A Wendy’s employee was given the boot after a black Florida Highway Patrol trooper spotted an old receipt near the worker’s station that had the n-word on it.
According to the Click Orlando, the trooper was in line to get his dinner Tuesday night at an Orlando restaurant when he saw the receipt next to the cash register. It had the n-word at the top where the customers’ names or order numbers usually go.
The trooper, who was not identified, told the news station that he quickly snapped a photo.
“If my kids were here eating dinner and I had to show them this receipt, or say they saw it?” the trooper said. “My 6-year-old is learning to read, and the first thing he would say is, ‘What is this word?’”
The trooper recounted how he was anxious as he went to place his order with the employee at the cash register.
“He was very cordial with me, and that really shocked me because I thought for sure that if this is sitting here for an hour or however long it was, how is he going to treat me?” the trooper mused.
But the worker ended up even thanking him for his service.
A spokesperson at Wendy’s said that it launched an investigation into the racist receipt and worked with the franchise owner to go through surveillance video and cash register records.
“While this receipt wasn’t directed toward anyone in particular, we take this very seriously and find the language to be offensive and not in line with our values. This was a terrible judgment call by one of our employees, it’s completely unacceptable and we no longer employ this individual,” franchise owner JAE said in a statement.
The trooper is hoping that the restaurant chain improves the way it trains its employees. Until then, he’s not sure if he’ll return to another Wendy’s restaurant.
Read more at Click Orlando.