Any time you step into a fast food restaurant of any kind, you're unwittingly entering into a contract.
Walk up to the counter of a McDonald's, KFC or Burger King, and provided you can pony up the dough, you can have delicious greasy food to fill your face hole, and give you energy for the long day ahead. It's simple enough in practice, but implicit in this contract is the concept of good faith.
What does this mean, you ask? This means that if your overworked server forgets to add a simple condiment (eg. hot sauce on a taco), you won't throw a hissy fit and attempt to threaten the staff. That no matter how strong the urge is, try not to roll up to a drive-thru on a horse. But one thing you should always do is take the drink you paid for.
That means, folks: if you've got water on your receipt, you go and use that empty cup you get for water and water only. Not only is it dishonest, but restaurant managers are onto you, and they're tired of it; I'm sure I don't need to remind you of the McDonald's manager who laid down a serious beatdown on someone who tried that exact trick.
Now, after hearing about this story, I'm deterred from ever trying it, thanks to this little story about a man who ended up in the back of a police car for doing exactly that, jolts of electricity still running through his veins, like a really depressing Spider-Man villain. Let's delve a little bit further into this story, shall we?
It takes place in Montana, where 48-year-old Daniel Stine reportedly tried to pull off the oldest trick in the book at a local Arby's. The Missoula Police Department reported that Stine entered the restaurant on Thursday afternoon and asked for a cup of water, but instead filled it with soda. When confronted by a sharp-eyed server, Stine attempted to escape the restaurant.
This would-be soda, thief, however, did not get very far.
Followed out of the restaurant by the server who spotted the iniquity, the employee reportedly told Stine that he was no longer welcome at that particular Arby's. Slapped with this latest ban, the employee said that Stine turned around, and tried to kick them, before walking away.
Police said that when they arrived on the scene, Stine noticed them and ran away to a nearby Denny's, where he took refuge in a bathroom. They report: “The officers attempted to take control of him physically and that’s when he began to resist and fight with the officers and had to be tased to comply to the officer’s instructions.”
Oh dear.
Not only did Stine not get his water cup full of soda, KCTV reports that he got a "super-sized list of charges". Stine will reportedly face a "felony robbery charge" on top of his "four misdemeanors including Criminal Trespass, Disorderly Conduct, Obstructing A Peace Officer, and Resisting Arrest".
All for a cup of soda at Arby's. Would you believe it?
