Wendy’s Employee Attacks Customer for Speaking Too Softly

Americans expect to encounter many dangers when they make the decision to order food at a drive-thru: inordinately long wait times, the employees messing up your order, being charged extra money for sauce packets, etc. What most Americans do not expect, however, is that employees at the restaurant may confront them at their car and attempt to give them a good ol’ fashioned beat-down for failing to communicate at an appropriate volume through the intercom. Well, as drive-thru customer Chloe Glover found out, at the Wendy’s in Lehigh Acres, Florida, you either order appropriately or pay the price.

Glover was trying to place an order at the Wendy’s drive-thru when twenty-year old restaurant employee Rictoria Bethea repeatedly told her to speak louder so she could hear her over the intercom. Reports indicate that Glover responded in a retaliatory manner to Ms. Bethea, at which point Bethea decided to let her fists do the talking as Glover pulled up to the drive-thru window. Bethea implored Glover to roll down her window, at which point she pulled Glover’s hair and punched her in the face before she could be restrained by fellow employees. Bethea was arrested and charged with burglary and battery. Wendy’s has politely asked her at a reasonable volume not to return to work.

As this situation shows, even the most routine or mundane situations can quickly escalate out of control. No one expects to get into a physical confrontation with a rude customer or a rude employee, but such situations do occur and can lead to criminal charges against one or both parties. In Tennessee, entering someone’s car without their permission is felony burglary and carries a potential sentence of a few years in prison. Likewise, Bethea’s battery charge would be called assault in Tennessee and is a Class A misdemeanor carrying a potential sentence of almost a year in jail.

Unfortunately, people who are normally not violent, have no criminal history, and tend to get along well with others can make poor decisions that lead to that individual facing criminal charges. Contact a skilled Tennessee criminal defense attorney today to discuss your charges and your options for defending against them.

Source: http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=13671950