A teenage employee of Jack in the Box claims he was fired for giving free tacos to a veteran.
Alex Mesta used to give a Jack in the Box regular customer free coffee at a Bakersfield, California, location.
“Since he’s a vet, I don’t think I should charge him for his coffee. It’s like not even a dollar for a coffee,” he said.
One evening Mesta decided to give the man free food, two tacos that would have otherwise been thrown out.
“It was either throw them away or make them for him,” he told ABC affiliate KERO-TV.
But Mesta’s act of charity was caught on the restaurant’s surveillance camera. When he arrived at work he was fired without any warning. The company said he had mishandled funds.
The young man admitted, “I know what I did wasn’t right to them. But to me it felt right.”
Jack in the Box said the charity incident wasn’t isolated and that the fact the customer was a veteran had nothing to do with their decision to fire Mesta.
“We too are grateful to our veterans and to the men and women currently serving in the armed forces,” the chain said in a statement.
“Regarding this incident, while it would not be appropriate to provide complete details on an internal disciplinary issue, our actions in this case were not based on just one incident and had nothing to do with the guest’s military experience.”
Join the conversation as a VIP Member