Dissatisfied Taco Bell Customer Goes Rogue

What would you do if you found yourself dissatisfied with your fast-food order? Perhaps you'd ask to speak to a manager. Perhaps you'd just shrug it off and hope for a better experience the next time around. But it's unlikely you'd take matters into your own hands, as one customer did at a Taco Bell in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Throughout this story, please note there are several pauses wherein this customer could have deescalated the situation. The saga can almost be broken down into discrete scenes, the transition between which could have been a chance to take a breath, regroup, and walk away. It it not a spoiler to say that at no point did the customer seize that opportunity to calm down. And so, without further ado, the tale of one Taco Bell customer in Spartanburg, South Carolina, gone rogue, per the staff reporting of The Spartanburg Herald-Journal:

Act I: The stage is setSetting: Wednesday, March 6, a Taco Bell drive-thru lane

A customer approaches the drive-thru window in his vehicle. The night is dark; shadows obscure his face. He collects his bag of food, and rolls away from the window. Ominous music begins.

Act II: All is not wellSetting: Taco Bell parking lot

Wisely, our main character looks into his bag quickly to make sure his order is correct. Yes, he did receive the Mexican Pizza he'd ordered, but something is wrong.. He pulls into a parking spot.

Act III: ConfrontationSetting: Taco Bell interior

Lights come up to reveal the man squared off against a Taco Bell cashier.

Dialogue: The man is upset because there was not enough meat on his Mexican Pizza. He repeats this point several times. Nervous, the cashier offers to give him a replacement Mexican Pizza.

Act IV: ConflictSetting: Taco Bell kitchen

Chaos reigns. The customer is now behind the counter at Taco Bell, touching food ingredients and tools. Employees attempt to stop him. He refuses. The man is not wearing proper food-handling gloves.

Dialogue: The man yells: the second pizza also did not contain enough meat and he is going to make his own satisfactory pizza.

In the corner, a Taco Bell employee makes a phone call, sotto voce.

Act V: EscapeSetting: Taco Bell interior

Police officers are speaking to Taco Bell employees. They are taking a description of the customer, who has escaped after attempting to prepare a replacement Mexican Pizza. Police ask about security footage, which a manager walks off-stage to collect. One officer stares into the distance: "We'll get him."

Fin.