Arby's Customer Arrested For Allegedly Choking Teenage Employee Over Order Dispute

A middle-aged Arby's customer was arrested after he allegedly assaulted a teenage drive-thru handler in South Jordan, Utah, authorities have said.

Salvador Anthony Espericueta, 51, was facing assault on child abuse charges in connection with the incident.

Per a report by the New York Post, the incident took place on Saturday at approximately 2:15 p.m. when Anthony, who was dissatisfied with an order at the drive-thru counter, stepped out from his car to confront the juvenile employee whose name was not released.

Espericueta allegedly asked the victim if he was "man enough to have a conversation" before pinning him against the wall and door of the sandwich joint.

The disgruntled man allegedly then wrapped his hand around the neck of a teenage Arby's employee before fleeing the scene. The choking was reportedly so severe that it left the victim struggling to breathe.

The man "said something along the lines of asking (the employee) if he is man enough to have a conversation," police said, per Centre Daily Times. He "pushed the victim with his right hand and moved his hand up to the victim's neck which constricted the breathing of the victim." The man shoved the employee "with enough force where (the employee) was pushed back against the wall and door of the restaurant," police said.

He was later arrested at his home, where he acknowledged making a mistake at the drive-thru. Charges against him include aggravated assault, aggravated child abuse, and disorderly conduct.

Employees in restaurants are susceptible to mistreatment from patrons, which can take many different forms, such as physical aggressiveness, unjust demands, and verbal abuse. Employees' well-being may suffer greatly as a result of this abuse, which may include bodily injury, elevated stress levels, and a decline in job satisfaction, a 2020 study noted.

The focus placed by the hospitality sector on offering outstanding customer service can occasionally support a culture in which mistreating customers is accepted or even expected.

The study showed that customer mistreatment has negative impacts on service employees, such as lower well-being, higher absenteeism, higher turnover intention, and greater exhaustion.

The results provided strong support for a recovery mediating mechanism underlying this process. The results also supported the recovery-based resource perspective in buffering the negative effects of customer mistreatment.