Philly Taco Bell Employees Lose Jobs After Attacking Complaining Customers

Several Taco Bell employees in Philadelphia were fired after video seemed to show them physically assaulting a pair of customers who had complained about slow service.

Customer Brian Reese told Philly police that he and his girlfriend had waited over 45 minutes for an order of food placed at a Taco Bell in Center City, but when he complained to those behind the counter, things quickly escalated to violence, the New York Post reported..

The 38-year-old customer said that some of the workers told him that they received a large GrubHub order and the Internet order took precedence over his, but when he pressed his complaint, several employees took issue and began getting irate.

“I backed out of the store,” Reese told the media. “They continued to follow me. They put me on the ground, and I don’t really remember too much else. Except for when I got up, my girlfriend was on the ground being beat, too. She wasn’t even in the store at the time.”

Reese also excoriated the Taco Bell employees for hitting his girlfriend. “There’s no reason my girlfriend should’ve been on the ground getting beat up as well,” he said.

Both customers were injured during the melee.

Reese posted a damning video of the attack he suffered to social media which soon went viral. A week after the attack, Taco Bell offered Reese a $20 gift certificate, but for a time afterward refused to name the employees or report if it was taking any actions against them.

Taco Bell ultimately confirmed to WCAU that some of the employees had been fired, but the company did not release the number of employees fired nor their names.

Taco Bell released a statement saying, “We’re shocked and disappointed to see this situation; we and our franchisees do not tolerate this behavior. The franchisee who owns and operates this location is retraining its staff, and all team members involved have been terminated.”

Philly police also confirmed that an investigation had been opened into the incident.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.