Burger King 911 Call

from WSJ link to dslreports ^

[flying Elvis]

According to Snopes, the Orange County Sheriff's Department acknowledges that this is authentic. Snopes, however, does have questions about the caller, suspecting that it may be a prank. They also question why the dispatcher stayed on the phone so long, as they usually dispatch nuisance callers rather quickly.

[BufordP]

Oh. Just now read your post 14.

[UnklGene]

Snope says:Food 911


Claim: Woman calls police because a fast food outlet won't make a cheeseburger the way she wants it.

Status: Undetermined.

Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2005]

NOTE: The following is a transcript of an audio file. Click here to listen to the original recording.

---

Dispatcher: Sheriff's department, how can I help you?

Woman: Yeah, I'm over here . . . I'm over here at Burger King right here in San Clemente.*

Dispatcher: Uh-huh.

Woman: Um, no, not San Clemente; I'm sorry, I live in San Clemente. I'm in Laguna Niguel, I think, that's where I'm at.

Dispatcher: Uh-huh.

Woman: I'm at a drive-through right now.

Dispatcher: Uh-huh.

Woman: I went . . . I ordered my food three times. They're mopping the floor inside, and I understand they're busy . . . they're not even busy, okay, I've been the only car here. I asked them four different times to make me a Western Barbeque Burger. Okay, they keep giving me a hamburger with lettuce, tomato, and cheese, onions, and I said, "I'm not leaving . . ."

Dispatcher: Uh-huh.

Woman: I want a Western Burger because I just got my kids from Tae Kwon Do, they're hungry, I'm on my way home, and I live in San Clemente.

Dispatcher: Uh-huh.

Woman: Okay . . . she said, she gave me another hamburger; it's wrong. I said four times, I said, "I want it to go. Can you go out and park in front?" I said, "No, I want my hamburger right." So then the . . . the lady came to the manager. She . . . well whoever she is, she came up and she said, um, she said, um, "Do you want your money back?" And I said, "No, I want my hamburger. My kids are hungry and I have to jump on that toll freeway." I said, "I am not leaving this spot," and I said, "I will call the police," because I want my Western Burger done right! Now is that so hard?

Dispatcher: Okay, what exactly is it you want us to do for you?

Woman: I . . . send an officer down here. I . . . I want them to make me . . .

Dispatcher: Ma'am, we're not gonna go down there and enforce your Western Bacon Cheeseburger.

Woman: What am I supposed to do?

Dispatcher: This is . . . this is between you and the manager. We're not gonna go and enforce how to make a hamburger; that's not a criminal issue. There's . . . there's nothing criminal there.

Woman: So I just stand here . . . so I just sit here and [block]?

Dispatcher: You . . . you need to calmly and rationally speak to the manager and figure out what to do between you.

Woman: She did come up, and I said, "Can I please have my Western Burger?" She . . . she said, "I'm not dealing with it," and she walked away. Because they're mopping the floor, and it's also the fact that they don't want to . . . they don't want to go through there . . . and . . . and . . .

Dispatcher: Ma'am, then I suggest you get your money back and go somewhere else. This is . . . this is not a criminal issue. We can't go out there and make them make you a cheeseburger the way you want it.

Woman: Well . . . that is . . . that . . . you're supposed to be here to protect me.

Dispatcher: Well, what are we protecting you from, a wrong cheeseburger?

Woman: No . . .

Dispatcher: Is this like . . . is this a harmful cheeseburger or something? I don't understand what you want us to do.

Woman: Just come down here. I'm not . . . I'm not leaving.

Dispatcher: No ma'am, I'm not sending the deputies down there over a cheeseburger. You need to go in there and act like an adult and either get your money back or go home.

Woman: She is not acting like an adult herself! I'm sitting here in my car; I just want them to make my kids a . . . a Western Burger.

Dispatcher: Ma'am, this is what I suggest: I suggest you get your money back from the manager and you go on your way home.

Woman: Okay.

Dispatcher: Okay? Bye-bye.

