want the employee fired," Jackson said. "I want the employee to be fired," she reiterated in secondary statements.
While local franchise management repeatedly attempted to reach out to the family to issue formal apologies, the Jacksons declined communication due to ongoing litigation.
The family's attorney directed them to pause all direct conversations with representatives of the fast food chain as they moved forward with their lawsuit.
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