A woman who posts on TikTok as @mommma_ash said she returned to a Chick-fil-A location expecting a free macaroni and cheese that a manager had promised her earlier. She explained that staff had forgotten the side item during a previous visit roughly two weeks before. In a video filmed over a kitchen sink, she held up a receipt from the Quarterfield Crossing store in Severn, Maryland, and described what she saw printed on it.
She stated that the receipt listed “1 RED FLAG” next to the promo free macaroni and cheese. She said in the video, “Apparently I’m a red flag because that’s what it says on my receipt.” The clip also showed a black plastic fork holding a portion of the macaroni and cheese with long strands of dark hair tangled in it. On-screen text in the video read “Sooooo now I’m including my receipt.”
She claimed the issue began when she ordered through the drive-thru and discovered the missing macaroni and cheese after she arrived home. She said she called the restaurant and declined the offer to drive back for the item because she had already completed the trip. According to her account, a manager told her the restaurant would put her name in a book so she could simply give her name on her next visit and receive the free side.
Reports describe red flag as a marker for special orders
@mommma_ash stated that when she returned, the employee said her name was not in the book and asked for the original receipt, which she did not have. She claimed the employee then agreed to “do me a favor this one time.” After she got home, she said she found hair in the macaroni and cheese. The video was posted under the caption “#chicfila #hairinfood #chicfiladobetter.”
According to Mashed, a “red flag” notation on Chick-fil-A receipts indicates a special order rather than a problem with the customer. The outlet described a Reddit post in which a customer saw the same marking on a receipt that included biscuits, a bagel meal, a hash brown, and a burrito. Commenters on that post explained that the code helps kitchen staff notice unconventional requests so the items are not missed.
One former customer told the outlet they used to order gravy cups, which were not a standard menu item, and staff marked those orders with a red flag. Another example given was a sandwich requested to be wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun. The article noted that routine changes, such as omitting tomato or onion, have their own buttons on the register, while the red flag is reserved for less common requests.
A Chick-fil-A employee quoted in the Mashed piece said special orders can be harder for staff because training focuses on regular menu items. The employee suggested that customers who order the same unusual combination repeatedly can bring an earlier receipt and point to the red-flag section so the request is entered correctly.
The article also mentioned that some employees have used the notation for lighthearted notes during slower periods. Receipt confusion at the chain is not limited to Maryland, as another customer counted her nuggets against the receipt.
Viewers who commented on @mommma_ash’s video offered their own experiences with the same marking. One commenter wrote that they once saw a red flag on their sticker and thought it referred to their red hair at the time, adding, “But now I’m curious what it means.” Another explained the system in similar terms to the Mashed reporting: “Red flag is normally when they put a note for the kitchen or you ask for something special. Whenever I ask for a side of pickles my receipt says red flag.”
Other commenters focused on the hair issue rather than the receipt note. One person claimed the same Severn location had previously given them food with hair in it and wrote, “They gave me blue hair before. Never refunded me at all. Just blew it off.”
A second commenter stated they had found hair fried into chicken nuggets from the location on two separate occasions and said, “I will never go to this location again in life.” Complaints about handling customers’ money at the chain also surface elsewhere, including a Texas woman’s $100 worker dispute.
Published: Oct 18, 2026 10:45 am