---

(*We're aware that the Western Bacon Cheeseburger is a menu item offered by Carl's Jr., not Burger King. The caller either misidentified the type of burger she was trying to order or misstated the name of the restaurant. Both chains have outlets in Laguna Niguel, and Burger King has periodically promoted a Western Whopper burger.)

Origins: Anyone who has worked a police or emergency services dispatch line can attest that some callers just don't seem to have a very good grasp of what kinds of situations constitute valid emergencies, or even what sort of problems fall within the purview of law enforcement or emergency rescue services. People call 911 for assistance in such matters as needing help with homework, clogged toilets, and non-functioning smoke detectors, to try to find out the latest sports scores and lottery results, to report broken televisions and cable outages, to seek assistance in locating lost pets, and to report all sorts of minor medical ailments.

The call transcribed above is one such example: a woman phones the Orange County Sheriff's Department from the drive-through window of a fast food restaurant because she just can't get the uncooperative employees there to make the kind of hamburger she wants. The results are all the more amusing in this case because even though dispatchers generally dispose of non-emergency and misdirected calls as quickly as feasible in order to keep the phone lines clear for legitimate calls, this one stays on the phone with the irate woman for two and a half minutes — during which period the caller fulfills all the stereotypes of the narcissistic, pompous, self-absorbed Orange County soccer mom as she berates the restaurant employees for screwing up her kids' order and ignoring her, and the dispatcher for refusing to send an officer out to deal with the situation (a reasonable expectation, she maintains, because the police are "supposed to be here to protect me").

The bemused dispatcher handles the call with aplomb (and a touch of sarcasm), repeatedly informing the exasperated woman that a dispute over the proper preparation of a hamburger is not a criminal issue and therefore not an appropriate matter in which to involve the sheriff's department:
Dispatcher: Ma'am, then I suggest you get your money back and go somewhere else. This is . . . this is not a criminal issue. We can't go out there and make them make you a cheeseburger the way you want it.

Woman: Well . . . that is . . . that . . . you're supposed to be here to protect me.

Dispatcher: Well, what are we protecting you from, a wrong cheeseburger?

Woman: No . . .

Dispatcher: Is this like . . . is this a harmful cheeseburger or something? I don't understand what you want us to do.
After being told that she needs to "act like an adult," the infuriated caller petulantly insists that the restaurant manager is "not acting like an adult herself," but the soapbox is yanked out from beneath her when the dispatcher finally gives her a stern brush-off and ends the call.

Since the question on everyone's minds is "Is this for real?" we called the Orange County Sheriff's Department (OCSD) and spoke to a couple of folks at the Public Affairs Office. They were a bit busy to speak with us at length (evidently matters such as homicides and escaped prisoners take priority over media inquiries about irate fast food patrons), but they told us the recording is an actual call that was handled by an OCSD dispatcher about two years ago.

We're leaving this entry's status as "undetermined" for now because we plan to talk to the OCSD again to obtain some additional background information (such as why the dispatcher stayed on the phone so long over something that was clearly not a police matter), and because the fact that the recording is genuine doesn't necessarily mean it was on the level. Was the caller really a harried mother with an overinflated sense of entitlement, or was she a prankster pulling one over on the sheriff's department for the sake of a laugh? Since no one responded to the call, we may never know.

Last updated: 28 March 2005

[lilylangtree]

Bimbo central.

[Graybeard58]

My son is a cop. He responded to a 911 cal. A 13 year old girl had called and said her 17 year old brother was hitting her. What he learned when he got there was that the brother had tossed a french fry at her from across the table and it landed in her hair.

He let her off with a lecture.

[PoorMuttly]

Oh sure, I know it happens.

It is particularly distressing, to say the least, when politicians and media people do it, though.

I just somehow needed to point it out. No criticism meant.

It is interesting that the two are so related, since 9/11 really was and IS an "emergency, life and death situation."
Perhaps the Mods. would correct this for us. I was caught by it, and can do without the thrill.

[rabidralph]

"I need to call a bambulance!" You may want to search Yahoo for "psycho ex-girlfriend phone messages." That's a hoot, too.

[Deetes]

That is great. Do you have a audio link ?

