Wingstop employee in Virginia was fired after a customer saw the N word printed on her receipt. Her name started with N and she spelled it out

A Wingstop employee in Northern Virginia was fired after a customer said she found a racial slur printed on her order receipt and shown on the restaurant’s order tracking screen, according to FOX 5 DC. The customer said the incident left her shocked and upset.

The woman, Nita Sutherland, told FOX 5 DC that she went to a Wingstop on Lorton Market Street in Fairfax County on Friday to buy a meal for her 7-year-old grandson. She said she clearly gave her first name and spelled it out as “N-I-T-A” when she placed the order.

Instead of her name, she said, a racial slur appeared on the order stickers attached to her food bags. According to Sutherland, the same slur also showed up on the restaurant’s food preparation progress screen.

The manager claims the employee ‘didn’t mean anything by it’

Sutherland said she was angry when she saw what had happened. “I was upset; I was pissed off,” she said. Sutherland said she asked for the manager because she felt the manager could remove the slur from the screen, adding, “I called for the manager, because I felt like she could go in and pick it off the screen at least, and she didn’t.”

According to Sutherland, the manager said the employee “didn’t mean anything by it” and went back to work without saying sorry. When asked how the incident made her feel as a Black woman, Sutherland replied, “It’s awful.” Disputes between customers and staff can sometimes escalate, as seen when an Amazon driver threatened to call police on a customer over a wrongly delivered parcel.

Sutherland also said she stopped the manager from taking away the order stickers, which she reportedly viewed as evidence of what had happened. As per FOX 5 DC, Wingstop’s corporate office said in a statement that discrimination and hateful behavior are not accepted by the company. “Discrimination and hateful behavior are completely inconsistent with the values of the Wingstop brand and have no place in our restaurants,” the statement reportedly said.

The same statement also said the franchise owner looked into what happened and then fired the worker. “Upon learning of this situation, the independent owner-operator of this franchised location informed us that it promptly investigated the incident and, based on its findings, subsequently terminated the employee,” the statement said, per the report. Other shopping incidents have also drawn attention online, including one where a customer swallowed a $46,353 ring after pretending to put it back.

Sutherland said she was glad the employee was fired, but believed more should have been done. “I’m glad they’re fired, because they shouldn’t have put it on the screen,” she said. “They were dismissive, and they need to understand racial profiling and racism is not accepted.” A Wingstop spokesperson also reportedly said that workers at the Lorton location will go through sensitivity training.