‘I Fell to the Ground’: Memphis Arby’s Employee Fired After Defending Herself Against Angry Customer Who Jumped Counter and Attacked Her While Hurling Racial Slurs
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An Arby’s employee in Tennessee says she was fired after she defended herself with a butcher knife and a fry basket when an angry customer jumped over the counter to physically confront her about his order being wrong.
The tense encounter happened Jan. 20 at the Arby’s on North Germantown Parkway in Memphis, where Kendra Irvin said she had been employed for nearly three years. However, she was immediately let go following “the first incident” with someone upset over the wrong food being served.
“I’ve never had a problem with a customer. Never,” she told FOX13.
Irvin shared cellphone video of the harrowing incident to social media while accusing her employer of terminating her job with no due process, saying the customer came at her aggressively while spewing racial slurs.
Irvin said the man walked inside the Arby’s around 9:30 p.m. and ordered a roast beef sandwich.
“I told him we have two kind of sandwiches. I asked him which one he want. He said it don’t matter,” Irvin said. Moments later, Irvin said the customer returned to the counter to complain, saying he was dissatisfied with his sandwich.
“I was trying to explain to him like, ‘Sir, we can remake the sandwich if you want.’ He started cursing, and he threw something at me,” Irvin said, admitting that she responded aggressively. “Yes, I threw something back at him.”
That’s when police said the man jumped behind the counter and hurled racial slurs at Irvin.
Now face-to-face with the larger man, the diminutive Irvin, who stands just 5-foot-1, realized she might be in serious trouble. At some point, she grabbed the long knife used to slice the roast beef. Another employee films as the blade looms into view, shifting dangerously between the two as the struggle escalates.
“He went and pushed me down, not by my chest but by my face. He pushed me down by my face. I fell to the ground. As you can see, I had the knife and fry basket in my hand because I was defending myself,” Irvin said.
The video posted on social media doesn’t capture the initial confrontation but shows the man towering over the woman behind the counter as they struggle for the knife.
Irvin said the customer later began hurling objects at the employees before storming out of the restaurant and vanishing.
The customer has since been identified in a police affidavit but his name was withheld until authorities could officially confirm his identity, according to FOX13. No arrests were made despite the man’s aggressive actions shown in the video.
Irvin said she was fired a week after the incident.
“They said I violated a policy. I guess I wasn’t supposed to protect myself. What would you have done if someone did that to you?” she said.
On Facebook, Irvin shared a video of the incident while aiming to pressure Arby into giving her job back.
“This is the aftermath of him pushing me down and me returning to protect myself but I was FIRED because I was protecting myself they said I violate a policy but this guy threw something at me and I throw something back so I wasn’t supposed to protect myself ARBY’S 1860 N Germantown Pkwy it’s not him I want it’s Arby’s I want,” she stated in a post on Feb. 2.
Two days later, Irvin made another statement on her Facebook page, defending her actions.
“They going so ham on me in the new articles comments are crazy but if you know me know me then you know I don’t bother people I give the most respect to anybody I don’t just start drama with anyone and I don’t have a background never been arrested,” she stated.
The comments section overwhelmingly backed Irvin, with many saying she acted appropriately in a situation that could have taken a dangerous turn.
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