Harmful cheeseburger. lol.....

[avg_freeper]

"Do you have a audio link ?"

The source link: [ BroadBand Reports ] has a zip file with the audio in it. If you go to that link it's in the very first post.

[MEGoody]

The BK 'customer' was obviously from DU.

[Old Professer]

Dave's not here; go get a cheeseburger.

[Deetes]

Thanks.

[PoorMuttly]

So...is Dave home..?......

[eureka!]

bump

[Fred Hayek]

This kind of 911 call doesn't surprise me at all. And guess what, it's not just Southern California. It's up here in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. The calls are from people with an inflated sense of entitlement, and you don't dare hurt their fragile feeeeeeeelings.

[timtoews5292004]

Bravo to the dispatcher for telling this whiney soccer mom to act like an adult.

[logic]

My favorite is the video with the guy asking for a burger and fries and the guy at Jack in the Box says they don't have any fries (he has the Jack head and the voice is either Jack Nicholson or a great imposter) so the guy asks for a coke and some fries, anyway after about 5 attempts, jack asks they guy "Who put the blue in blueberry?" the guy answers "well,,,,mother nature did" Jack says " ok, who put the straw in strawberry" the again answers "mother nature did" then jack asks "who put the freak in frenchfires?" the guy answers "there ain't no freak in french fries" and jack (in the quintisential Jack Nicholson voice) yells, "That's what I've been try'n to tell 'ya, THERE AIN'T NO FREAK'N FRENCH FRIES!!!!!!"

[Cobra64]

Reminds me of this Carson piece:


Webb: "This is the City. Los Angeles, California. Some people rob for pleasure. Some rob because it's there. You never know. My name's Friday, I'm a cop. I was working the day watch out of Robbery when I got a call from the Acme School Bell Company. There'd been a robbery."
Carson: "There's been a robbery."
Webb: "Yes sir, what was it?"
Carson: "My clappers!"
Webb: "Your clappers?"
Carson: "Yeah, you know, those things inside a bell that makes them clang?"
Webb: "The clangers?"
Carson: "That's right, we call them clappers in the business."
Webb: "A clapper caper."
Carson: "What's that?"
Webb: "Nothing sir. Now, can I have the facts? What kind of clappers were stolen on this caper?"
Carson: "They were copper clappers."
Webb: "And where were they kept?"
Carson: "In the closet."
Webb: "Uh huh. You have any ideas who might have taken the copper clappers from the closet?"
Carson: "Well, just one. I fired a man. He swore he'd get even."
Webb: "What was his name?"
Carson: "Claude Cooper"
Webb: "You think he'd..."
Carson: "That's right. I think Claude Cooper copped my copper clappers. Kept in the closet."
Webb: "You know where this Claude Cooper is from?"
Carson: "Yuh. Cleveland"
Webb: "That figures. That figures."
Carson: "What makes it worse, they were clean."
Webb: "Clean copper clappers."
Carson: "That's right."
Webb: "Why do you think Cleveland's Claude Cooper would cop your clean copper clappers kept in your closet?"
Carson: "Only one reason."
Webb: "What's that?"
Carson: "He's a kleptomaniac."
Webb: "Who first discovered the copper clappers were copped?"
Carson: "My cleaning woman, Clara Clifford."
Webb: "That figures. Now let me see if I got the facts straight here. Cleaning woman Clara Clifford discovered your clean copper clappers kept in a closet were copped by Claude Cooper the kleptomaniac from Cleveland. Now, is that about it?"
Carson: "One other thing."
Webb: "What's that?"
Carson: "If I ever catch kleptomaniac Claude Cooper from Cleveland who copped my clean copper clappers kept in the closet..."
Webb: "Yes?"
Carson: "I'll clobber him!"

[6SJ7]

The audio link is great. What a riot! If it is a spoof, it's well done, right down to the distorted audio. From the sound of the female caller, I think it's real. "Give me a cheeseburger done the way I want or I'm callin' the cops"! Bwwaaaa!

[Bella_Bru]

The 911 operator was on KROQ during Kevin & Bean a week ago. She said the woman was nuts.