Man's Supposed 'Petty' Revenge On A Rude Karen At A Drive-Through Goes Viral

Most of us are happy to just be able to get some food during these difficult times and view time spent in a queue as just part of the process. But some are a little more impatient.

A man claimed that he was just minding his own business, placing his order at a McDonald's drive-through when a lady behind him began blasting her horn to get him to hurry up.

Finding this behavior rather rude, he hatched a plan to teach the annoying driver a lesson. And it worked.

Tensions at drive-throughs are somewhat understandable. Last March, when restaurant sales sharply fell after governors banned in-person dining and consumers began working through their glut of stockpiled groceries, a new trend took hold, illustrated by long drive-through lines that stretched around the perimeter of fast-food locations.

Take Checkers and Rally's for example. With more than 800 locations, it’s the largest restaurant chain with double drive-thru lanes in the country.

"We had the most tremendous year last year," CEO Frances Allen told CNBC. "We recorded record same-store sales gains and have created significant momentum."

The pandemic coincided with the chain revamping its menu, helping revive sales. To keep up with the spike in demand, about two thirds of Checkers and Rally's restaurants even shifted one of their drive-through lanes to handle digital and delivery orders.

After decades as a fast-food staple, drive-through lanes became the superstar, helping chains' sales rebound faster than those of its full-service brethren. By December, drive-through lanes accounted for a whopping 44% of off-premise orders across the entire restaurant industry, the NPD Group reported.

Furthermore, as vaccine distribution ramps up across the United States, the popularity of drive-through orders appears to have staying power. However, industry experts predict that it will moderate some. Hopefully, petty drive-through wars will also cease.