Couple got three bags of cash instead of their meal at McDonald's drive-thru — they knew what to do next
At fast food outlets, getting a person's order wrong is not a rare event. However, getting money instead of food in a meal packet at McDonald's definitely is. A couple from Hermitage, Tennessee, experienced this firsthand in 2013 when they went to a McDonald's outlet to get their regular order. The moment they opened their bags, they saw something they had not anticipated in their wildest dreams. Once the shock wore off, they were able to clarify the mistake with the staff, per ABC 13 News.
When the couple, Greg and Stacye Terry, opened their McDonald's bags, they noticed they had three clear plastic bags instead of food. The contents were even more surprising, as those bags were filled with money. The bags had thousands of dollars in cash combined, per CBS News Channel 5. They picked up their order at the drive-thru left. In reality, the money was supposed to be deposited at a bank and had been kept in a McDonald's bag along with the drive-thru orders. So when the couple came in, a staff member accidentally handed them the bag with the money instead of food. "My husband opened the bag and discovered the money inside. He said, 'You are not going to believe this.' Sure enough, it was their bank deposit money," Stayce explained.
The couple frequented the McDonald's on Lebanon Road, but such a thing had never happened to them. "This will never, ever happen again in our lifetime," Greg joked. However, a McDonald's employee realized the mishap soon enough and ran after them in panic. They finally caught up with the couple at their home, minutes away from the drive-thru. The Terrys immediately returned the money without any trouble or questions. "The second that he said it was their deposit, my first thing was, let's get in the truck and take it back. There is no other way to have it. I couldn't live with myself," Stayce pointed out.
The couple had a good laugh at the incident and even posted photos with the money on Facebook, per the outlet. "We'll be back. We'll be back. But, next time, I'm sure we'll leave with our normal breakfast order," Greg remarked. A grateful McDonald's owner and operator, Phil Gray, expressed his thanks for what the couple did, even after the mistake. "We are grateful for this customer and the action they took upon realizing our error," Gray stated. He added, "We are looking into why this mistake happened, but what is most important to us is knowing that we are part of a community with the values that were evidenced by this person's actions."
As unusual as it is, the Terrys are not the only people who have gotten cash instead of or with their food orders, according to a similar story. A woman, Mrs. Joann Oliver, had gotten a sandwich from KFC for lunch. But once she started eating her sandwich, she spotted a plastic bag of money wrapped in foil. There were $543 in the bundle and she immediately called non-emergency services and handed the money back, per a Facebook post from the City of Jackson Police Department, Georgia. It was the outlet's cash deposit for the day and the manager would have lost their job if Oliver hadn't helped them get it back.